The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I love making macaroons. I did make one bad batch which put me off for a while. I got really frustrated until I retraced my steps and worked out that I had used too much liquid food colouring and disturbed the balance of liquid in this recipe. It’s really worth trying to find food colouring […]
This is probably one the my favourite recipes from The Great British Bake Off. It got a a lot of airtime and the recipe below also got published on the BBC Food website! I’m really proud of that achievement! Honeycomb is brilliantly versatile. I use it to top these tarts but you can also dip […]
I am a big fan of frangipane because it’s quick to make, keeps in the fridge for a few days and tastes great. This tart recipe is based on using frangipane and I made it for Episode 2 of The Great British Bake Off. One tip I got from the judge, Paul Hollywood, was to […]
These cupcakes are a great choice if you like citrusy flavours in cake. As you may have seen on Episode 1 of the Great British Bake Off I am not a huge fan of sugar flowers – well I am a fan but I’m just rubbish at making these tiny things! So I use fresh […]
Sakura is the Japanese name for a cherry blossom. These gorgeous pastel pink flowers are so abundant in Japan in the springtime that there is a festival dedicated to their viewing – Hanami. It’s a beautiful time of year where there are many parties and picnics held under the cherry trees and people even queue […]
This is a lovely creamy baked cheesecake which is based on an Indian rose flavoured drink called ‘Falooda’. It’s like a milkshake and knickerbocker glory rolled into one. Rose flavoured milk, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, jelly chunks and a sprinkling of nuts. I like a thick crumb crust but if you prefer a […]
This is a really great way of using up slightly over-ripe apricots. They are perfect for breakfast because it literally takes a maximum of 45 mins – even faster if you take a tip from my friend Jo who measure everything out the night before! 10 simple steps and you’ve got a delicious breakfast […]
Whenever I go to an Indian function, there is always an egg free cake which is dry and smothered in UHT cream. I have experimented with a few egg and dairy free recipes and settled on this one. It’s beautifully moist and wonderfully chocolatey. The measures below make two thin 12 inch sponges, 12 large […]
I never made pastry until last year. It all seemed a bit of a faff with all the waiting around – while it’s resting in the fridge…while it’s blind baking…while it’s cooling…blah blah. I’ve learned now that it’s best to make when I go running. I’ll whizz the pastry up in the processor and then […]
Having two little girls in primary school means I make A LOT of cupcakes. They had their summer fete recently and duely placed their requests for flavours not realising Mummy stays up rather late to make it all and Cherry the Cake Fairy doesn’t just come along and deliver them! Anyway, these are very “grown […]
I first had a taste of lavender when I lived in Aix en Provence. My weekly treat was a whole morning at the Saturday market. I would go from stall to stall practising my French with the traders and sampling their wonderful wares – yeah OK – I was a student so it was a […]
When I first took this in to work, most people gave me a funny look and said “Lavender?!” But it works and tastes really lovely with Earl Grey tea. If a whole cake is too rich for you, then just divide the mixture into 12 cupcakes. you’ll need For the sponge 120g plain flour 140g caster […]