The Bakinglady 

Hard, sucking toffee, rather than the chewy or liquid caramel varieties have always had a soft (if not crunchy) spot in my heart. It evokes memories of my childhood when my Soldier father would go into the kitchen and boil up a big saucepan of brittle, golden, glass like caramel toffee made with nothing more than a ton of sugar and a splash of vinegar.....

This yummy slice is one of the easiest and quickest sweet treats to knock up... perfect for children's birthday party's too, just sprinkle with some bright and colourful sugar sprinkles and cut into small squares ❤️❤️❤️

350g mars bars or any other caramel/nougat/chocolate bar - chopped into small pieces

This aromatic chutney is my absolute favourite, slathered over a good strong cheddar cheese or dolloped onto Scotch eggs, it's absolutely gorgeous and well worth taking an hour out of your day to knock up a jar or two.... 

What you need...

1 kilo carrots, washed, peeled and grated (I used my food processor for this)

2 onions peele...

One of the first things you learnt how to make in school cookery lessons were good, old fashioned, sausage rolls, super easy to make and carried with pride all the way home in a plastic Tupperware box or an empty sweet tin left over from Christmas. Aaahhh sweet memories.... These sausage rolls are even easier to make ( if that's at all possible) but tas...

As a young teenager in the late 1970’s I lived in New Addington , a large council estate on the Surrey/Kent border. Every Saturday we would buy our bread from a small, family run bakery at the parade of shops, and if Mum could be persuaded, a cake or two.... my favourite was a ring of soft, fluffy buns - filled with billowing, synthetic cream and...

I had to get up at 7am this morning to bake a batch of scones for the afternoon tea orders I sell through my little cake company. These are guaranteed to be the best ever... soft and fluffy and the grated apple gives them a very subtle flavour whilst keeping them incredibly moist , they are without doubt...

The best scones everrrrrrrr!!!!!

4...

I was the ripe old age of 58 before I experienced the joy of old fashioned school cornflake tart, it remained unknown and elusive throughout my formative years and I'm truly distraught it took me so long to celebrate its layers of pastry, jam and crunchy, buttery cornflakes, smothered in creamy custard.... 

150g plain flour

I always have a couple of packs of instant mashed potato in my store cupboard, perfect for when I need tatoes in a hurry or when I just can’t be bothered cooking... thinking outside the box today ( I needed a real savoury kick)I made these TO DIE FOR cheese and onion ‘pasties’ in under 20 minutes using a packet of instant mash, an onio...

This simple bread is perfect, sliced and thickly buttered , served with a steaming bowl of soup. My favourite has to be a creamy Stilton and onion , a match made in heaven ❤️

300g plain flour

25g sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

100g mature cheddar cheese, grated

1 small onion, finely diced, fried ...

2 sticks celery finely chopped

2 large carrots, washed, topped and tailed then quartered lengthwise and finely diced

1 large onion, finely diced

1 medium pepper, de seeded and chopped into small dice

2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes

1 x 400g can butter beans

2 x veg stock cubes

2 large dessert spoons smoked paprik...

Creamy Chicken and leek tato topped pot pie - serves 4

4 leeks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced

1 heaped tablespoon margarine

1 heaped tablespoon plain flour

1 kilo potatoes

Teaspoon dried sage or rosemary

250g cooked chicken or 350g raw, diced chicken thighs ( pop into a small saucepan, with just enough water to co...

Scotch eggs with a mexicano twist - makes 4

5 eggs, 1 raw in a bowl and whisked with a fork, 4 that are boiled to how you would like your finished scotch eggs to be, I like mine fully cooked, no runny egg so I cook mine for 5 minutes, if you like a runny yolk cut the boiling time down to 3 minutes..

Pack of 8 sausages of your choice, you can...

Shepherd-less pie

1 large carrot,washed but not peeled and cut into small dice

1 large onion, peeled and cut into small dice

1 small sweet potato, washed but not peeled and cut into small dice

400g can chopped tomatoes - save the can as you will need it to measure water

300g Can mushy peas - trust me on this one, they will ...

I could probably write a book on 101 meals to make with mince, it’s so damn versatile, full of protein and above all CHEAP! When my son and I went through a real tough time financially, I would have to make 250g of the cheapest mince, do us, for at least 3 meals ... I became a master at economising and mince became my bestest friend. Here is my fa...

Chorley scones- makes 12

450g self raising flour

big pinch of salt

110g butter

50g granulated sugar

150ml milk

150ml double cream

Filling

75g butter, softened plus a little more ( melted) to brush on the top)

1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon

100g dried mixed fruit or raisins or currants

...

As a dirty ‘suv-er-ner’ I am familiar with good old fashioned, rib sticking bread puddin’s (my Dad, especially, makes a mean one!) rich with dried fruit and spices and normally soaked in cold tea or water then baked and served hot with creamy vanilla custard or cold (my favourite) with a dusting of granulated sugar. It was popular in...

One day (so legend has it) Henry the Eighth was strolling through Hampton palace and happened upon Anne Boleyn and her girlfriends eating these tasty little pastries from a silver dish, now Henry was so enthused by them that he decreed that only the royal household should be allowed to wrap their diamond encrusted gnashers around their pastry, almond an...

An hour’s drive away up the M6 motorway from the Market town of Chorley in Lancashire (where I live) is the beautiful Cumbrian village of Grasmere, nestled amoungst the hills and mountains of some of the most picturesque scenery in the English Lake district. It is Famous for two things, the Poet William Wordsworth who lived in the village for four...

There is an unwritten law, somewhere, that you can’t go to the Gods own county of Yorkshire without sampling a freshly baked curd tart, if by any chance there isn’t such a law then there jolly well should be!

Curd tarts are the English version of a baked cheesecake, long before those pesky American’s decreed that only they know h...

Makes approximately 20

Lancashire is rightly proud of its baking heritage and some of the delicious cakes and biscuits that originate in the county (probably to cheer the inhabitants up from having to live with the wet and windy climate for most of the year!)

Near to the City of Preston is a small pretty village with the quaint name of Goosn...