caramelised apple prune tart

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In: Sweet

I think prunes might be one of those marmite foods where people either love them or hate them, remembering watery prunes and custard for school dinners. Well I love them, especially when allowed to soak in alcohol and become really succulent, like in this tart. I actually prefer prunes to plums, as sometimes, particularly when cooked, the plum skins make them taste rather bitter, whereas with prunes the flavour is concentrated into sweet loveliness. The combination of apples, prunes, a light fresh custard and crumbly pastry is a winning one. I could eat this all day, but I won’t obviously, or I won’t be able toRead More →

game pie

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In: Savoury

It’s British Pie Week #britishpieweek so I wanted to make a pie I had never made before, something a bit more challenging than an apple or gooseberry fruit pie (and anyway, it’s too early in the season for those), so I settled on a game pie. I have always liked pork and game pies and once had a really fabulous one that has stayed in my memory, still warm from the oven, from a butchers in Yorkshire. It was the same day that I bumped into Paul Hollywood, who was there to film a feature on the oldest sweetshop in the world. But that isRead More →

round white loaf helen green

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In: Workshops

What better way to start the new year than learning how to make bread: all those new year’s resolutions about eating more healthily and experiencing new things rolled into one. So, last Saturday I went on a bread course with Danielle Ellis of Severn Bites, who trained in France, so is really knowledgable about classic french bread. (We originally met whilst doing a Charleston workshop, but that’s another story.) I love making bread and thought it might be a good idea to find out how to do it properly. Some of you will know that I make my own bread on quite a regular basis,Read More →

Spicy orange apple cake

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In: Sweet

After a hard day wandering around Wells recently, taking in the sights and exploring the cathedral, I felt the need for tea and cake. In the cafe they had plenty of choice, most of which I had tried before, but I couldn’t remember having spicy orange cake. So I tried it. I really liked the classic flavours of orange and cinnamon, but it was a little too sweet even before taking into consideration the layer of butter cream in the middle and on top. So, my version is a Super Spicy Orange Apple Cake, which is less sweet, has apple, more spices and no butter cream at all. Method forRead More →

helen green apple and honey cake 3 images

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In: Sweet

The clocks have turned back, the rich warm-toned leaves are falling from the trees and it is time to find things to do with all those apples! We have 3 apple trees in the garden, two were there before we moved in, so I have no idea what type they are. The smaller one has developed a massive hole in the trunk, and I keep thinking it is going to die, (which is why I planted a new tree) but seems to have grown around the hole and stoically carries on. The other is one of those triploid trees with 3 branches of different types of apple,Read More →

helen green jaffa cakes chocolate

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In: Sweet

I just love making new cake recipes, so when I saw the contestants make jaffa cakes on the Great British Bake Off, I couldn’t resist having a go at making them myself. It is surprising that it reignited the debate about whether jaffa cakes are cakes or biscuits, though. Even if you have only ever seen a jaffa cake, let alone eaten one, it is clear that the base is a light, airy (if you have baked it right!) cake and not a biscuit. This was proved in 1991 when McVitie’s won a VAT tribunal case that jaffa cakes are cakes and should therefore notRead More →

Pistachio and Cardamom shortbread Biscuits

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In: Sweet

It’s biscuit week on the Great British Bake Off and I made Pistachio and Cardamom shortbread Biscuits, so I could sit and munch them while watching. If you like shortbread biscuits (and who doesn’t!), pistachios and cardamom you will love these. They really are crunchy and crumbly and delicious all at the same time. I had forgotten how interesting pistachios are, with their pale coats, purple-tinged skin and that surprising brilliant green hiding inside. Method for making Pistachio and Cardamom shortbread Biscuits I made these using the recipe from Ottolenghi, The Cookbook  which has many fabulous recipes that I would love to make. The recipeRead More →

helen green not great british bake off lemon tart with raspberries

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In: Sweet

The waiting is over, only one more day until the Great British Bake Off! Apparently it will be very similar to the previous series, with all the same presenters, which is more than fine in my book. Mary Berry is of course the essential element in the show, and knows a thing or two about baking (I have a very well-used cookery book by Mary called Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook that I bought years before GBBO was even conceived), but she is so gracious and kind in her criticism, even when there has been a baking disaster, she still manages to say something positive. Did anyoneRead More →

loganberry cake by helen green photography

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In: Sweet

Loganberries are brilliant to have in the garden, because not only do they taste luscious, but due to their bramble heritage, they are relatively easy to grow. For those who haven’t come across them, loganberries are a hybrid of raspberries and blackberries; apparently created accidentally by an American judge who was trying to improve his blackberries. They look like a longer, darker raspberry and taste a bit sharper. You don’t often see them in the shops, I think this is because they ripen on the bush at different times, so you can’t pick them all at once. I also find them tricky to pick atRead More →

helen green gooseberry and elderflower ice-cream

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In: Sweet

Lovely balmy summer days, roses and lilies blooming, sandals and skirts, strolling on the common and sitting outside. What could top it all off except home-made gooseberry and elderflower ice-cream? The gooseberries having turned from green to translucent yellow, are plump and ripe for picking. Gooseberries are such a perfect match for the light fragrant taste of elderflower. At this time of year the elder bushes are developing their berries, the flowers mostly gone. Another year I will try making cordial from the flowers of my black elder, the Sambucus nigra, as I have read that these are equally as nice as the wild elder youRead More →