So, armed with that knowledge, I thought it’s time to do a quick Google search and be inspired to make my own version of a Linzer Torte, so here it is. I have made one fundamental change and that is to use walnuts instead of the more traditional almonds, but the choice of nuts is yours and you can use almonds, hazelnuts or even pecan nuts instead, if you prefer.

That particular week, Mrs Cochrane brought me a couple of kilos of fresh greengages and I also needed to make a new dish for my set lunch dessert menu. Well, hey presto, problem solved as the greengages were turned into jam in a jiffy, so the next stage was to perfect my pastry to make the tart. This pastry is slightly tricky to handle as it’s so short, but it’s well worth the effort as the results are ridiculously fantastic!

You don’t have to use greengage jam for this recipe (though it works very well with the walnut pastry, I must say), you could use another flavour of good-quality shop-bought (or home-made!) jam instead, such as raspberry or loganberry jam or even marmalade.

My secret to creating this really delicious cake is a few key ingredients, including good-quality unsalted butter, fresh ripe raspberries and large free-range eggs, all of which contribute to the overall colour and depth of flavour. My final special touch is vanilla seeds freshly scraped from a vanilla pod and these add a touch of sophistication to this tremendous and tasty cake.

My feeling always is that if I’m going to do something, then I had better do it well. It’s quite expensive in terms of making a good cake, but in my opinion, cheap ingredients equal a tasteless product.

For the filling, I have used raspberry jam and again I prefer my own home-made raspberry jam. However, if you are going to buy raspberry jam, then buy the best; Tiptree make some very tasty jam indeed and the consistency is good. I look for a jam that has a fresh taste, but most of all is thick and not too runny. The runnier the jam the more diluted the taste will be and it won’t stick to the cake, plus you’ll need to use more of it.

Finally for the decoration, Mr P absolutely hates star nozzles for piping bags, but he has been converted to my slightly contemporary approach to using the star nozzle. I also finish the cake with plenty of fresh raspberries, and some freeze-dried raspberries then add a touch of class. Finally, and this is purely optional, a light spray of edible silver gloss spray (available from many major supermarkets) makes it shine.

Let’s begin with the cheese. I did not make the cheese, even though it’s been a life long ambition of mine. OK, I have dabbled a bit with making butter and making soft fresh curd cheese, but I have never got as far as making a rind- washed or hard cheese. One day perhaps I will when I am old and grey (ha, the joke is on me as I am already grey, but there is still enough life in my old bones to give cheese-making a good go at some point!).

That was short and sweet about the cheese, but actually I should give credit to two of the best Suffolk cheese makers I know. I adore Shipcord cheese made by the folk at Rodwell Farm Dairy, Baylham, Suffolk; the cheese is an alpine-style cheese and if you’re lucky enough to get an extra mature piece, then you can taste the salt crystal formations in tiny little pockets captured in the cheese. Delicious! You can tell I have tasted enough of this cheese to know its exact characteristics.

The other one is Baron Bigod cheese, a soft rind-washed cheese from Fen Farm Dairy near Bungay, Suffolk; I am truly excited about this cheese. It’s got a really unique taste and a wonderful texture and is amazingly rich and creamy. I like to leave this cheese at room temperature for at least an hour before serving, so the rich interior of the cheese starts to soften. The contrasting taste of the rind and the creamy centre is very unique – the perfect match for my whole wheat crackers!

Last year, Adrian Eatwell, our good friend and neighbour, brought us some fabulous seasonal treats, medlars. On receiving them they were hard and had to be bletted; bletting the medlars is when you leave them to ripen in a cool, dark place (such as a shed) for about a month, until they become very ripe, and almost squidgy jelly-like – you might think they have gone rotten, but they haven’t (although do turn them every so often as you do not want them to go mouldy, they just need to soften and ripen). It’s a long process, but if you can control your patience, it’s a very rewarding one indeed. I am well pleased with this year’s batch of medlar jelly, although sadly I ran out of jars and could only jar half of the batch. However, the rest is used on the cheese board and served with last Sunday’s roast pork, so it is enjoyed by some very lucky diners indeed.

The wheat crackers are simplicity in their own right, but I find that these crackers work best with the types of cheese we serve. I use half whole wheat flour and half white flour for this recipe; the whole wheat gives the crackers a nutty taste. They last for a long time if you keep them in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard. I usually make a double batch of the crackers, as they are not only tasty with cheese but are great to serve with pâtés and rillettes.

I also have a special place in my tummy for mince pies, so in this case the two go perfectly hand in hand. We have over 80 people booked in on Christmas day and I volunteered this year to make the mince pies and fudge for afters.

The mincemeat was made months ago and to be honest I have two very specials jars left from last season’s blend, which I will keep for those really special moments. I cannot wait to open the jars and have a secret taste, as I know it’s going to be super delicious and extra matured.

