In less than 12 hours, 2017 will have come to an end and a new chapter will begin. I must admit to being mildly nervous at the thought of a sprawling new year, one with only a few plans and trips in place and the rest laid bare, a literal empty calendar. When I began…
Making gingerbread in the days leading towards Christmas was never a tradition in my family. We didn’t build houses dripping with sweets or stamp out the imprints of men and press sultana buttons into their chests. I more closely associate festive baking with trays upon trays of mince pies, many of which would make their…
As it happens, some of my friends aren’t big fans of birthday cake. While I’m sure the sentiment of a dark chocolate fudge cake would be appreciated, for some there is another sweet treat they prefer to be laden with candles on their big day. For Chris’ birthday I baked these fudgy smoked salt Nutella brownies which…
On Saturday morning I awoke in a tangle of bedsheets with frost clinging to the window frame. The flat was silent, my toes creeping along the wooden floors the only noise as I found some cosy slippers and flicked the kettle on to boil. Hands cradling a decaf coffee, I buried myself back under the covers…