The Bakinglady 

Cheese and onion beer bread!

300g plain flour

25g sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

115g mature cheddar cheese, grated plus a little more for the top

1 small onion, finely diced, fried in a heaped tablespoon of butter until soft and golden

1 egg, beaten

95ml lager

30ml milk

3 tbsp oil

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...

Ok, so I know these aren't baked but baked-schmaked they are so damn good who is complaining.... perfect when eaten in the garden on a lovely warm summers day with a nice cold half of cider.....

What you need

400g good quality pork sausage meat

60g vintage mature cheddar cheese, grated

50g good quality apple chutney

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...

I would like to think of this sexy little number as a bit of a posh totty Battunburg with layers instead of squares but still under its customary mantle of gorgeous golden marzipan... bursting with zingy orange and fresh blueberries its the perfect cake for afternoon tea.

What you need

150g self raising flour

150g caster s...

Every autumn I create a cake or dessert that fills my soul and my tummy with a warm fuzzy feeling and the promise of nature’s bountiful harvest- crisp, juicy apples and fragrant spices. This year I decided to make a dessert and a cutting cake all in one beautiful ring of gorgeousness and it was inspired in memory and honour of my lov...

If you happen to visit Northern Ireland you will find this lovely fridge cake on every tea time table and on every café menu.

It’s called a fifteen because there is almost no weighing involved, you just count out 15 of each ingredient, which is perfect if you can’t be bothered getting the weighing scales out.

I have made a ...

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...

Here in Lancashire there is good natured rivalry between the towns of Chorley, Accrington and Eccles as to who produces the best fruit filled pastry ‘cake’. Despite being an inhabitant of the market town of Chorley, I much prefer the sugar encrusted puff pastry Eccles version compared to the plainer Chorley or Accrington short crust pastry ...

As a child growing up in the seventies I ate school dinners on a very regular basis, unless I went on a school trip then mushy white bread pilchard and vinegar sandwiches in a plastic Tupperware box were mandatory.

Although I loved the savoury main meals my favourite course had to be the puddings and I was one of the rare students that loved the t...

I created these gorgeous, light, soft, fluffy and moist cupcakes on a very cold and wet afternoon when the wind was howling around the rafters and the rain was lashing against the windows.... I wanted to create the taste of a seaside summer in a cupcake but that would also evoke memories from my childhood and drinking bottles of ice cold cream soda on ...

What you need

150g baking margarine

150g caster sugar

3 medium eggs

50g Greek yogurt

185g self raising flour

½ level teaspoon baking powder

150g blueberries (reserve 16 for decoration)

2 lemons, finely grated zest

Frosting

125g butter

200g icing sugar...

There is a fabulous group on Facebook called 'Tampa native Cuban/Spanish, Italian and Southern recipes'  hosted and written by a group of sassy ladies with some serious Latin spirit. I dribble over there sunshine filled dishes, immerse myself in the imagined scents and flavours of the lemon, garlic and chilli infused sauces and longingly pict...

Peaches are one of those fruits that epitomise summer and remind me of a lovely week in Italy, when they are juicy and ripe and the sweet, sticky nectar is running down your chin you know that summer has really arrived and these simple wedge scones are the best way of using up a glut of ripe fruit or luscious tinned peaches when fresh peaches are not a...

I don't boast very often but this is definitely the best coffee and walnut cake you will ever try... the combination of rich coffee infused cake, studded with little nuggets of walnuts, the most sumptuous mascarpone cream with a hint of vanilla and coffee and caramelised walnuts make this an absolute winner and I guarantee that even if you are not a fan of ...

I remember making  a Japonaise gateaux when I was at catering college in 1983, it was one of my first culinary successes and I loved making all the different elements. I haven't seen the recipe I used for a very long time so decided to create a simpler more contemporary version that could be made into cupcakes rather than an elaborate ...

This old fashioned fruit cake is so moist and flavoursome you will forget in an instant that it contains no sugar, it lasts for ages and is perfect when only a really good 'Granny' cake will do. Because Xylitol the sugar substitute I use doesn't brown or caramelise during cooking I have soaked the fruit in Guinness which adds a lovely deep flavour and...

Packed full of energising bananas, seeds, oats and nuts these wonderful bars make a brilliant mid morning snack when energy levels are low and you need something satisfying  without hitting excess sugar. They keep brilliantly too and stay moist for a week or two ( if they last that long without being scoffed of course). Make a batch for the kids p...

Wet, cold winter afternoons are best spent baking up delicious treats in the kitchen. Ginger evokes feelings of warmth and comfort and these gluten free biscuits do a wonderful job of capturing the essence of this fiery spice perfectly. they are simplicity personified to make and bake in less than 20 minutes just what you ...