For these little fudge drops, I used a small half moon-shaped flexible rubber mould, you can buy it from the infusions4chefs website, they are pretty good and will deliver quickly. It’s inexpensive and you can use it for plenty of other great ideas afterwards. https://www.infusions4chefs.co.uk/shop/apparatus/silicon-mould-hemisphere-mini-x-24s.html.

If you do not want to buy these moulds, then I suggest you shape the fudge into long thin logs, wrap in clingfilm and chill until set, then cut into bite-size mini logs and roll them in cocoa powder – they’ll be just as good.

You can make these drops up to 2 weeks in advance and keep them chilled in the fridge until needed. They make a delicious after dinner treat or they can be served instead of mince pies. They also make the perfect Christmas gift – simply pile a few into cellophane bags, tie with pretty ribbon or raffia and give as homemade gifts over the festive season. Enjoy! I did.

The British Larder Suffolk team visited the Hand and Flowers in Marlow a couple of months ago. It was a very special and memorable visit and Tom and his team looked after us very well. Amongst all the special and delicious plates of food, the memory of the delicious and very tasty soda bread has stayed with me.

I was inspired to bake my own version of soda bread. It took a few attempts to get it right, or shall I say, the way I would like it to be. I used a local spelt flour mixed with wholemeal bread flour, and a teaspoon of honey gives the soda bread a rounded, moreish and lasting flavour. I add pumpkin and sunflower seeds for extra crunch to make it more interesting and give the bread another taste dimension too. The crust is superb; bake the bread at a fairly high temperature and the crust will be crisp and the interior fluffy and delicious, exactly as you would expect it to be.

I now regularly bake this bread as I do find it very satisfying, and the best bit of all is that it’s incredibly quick to make. You can have a loaf of freshly baked soda bread on the table in just over an hour and you’re guaranteed to have the best smelling kitchen in the world!

They are ideal for lunch boxes, picnics or served as a snack at a drinks parties. Steve makes these every day so his hand is very well trained by now shaping and making them. Shaping the pasties takes a bit of practice, it’s good fun and you can encourage the whole family to get involved. If you like the look of them make a large enough batch, freeze the raw pasties in layers divided with parchment paper and defrost the amount you need as and when required. I recommend that you defrost them completely before cooling in the fridge over night.

To create the pasty shape you need to cut a large enough circular piece of pastry, we use a good quality puff pastry, then spoon a generous amount of mix in the centre of the pastry, brush the edges with egg yolk and then fold the pastry in half to create a half moon shape. Crimp the rounded edge by pinching the pastry to create a scalloped edge. Once shaped let them rest in the fridge for about an hour before baking. This will ensure the pastry rests and prevents it from losing its shape when baking.

You can create your own flavour combination for the filling. If you are using meat and making the pasties this small I recommend you cook the meat first, and ensure the mix is as dry as possible to prevent it from leaking. If using cheese choose a strong tasting cheese, the cheddar we used is mighty strong, it’s too strong to eat neat however once cooked and mixed into something it’s perfect and very tasty indeed.

Other flavour combinations that will be just as tasty:

• Broccoli, Walnut and Stilton (use raw broccoli, finely chopped, mix in a generous amount of crumbed stilton and toasted crumbed walnuts)
• Curried Lamb and Swede (use lamb mince that is cooked with curry spices and plenty of grated swede, once the cooked mix is cooled stir in a few spoons of thick mango chutney)
• Fennel, Apple Chutney and Rocket (finely shaved fennel; mix with apple chutney and mix in chopped rocket leaves)
• Ras-al-hanout, Spiced Butternut Squash and Chickpea (grated butternut squash, add soaked sultanas, ras-al-hanout and roughly crushed chickpeas, stir in some tahini paste a spoon of honey add a dash of lemon juice)
• Chicken, Sage and Celeriac (roast chicken finely flaked - brown and white meat mixed - grated celeriac, chopped fresh sage and plenty of grain mustard)

I can hear the question already - what is a koeksister? When I started making these the team were enthusiastic and everyone asked what they are, I think they all just wanted a taster. To define something in a different language and also to describe it in comparison to what they would recognise challenged me slightly. The explanation is as follow. It’s a soft dough (including butter, flour, milk and raising agents) almost like a doughnut dough without yeast that is shaped in long spiral fingers, deep-fried till golden brown and crisp and immediately dunked in super ice cold acidulated spice infused sugar syrup. It’s best eaten after a few days and is traditionally served with tea in the afternoon. If you could make them small enough they could effectively make great petit-fours, but mine ended up a tad on the larger side.

I must say following mum’s advice and a recipe from my grandmother’s book with a few additions of my own, I was impressed with my efforts. Mum and I had a giggle whilst translating the recipe. We always get stuck on two ingredients and that is cream of tartar and citric acid, the translation causes us confusion. When she reads the recipes she always mixes the two up and after a panic and a hissyfit we always realise that she has given me the incorrect information. They are two completely different things, and in baking deliver different results. Well after a few disasters we have wised up to the errors we previously made, hence having a laugh this time round.

