The Botanical Kitchen
Recipes, travel and the occasional rant
Sunny skies of late and unseasonably warm weather have seen trees come into bloom earlier this year. Spring blossoms almost pass us by without a second thought. This would never happen in Japan. Over there, it is customary to celebrate trees coming into flower and the season is currently in full swing. It’s ‘Hanami’ time. […]
Every now and then I do crave a cupcake. A nice hot cup of tea, my latest issue of Red magazine and a cupcake. Just perfect for a lazy Saturday afternoon. This recipe uses frozen strawberries so as not to make the mixture curdle and you could substitute with any fruit. I’ve topped this with […]
My little Amy loves carrots. She’ll eat them pretty much any which way they come. She’s been asking to bake cupcakes and as we only had these orange cases left on Election Day when their school was closed, I decided to go with carrot flavour. Carrots are a great source of beta carotene which is […]
“Mummy there’s a funny smell in your car” said my eldest last week. Now this is a very strange comment because I keep the inside of my car very, very clean. No sweet wrappers, chocolates, sandwiches or crisps are eaten and left in MY car. EVER. I had to admit that she was right though. […]
Bananas always get too ripe too quickly in our house because we have a very warm and sunny kitchen. So my daughter uses them for Banana and Chocolate Loaf Cake. If you don’t have time for an hour in the oven though, try these easy all-in-one-method-cupcakes. They are great for children and adults alike because […]
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 […]
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 […]