Sweet Things

Tangy, refreshing and bursting with kiwi fruit flavour, this simple recipe for Kiwi Granita requires only three ingredients: fresh kiwis, sugar and lemon juice. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a scoop of Greek yoghurt for a light and refreshing summer dessert.

Raspberry and Almond Friands must be one of Australia’s best-kept culinary secrets. These incredibly delicious little almond cakes are one of the most popular sweet treats sold in Australian cafes and are perfect with a strong cup of coffee or afternoon tea.

Possibly the most famous of all Germany’s cakes, the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, or Black Forest Cherry Cake is a retro favourite that never seems to go out of style.

Making marshmallows is a type of kitchen magic. With only 5 ingredients you can create mountains of fluffy, springy, delicious marshmallows. Try the recipe yourself to see how easy it is!

With luscious, juicy cherries, surrounded by moist and fluffy almond frangipane and tender sweet pastry, this French-style Cherry Almond Frangipane Tart is guaranteed to impress.

Peach and Ginger Pie is the perfect bake for those long, lazy, late summer days when the trees are full of ripe, juicy fruit. Ideal for taking on a picnic, or serving for dessert.

Looking for the best way to make Pomegranate Sorbet without an ice cream maker? Look no further! This easy recipe works every time.

Pink Champagne Panna Cotta with a layer of creamy, delicious vanilla panna cotta, topped with a bright, jewel-like rosé jelly is a wonderful after dinner treat, and the perfect dessert for a party or a special occasion.

German Strawberry Cake or Erdbeerkuchen is made from a heavenly combination of soft sponge cake, creamy vanilla custard, and fresh spring strawberries, all topped with a sweet, clear jelly. The most beautiful of all summer cakes.

Easter Bunny Cupcakes are possibly the cutest Easter treat around! These deliciously moist carrot cake cupcakes are topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and marshmallow bunny ears. No special equipment required!

Soft, chewy, salty and chocolatey, New Zealand Peanut Brownie cookies are quick to make and utterly moreish. One cookie is never enough! A Kiwi classic recipe.

This is definitely a dessert for the grown-ups! This is a beautiful recipe for a dinner party as it is a wonderful palate cleanser. Wobbly, glass clear Gin and Tonic Jelly cubes, served with bright, fresh and tangy lemon granita.

Is there anything more tempting than a fresh, warm donut? My tried and true recipes guarantees light and fluffy, perfect cinnamon sugar donuts every time.

Any of these irresistible desserts is perfect way to finish a romantic Valentine’s Day meal for two. They’re all made in advance so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your date!

There’s nothing quite like the delicious aroma of a freshly baked Christmas Fruit Mince Tart to let you know the festive season has really begun. With brandied fruit mince and a buttery almond pastry, this recipe is perfect for a Christmas feast.

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.

With a dark chocolate base, tangy cream cheese filling and a topping of raspberries in a jewel-like jelly, Raspberry Jelly Cheesecake is a showstopper of a dessert and the perfect way to make the most of in-season raspberries.

The perfect tea-time treat, Raspberry and Almond cake has a nutty crunch and bright pops of berry flavour. Quick and easy to make, this cake lasts for several days and is delicious warm or cold.

New Zealand Afghan Biscuits are crunchy chocolate and cornflake cookies, covered with melt-in-the-mouth chocolate icing and topped with a walnut half. A classic or the NZ kitchen, these sweet treats are loved by old and young alike.

Delicate, crumbly pastry filled with aromatic spiced fruit, Christmas Fruit Mince Pies are one of the most delicious treats of the season. One is never enough!

When I was a kid, there was one food I hated above any other. Dates. I couldn’t stand them, and my mother (who makes excellent sweets) always used to put them in her scones, thereby ruining them as far as my seven year old self was concerned. It’s amazing how tastes change as you grow […]

Rain, rain and more rain. The house is surrounded by fog and drizzle, the fire is roaring happily away and I’m wrapped up warm with a big pot of tea. ’Tis the season for comfort food in my house, long-simmered stews and casseroles, roasts, and puddings for afters. This is the sort of food that […]

Surely one of the most delicious and iconic desserts (I mean, anything that involves a blowtorch in the kitchen has me onboard), it is a favourite of mine and I have spent YEARS perfecting my Lemon Meringue Pie recipe. Tried and tested and tasted again and again (poor me, right?) this recipe bakes up perfectly every time.

My recipe for Banana Berry Ice Creams uses the ‘Nice-Cream’ technique to create a creamy and delicious dessert. This works by using frozen banana as a base which gives a beautifully creamy texture.

Tatlı yiyelim, tatlı konuşalım or ‘Let’s eat sweet and talk sweet’ has to be my favourite Turkish expression. It’s definitely the perfect way to describe having a slice or two of sticky, sweet, nutty Walnut and Orange Blossom Baklava with a strong Turkish coffee and a good gossip with friends. Tomorrow evening will mark the […]

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 for a little slice – even if they were claiming to be full seconds before […]

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 of summer. Juicy and succulent, they are the perfect topping for a delicious Gluten-Free Chocolate […]

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 from the weather and gorging on chocolate and treats. This Easter, as luck would have […]

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 hot cross buns, but with so many distractions it seems to have slipped by the […]

Eierlikörtorte or German Advocaat cake is a glorious concoction of nuts, dark chocolate, whipped cream and advocaat that is seriously moreish. This cake is also gluten free.

