The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
I wasn’t a huge fan of the pear when I was younger as they always put me in a mood. At school I reached for the greenest but inevitably got the hard and bitter one that was neither sweet nor sour. I’d sit nibbling on it to minimise the distaste filled with food envy of […]
You know when you get a batch of apricots that are a little too tart to eat raw? Well those are the ones which are perfect for this recipe! It’s a really moist loaf and the crumbly topping adds a nice little crunch. Allow yourself time for this recipe as it takes minutes to make […]
I read a recipe using the pear and ginger combination in Dan Lepard’s Short and Sweet. I wanted to give it a go and came up with this really simple slice. It’s great with some vanilla custard or ice cream and a cup of Assam. I find the Assam is strong enough to cut through […]
I demonstrated this recipe at the London Chocolate Festival and it raised a few eyebrows with some of the bakers in the audience. It’s really like a cake pop but made from oats. You’ll need 50g unsalted butter 4 tbsps whole milk 80g caster sugar 2 tbsp cocoa powder 100g oats 100g desiccated coconut 2 […]
I’m not a big fan of Christmas Pudding. But I am a big fan of traditions. Whether it’s keeping them going or starting a new like we did with advent last year, I think it’s important to remember the past as we step into the new. So this year we visited Grandma Sue to make […]
I had been given some lovely cooking apples and Kentish cobnuts so could not resist the combo with some cinnamon. I loved the crisp filo pastry with the soft frangipane middle. This tart is inspired by Eric Lanlard as there is a similar one in his Tart It Up book. Have you ever used cobnuts? […]
I was born in Tanzania. I don’t remember much. I have flashbacks of my Mr India toy, my swing in the garden, riding an elephant to school and mangoes. Confused memories of a five year old child. What I also remember were soldiers. Guns. Dark faces with frightening eyes. Hushed conversations. Brave smiles. It was […]
This recipe is by the fabulous Eric Lanlard who I met at a masterclass organised by the lovely people at Neilsen Massey Vanilla. It’s a wonderfully rich sponge which holds itself very well with the velvety smooth creme mousseline. You’ll need For the sponge 350g unsalted butter, softened 350g golden caster sugar 5 medium eggs, […]
I love mangoes. Especially Indian ones. They so so sweet and perfect in puddings. To be honest I could eat them on their own but I couldn’t resist making this super quick tart with some that my lovely friend Kavey from KaveyEats gave me. You’ll need 1 pack of puff pastry 200g Greek style yoghurt […]
We’ve had our blueberry plants for a few years now. They were some of the first we ever grew from seeds. Such a labour of love growing the seedlings on the windowsill, transplanting them into bigger and bigger pots and then finally seeing the fruit. They didn’t yield much fruit at all for a couple of […]
I love frangipane based tarts but sometimes I don’t have the time or energy to make pastry so I just pop the frangipane mixture into some loose bottomed tart tins with whatever fruit or nuts I have lying around. If you’re making them for breakfast, sprinkle some oats on top The timing will vary depending […]
This is such a classic dessert and very simple to make. The pastry cases keep in an airtight container for a couple of weeks so you can make them through the strawberry season. Of course you can also top with whichever fruit you like. You’ll need For the pastry 200g plain flour 100g cold unsalted […]