Delicious, easy recipes by Jay Wadams

Welcome to
Days of Jay

I'm Jay, cookbook author and food photographer.

Days of Jay is my website, where I share easy, delicious recipes for home cooking.

My recipes are packed with photos and useful tips and tricks to help you as you cook. They are all inspired by healthy, seasonal ingredients and my travels across the globe, especially in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Australasia.

Welcome to
Days of Jay

I'm Jay, cookbook author and food photographer. Days of Jay is my website, where I share easy, delicious recipes for home cooking.

My recipes are packed with photos and useful tips and tricks to help you as you cook. They are all inspired by healthy, seasonal ingredients and my travels across the globe, especially in Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Australasia.

I am so excited to have you here, so let’s dive in and get cooking!


It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!


Well, the countdown is until the year’s end, and Christmas is just around the corner. Check out some of my most popular Christmas and festive recipes below!

German Mulled wine recipe title card showing a mug of Glühwein and a man holding a mug of mulled wine.

A warming, gently spiced mug of Glühwein, or German Mulled Wine is one of the great pleasures of Christmas and the winter months. It is simple to make at home and fills the whole house with the most incredible aroma!

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German style Gingerbread hearts

My easy recipe for making traditional Oktoberfest Lebkuchenherzen or Gingerbread Hearts at home. Hang these brightly decorated hearts around the neck of your sweetheart (or eat and enjoy!)

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Apricot Glazed Christmas Ham title card.

Sweet and sticky with a touch of spice, my Apricot Glazed Christmas Ham recipe is sure to please the Christmas crowds. Made with a delicious apricot glaze, this ham is the tastiest, most stress-free Christmas main around.

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Classic British Christmas Cake recipe title card.

Even though I grew up on the other side of the world in New Zealand, it wouldn’t be Christmas Day without a Classic British Christmas Cake. This dense and sweet cake, packed with dried fruit, spices and plenty of brandy is an absolute must for the festive season and is something I look forward to…

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Homemade Irish Cream couldn’t be easier to make, tastes streets ahead of the commercial stuff, can be adjusted precisely to suit your sweet tooth and makes an excellent gift for friends – if you are prepared to share it!

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Quarkbällchen German Donut Holes title card.

Super light and fluffy on the inside and crisp and sugary on the outside, my German-style Donut holes or Quarkbällchen recipe is so easy it’s like kitchen magic. Made without yeast, they are ready in minutes. Perfect for parties or sharing with friends (or just eating all to yourself!)

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Beetroot Cured Salmon Gravadlax

We’ve landed back in beautiful Munich to the clear and crisp skies and very chilly nights of late winter. It’s not quite spring yet, but the promise of it hangs in the air, brightening the mood and sending the locals outside to soak up every last bit of available sun. I’m rather enjoying the opportunity…

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Title card for Spitzbuben, showing cut out unbaked spitzbuben cookies on a tray and completed spitzbuben.

Spitzbuben are one of the most beautiful traditional German Christmas cookies. Also known as Linzer Augen or Linzer Cookies, the delicious combination of buttery short pastry and tangy redcurrant jelly is a Christmas classic.

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Homemade marzipan title card.

My Homemade Marzipan recipe is super easy and tastes miles better than store-bought. This eggless, no-bake recipe comes together in minutes with just three ingredients. Perfect for Christmas time, fruit cakes, cookies, marzipan candy and more.

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Eierlikör Linzer Cookies Title Card.

These perfectly crumbly Eierlikör Linzer Cookies are filled with Advocaat spiked pastry cream. They make a delicious addition to your Christmas baking, especially served with a big mug of eggnog or Glühwein!

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The Latest Recipes From My Kitchen

Discover my latest and greatest recipes below, or use the search function to find exactly what you’re looking for.


Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake

Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chocolate lovers rejoice! Today I am sharing the recipe for my ultimate Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake! This is a fabulous recipe if you are having people round for dinner. It’s a real crowd-pleaser and everyone always seems to find room…

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake

The sun is shining, the sky is brilliantly blue and the fields are full of waving green grass that has sprung up seemingly overnight. The bowl of strawberries on the kitchen table is filling the kitchen with the sweet smell…

Turkish Chicken Shish Kebabs

Turkish Chicken Shish Kebabs

I am declaring barbecue season officially open! To get the ball rolling I have a truly delicious recipe for you, one that I have on rotation all summer long. Turkish chicken shish kebabs (Tavuk Siş) are tender, tangy, and so…

Beef and Lentil Cottage Pies

Beef and Lentil Cottage Pies

It’s a sunny Sunday, still and quiet here. The clouds and blustery winds of the last few days have finally departed, leaving a bright blue, cloudless sky in their wake. It’s the ideal day to get some work done on…

Braised Chicken and Beans

Braised Chicken and Beans

It’s been a real spring day today, with bursts of brilliant sunshine interrupted by squalls of rain. The mountain opposite the house has been disappearing periodically behind a veil of clouds, then suddenly appearing again, green and lush with all…

Homemade Chicken Pad Thai

Homemade Chicken Pad Thai

It’s Friday! The arrival of the weekend in these unusual times is somehow not quite as exciting as it used to be. When we’re all working from home the eagerly awaited 5 pm escape from the office has lost its…

Summer Berry Chocolate Tarts

Summer Berry Chocolate Tarts

I can think of Easter weekends here in Munich where there has been a thick blanket of snow, gale-force winds and a sullen, steel grey sky. These were the times when we were all happy to be inside, hiding away…

Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf

Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf

With the barrage of news bulletins and onslaught of social media health advice over the last month, it’s been easy to forget that we are in the lead up to Easter! Normally we’d be gleefully snacking on chocolate eggs and…

Recipes By Meal Type


light-bites
Main Event
Sweet Things
cocktail hour

Marillenknödel – Austrian Apricot Dumplings
Wurstsalat (German Sausage Salad)
Easy Cherry Tomato Tart
Zwetschgendatschi (Bavarian Plum Tart)
Homemade Chocolate Popsicles

Looking for Dinner Inspiration?


Below are some of my most popular dinner recipes. Quick and easy with simple ingredients and big flavours.

Garlic Miso Chicken Thighs
Easy Chicken Lo Mein Noodles 1
Sweet Potato and Chickpea Soup
Turkey Stroganoff Title Card.
Baked Teriyaki Glazed Salmon Title Card.
Salmon en Croûte Title Card.

My FAvourite German Cake Recipes

While people often associate Germany with pretzels and beer, it’s really all about coffee and cake!

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Easy German Cake Recipes