One of the surest signs that summer is on the way to Munich is the re-emergence of my local fruit stand on Munich’s Sonnenstraße. Perched in the most unlikely place amid the hustle and bustle, trams, buses, commuters and traffic of this busy street, this fruit stand appears only for the summer months. Piled high […]

Blue skies over Munich today. There is a hint of summer in the air, in the warmth of the sun and the gentle smell of grass and hay that wafts through the city when the wind comes from the south. I know, we haven’t even had spring yet, but the warmer days are so close […]

More wanderlust today. Maybe it’s the rain, and being cooped up inside. Maybe it’s the consistent doom and gloom in the news. Maybe I just like to think about sunny days at the beachside? Today I’ve got beautiful Portugal on my mind. I adore Portugal. The warm and friendly people. The colourful landscape. The stunning […]

Lemon curd has to be one of my favourite things in the world. The very best curd is the perfect balance between sweet, sour, creamy and buttery. Whether you eat it spread on toast, fold it through softly whipped cream for filling a sponge cake, or as the base to a quick lemon tart or […]

Hooray, it’s nearly the weekend. Here in Munich it is a blue sky day, bright and sunny and a balmy -3°C! The temperature doesn’t bother me in the least and during these darker months I crave sunshine so I’m soaking up every possible ray. I’m also thinking about breakfast for the weekend, and what could […]

Ok, so we all know I am a sucker for a bargain, which means when I spotted a kilo of luscious, juicy looking blueberries at the market today for only €4 they went directly in my basket without a second thought. I knew immediately what I was going to do with these blue beauties: a […]

It’s nearly the end of March already! How did that happen? This weekend the clocks ‘spring forward’ for one of the last times in Europe as daylight savings is soon to be a thing of the past. Lots of blossoms on the trees, but the cool weather still has me hiding out in the kitchen […]

Kiss me quick, I’m Irish – well, one-sixteenth or so at least! Just a quick Cocktail Hour recipe today in honour of Saint Patrick’s Day, that famous drink from the Emerald Isle and much-beloved tipple of my mother, Irish Cream.  Homemade Irish Cream couldn’t be easier to make, tastes streets ahead of the commercial stuff, […]

It’s Valentine’s Day, the sun is shining and the florists are doing a roaring trade. Despite all the commercial corniness, I think the world needs a little more love and a bit of cheering up, so if we need the excuse of a particular day to spoil our partners, give some gifts and share a […]

I am still working my way through the mass of mangoes that I bought from the markets the other day, (I know, life is hard) and as the summer swelters on I couldn’t resist making a few of my favourite sweet treats: Mango Vanilla Nice Blocks. Even though I love this season, I always spend […]

While I may have summer on my mind, Bavaria is having a gloriously sunny, mild autumn, the bright blue skies a beautiful contrast to the falling leaves outside. If you’ve been following along, you‘ll know that Sunday is my favourite day for baking, especially when there is a little chill in the air. The shops […]

I have been watching the news from Australia with a bit of a heavy heart – due to industrial sabotage the strawberry growing community has been devastated. For those who haven’t been following, someone, or someones unknown has/have been hiding needles inside fresh strawberries with over 100 cases so far across the whole continent.  While […]

Red Currant Crumble Cakes (Johannisbeer Streusaltaler) are a long-standing German bakery favourite. Made from soft, enriched yeast dough and topped with a generous amount of tart red currants and masses of buttery streusel, these sweet treats are completely addictive!

Yesterday it poured with rain. All day. I’m not complaining, as these are my favourite days to hang out in the kitchen, put some jazz on the stereo, (good, vocal jazz, think Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne), tie on my apron and get to baking. What could be more perfect on a dark […]

We are back in Munich and summer is in the air. The sun is shining, the chestnut trees are verdantly green, and of course, the beer gardens are in full swing. Munich is such a summer city, with most days hot and clear, followed by an evening thunderstorm to wash away the humidity. I am […]

Every baker needs a never fail, guaranteed to impress, showstopper, easy chocolate cake recipe in their baking arsenal. Let me tell you, this is that cake. Invented in the early 20th century by Hershey’s, this is one of those recipes that has been tried and tested and handed down through the generations. It never fails […]

Glorious blue skies, hot pink bougainvillea, cicadas singing in the trees and the mercury is at 40°C. This is the time of year to be up early, while the day is still cool, before the heat sends us in search of the coolest rooms in the house. We eat simply at this time of year, […]

A slow lazy autumn Sunday, coffee and papers in bed, followed by a relaxed breakfast. Billie Holiday is singing on the stereo, there is a loaf of bread in the oven, and puttering away on the stove is a big pot of Plum and Walnut Jam, the concentrated plummy goodness filling the air with a […]

Beautiful autumn continues here in Bavaria, this entire week has been cool, but beautifully clear and sunny – perfect for all the people celebrating the Oktoberfest on the Wiesn. This morning has dawned grey and cool, which is the ideal kind of day to spend in the kitchen thinking about warming autumnal flavours and writing with […]

Wow. July has just flown past! We have been so busy I’ve hardly had time to think – but I’m not complaining. We had a glorious trip to Zürich to see beautiful Lily and her wonderful mother Marianne, who spoiled us rotten as well as giving up loads of her time to show us around […]