Following the increase in demand for gluten-free dishes, I thought it’s about time to try something different. My Wicked Bitter Chocolate Cake recipe is also gluten-free, but I am constantly wishing to nurture my own curiosity by trying something ‘new’ and different from my usual repertoire of recipes.

So here we have it, a delicious flourless chocolate and pecan cake, which in itself is completely dairy-free. The vanilla cream topping is entirely optional, so if you want to keep the cake dairy-free too, then you can serve it without the topping.

When you make this cake, the mixture will look like a lot and you might think that the tin is too small, but do not fear because once it’s cooked the cake will sink as it cools down. The first time I baked this cake I made a mistake and divided the cake mixture between two tins, so I then ended up with two quite flat baked cakes (which was not my intention!). The cakes were still usable though and I simply sandwiched them together with the vanilla cream in the centre rather than on top.

We feel that here in the UK we do not do enough to protect and promote our own regional food treasures, and with Slow Food their intention is to do exactly that – to protect our regional foods and spread the word about them. If we look at our European cousins, particularly countries such as Italy, Spain and France, each one is incredibly proud of their own produce and would not even dream of using their neighbour’s ingredients, not to mention importing goods, which would simply not get a look in.

I was asked to create a seasonal recipe for Slow Food UK using an ingredient from the forgotten foods list, and so I have chosen sea lavender honey.

Even for me it was quite difficult to get hold of, but when you are next in East Anglia, especially Norfolk, then do make a point of picking up a jar or two. It’s delicious! If you cannot find sea lavender honey, then substitute local honey from your own region instead.

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.

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.

For the real ale ice cream, you can use any local ale of your choice and preference. I have selected Woodforde’s Wherry real ale, an East Anglian ale from Norfolk, for its fruity character. It is slightly floral and less hopsy in taste and that tones the bitterness down.

In the summer, I substitute the real ale ice cream for cherry ice cream and serve cherries marinated in red wine syrup with it. It’s a classic but reliable and truly delicious combination.

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.

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.

I teamed up with Twinings Tea to bake these two delicious afternoon tea delights – Royal Wedding Blend of White Earl Grey & Rose Victoria Sponge, and Twinings Royal Wedding Blend of White Earl Grey and Rose, Rhubarb Cupcakes with a White Chocolate Frosting, to celebrate Kate and William’s special day.

These recipes are perfect if you plan to host a traditional British street party. Here at the British Larder Suffolk we will definitely be baking both recipes and will serve them with this delicious Royal Wedding Commemorative Blend. My objective was to create two interesting recipes using the Royal Wedding Tea Blend, combining it with a traditional recipe with a slight British Larder twist.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

All credit for the images and videos goes to Twinings Tea Shop and I would like to thank Twinings for this fantastic opportunity to bake with this wonderful Royal Wedding Commemorative Blend Tea.

I was working on this recipe for a while and it took couple of attempts before I was entirely happy with the result and the way this cake turned out. I was looking for texture and a taste explosion and finally I’m happy with the way it turned out.

I was inspired to redevelop this recipe as I used to make a cake not dissimilar to this one when I worked in a delicatessen many years ago in London. As I moved home several times the original recipe was inevitably misplaced, and I had to start from scratch trying to redevelop this memory of a recipe I had from years ago. I’m pleased with the result as this recipe is a great success; it’s almost a fine replica of those wonderful memories of that long-lost recipe, with the addition of fresh chestnuts.

The second part of the inspiration for this recipe is the fond memory I have of smells on Oxford Street at this time of the year. The only fond memory, I should emphasise! Walking down bustling Oxford street during the winter you can always smell the wonderful sweet aroma of caramelised chestnuts. I remember the smell as if it’s here right now – it used to smell even better when I was really hungry!

Finding chestnuts in the forest is a great fun family activity, it gives you something to do and in our case it’s free food, which we like. The trick is to get there before other people, and most importantly before the deers and squirrels get there too - apart from the fact that they actually live there, so ultimately it’s a matter of whom has the most stamina I guess…!

When the chestnuts were plentiful on a Sunday afternoon when Maria was visiting, we would drive to gate 26 with our basket in hand collecting the chestnuts from the forest floor. Every time we used to go home grumbling about the chestnuts spiking our fingers, as we always forgot to take our gloves. With or without the gloves we managed to fill the basket to the brim, it’s a great afternoon out and not only do you have something to show for it but it’s a great team building activity.

These are a few of my other favourite recipes using chestnuts:

• Pheasant Ravioli with a Chestnut Sauce and Curly Kale Pesto
• Fresh Cranberry and Chestnut Cantucci
• Pheasant, Aegean Prune, Girolle & Chestnut Pie

Elderflower cordial has so many wonderful uses and is not only good for a refreshing elderflower drink on a hot summers day but is also perfect for delicious jellies and works a treat in sorbets and ice-creams. The flowers  could be dipped in a light tempura batter and fried until crisp to serve as a garnish for added texture.

I used the elderflower cordial to flavour this delicious crème fraîche tart and paired it up with a lovely array of strawberry treats. Its great fun, you might not have all the tools to make all the garnishing bits, but if you can give the tart a go as it’s simply wonderful.

The recipe for this tart has been in Mr.P’s little black recipe book since he began cooking in 1996. This recipe did cause us a bit of drama and distress as we had filed it’ in a safe place’. We must have  tipped the house upside down looking for it, you can imagine as I do not quite know what it looks like, all I know it’s written in pen on a small piece of paper belonging to this little black book that had lost its cover. We were searching high and low for about a week, Mr.P hardly spoke to me as I obviously got the blame for it’s disappearance. He was walking around like a bear with a sore head who had just lost his best friend. Finally we found the piece of paper and  we could actually get on with making this dish.

To top it all off, the ingredients that we had purchased to make this dish had gone off by the time we found the recipe, so back to the beginning and we started the journey again from scratch. It was definitely worth the effort as it’s delicious and well worth the time, tears, tantrums and effort. I think the lesson learned was not to store things’ in safe places’ or do not purchase your ingredients until you have located the recipe. We are now giggling over the chaos that we caused ourselves; at the time it was quite a traumatic event. Boy’s and their….not really toy’s…but …..well recipes!