For this recipe you need both cream of tartar and citric acid. Cream of tartar is acidic however it also provides a creamy texture to the syrup, when the hot crispy fried koeksister is dunked into the cold syrup the cream of tartar will provide the creamy luxurious velvety texture to the syrup. The citric acid on the other hand prevents crystallization of the sugar syrup and provides the required acidity. Citric acid is also used for making elderflower cordial (acting as a preservative and preventing crystallization). If you do not have citric acid to hand use extra lemon juice instead.

Cook’s Notes:

1. Always make the syrup first, even a day in advance, and ensure it’s very cold, refrigerated and keep it over ice while frying the koeksisters.
2. Divide the syrup in two and alternate keeping it as cold as possible for the entire cooking and dunking time of the koeksisters.
3. Even though you might feel that the quantity of raising agent is a bit too much for your liking please do not alter the recipe, it is correct and will result into a light koeksister – the dough can easily become tough and heavy.
4. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes before starting to shape them.
5. Once cooked and dunked let them rest for one day – if you can resist temptation!
6. The cooked and dunked koeksisters will keep for up to 7 days in the fridge and even freeze well.

Sadly last year I got so trapped in the glory and splendour of the Christmas whirlwind that I never managed to get a chance to post the recipe. Well with another season nearly done, I thought I had better post this recipe before another year would have come and gone again. To be truthful, our kitchen recipe book is suffering; it’s looking sad, fat-stained, losing pages and is very used. Good in one sense, however I’m concerned that we might lose these valuable recipes, hence I post them on the site and they will be preserved forever. It’s interesting how we here at the British Larder Suffolk we use our own website like a recipe book. I’m not entirely sure why I’m surprised at that fact, as it’s a good thing!

Last year, my puddings got the thumbs up from plenty of happy diners so I’m proud as punch. There are no real secrets apart from lots of passion and drive. To make this amount of Christmas puddings one must not lose momentum and drive. It can weigh you down as it’s a slow process but once you’re in the swing of things it’s easy. Time is of the essence and the earlier the puddings are made the better chance they have of maturing and developing those all important rich flavours. My belief is that the mix must sit in the fridge for two days to thicken, absorb and for all the flavours to develop.

My trademark, or best not well kept secret is that I use the best ingredients I can possibly buy. The ale is local, I use Adnams, and the breadcrumbs are sourdough; a bit pricy but then this is not a cheap pudding either. It’s your choice if you want to use whole or flaked almonds.

This recipe serves 4 people and fills one 1L pudding basin. Make the pudding at least 4 weeks in advance and feed it with one tablespoon of brandy each week (it’s never too late, two weeks will be fine, don’t forget to feed it!). This will keep the pudding moist and the flavour will be outstanding. I guess this is perhaps the most labour intensive part of the pudding, feeding it. As we have to unwrap each pudding, give it a drink and cover them again, doing that four times with 100 puddings is a bit of a mammoth task but definitely time well spent.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year!

These small individual lemon meringue pies not only look great but we have the advantage of being able to serve them in the restaurant. We prepare them to the pastry and lemon filling stage and then on the day, when needed we then top them up with the meringue topping and bake them before each service. It keeps them fresh and easy to manage, as well as reducing wastage.

They are also perfect for our bar counter; they look great on a glass stand with a big glass dome lid perfect for that Sunday afternoon cup of tea and the taste of something sweet.

We have a perfect location for walking, especially dog walking. There are several routes that can be followed from our pub front door, one route goes past the fishing lakes, the other over the bridleway passing the golf club and then another one goes through a mini nature reserve, Bromeswell green and can be followed all the way to the river. All these walks are safe, some of them are fairly taxing as the hills can be quite steep and some parts the soft sandy soil makes walking a bit harder. All this hard work requires a pleasant reward at the end and these lemon meringue pies are just the thing for a post-energetic walk.

The beauty about lemon meringue pies is that they do not really have a season; we get lemons all year round. These individual pies are perfect for any occasion from a picnic to a sophisticated tea party.

Mulberries are fragile fruits and start to wilt and deteriorate as soon as they are picked. I had a tree in our garden in our last home before we moved here and as soon as the fruits ripened I picked them and froze them immediately to ensure that they do not get wasted in any way.

These where given to us by a very generous customer this season, the season is very short and come and go so quickly.

Our bartering system is definitely working and it’s heartwarming to get the whole community involved. We are fast approaching our first year anniversary here in Suffolk, it feels almost like a life time. We have made lots of good solid friends. The question remains “was it worth while?”…the answer is yes!

In early Spring the British Larder team took a day trip to the new Adnams distillery in Southwold. It’s been a great experience and we think the gin is rather delicious too. One can get carried away with plenty of ideas as to what to do with the gin and vodka, apart from drinking it, it also makes a great cooking companion. They use up to 16 botanicals to purify the gin which means it’s packed with fantastic aromatics and perfect for this mulberry bakewell tart.