The Bakinglady 

Deep in the Lancashire countryside on the A6 between bustling Preston and the pretty old market town of Garstang is a fabulous garden centre (complete with cool, giant flower head urinals in the gents for the fella’s to wee elegantly into) that makes the most delicious cakes, cookies and scones. It’s one of our favourite places to visit when...

Lady Baltimore cake is a good, old fashioned slice of Southern hospitality on a plate and although it might involve a few different stages it is well worth the extra effort and time involved to make this Dense, white cake with its rich, moist filling of figs, raisins and Bourbon beneath a pure white frosting of Italian meringue... get ...

I’m incredulised (lol what a fabulous made up but very apt word) that this is the very first time that I have devised a carrot cake recipe for my website. This light, moist and gently spiced fruitcake is a staple on the afternoon tea table and a definite must have when it comes to Easter. My recipe contains toasted caraway seeds which add a gorgeous s...

Makes 30

There is something quite comforting about the humble marshmallow, little pillows of billowing squidgeyness in soft pastel shades that entice you with the silent promise of biting into a cloud of vanilla and sugary goodness. Wagon Wheel biscuits were a favourite childhood treat and seemed to fill my chubby little hands like a giant toy F...

if ever there was a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers of cupcakes, this little beauty would fit the bill... with sophisticated notes of coffee and vanilla, smooth and creamy cream cheese frosting and a gleaming nugget of bubbly champagne coloured toffee perched jauntily on  top this is a cupcake strictly for the grownups....

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What you need

6-8 hot cross buns or I large brioche loaf

For the Frangipan

75g butter

75g granulated sugar

75g ground almonds

1 level teaspoon almond essence

410g can of apricot halves in natural juice, drained and chopped (reserve the fruit juice to use in the apricot glaze)

...

What you need

200g caster sugar

200g baking margarine

200g self raising flour

4 medium eggs

2 lemons, finely grated zest

150g good quality lemon curd

Frosting

200g white chocolate, chopped into small pieces

125g butter

200g icing sugar

1 level teaspoon Vanill...

In 1884 princess Victoria, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria married Prince Louis of Battenberg in Germany and a myth was born, the Battenberg cake…. It was said that the English bakers tried to emulate the skill of their German counterparts with their skills in modelling with marzipan and decorating cakes and created this tea time classic, shame it ...

Serves 6 as a starter

What you need

12 slices of prosciutto or Serrano ham

150g mascarpone

20g green pesto

2 medium eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

125g mozzarella cut into 12 equal pieces

100g sun blush tomatoes, drained (1 tablespoon of oil reserved for the dressing) cut length ways into thin...

12 slices

What you need

20g butter

1 level tablespoon finely chopped toasted hazelnuts

For the cake

150g caster sugar

150g baking margarine

1 level teaspoon of natural orange extract or the finely grated zest of 2 large oranges

3 medium eggs, beaten,

100g Greek yoghurt

Makes 12

Christmas is such a magical time with sounds, sights and scents evoking all that is wonderful about the season of goodwill.

For me it’s the aroma of zesty oranges the gleam of plump, ruby red cranberries and soft, golden apricots and of course all the beautiful array of totally divine chocolates, candies and nuts.

These Ch...

These adorable cookie mummies are the perfect treat for Halloween and can easily be made by small hands using very little equipment, so what are you waiting for? Grab a bowl and mix up a batch of gingerbread cookie dough.... Happy Halloween x

Makes approximately 12 (depending on the size of your cutter)

What you need

350g ...

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 ...

These glorious cupcakes were inspired by my parents lovely garden in Surrey with aromas and flavours of lavender, roses and violets. They are so pretty and so evocative of gentle summer days that it would be a shame not to make them all year round x

What you need

150g baking margarine

150g caster sugar

Moist banana cake... peanut butter frosting.... crispy bacon drizzled with maple syrup....Huh???? Bacon...on a cake...for real??? yes my friends! There is bacon on top of this cake and by jiminy it works.

Elvis Presley's favourite snack was a fried peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich and if that...

Every now and then I will go on a bit of a healthy eating spurt (normally the first few weeks in the new year after I have eaten a ton and a half of chocolate and over indulged in too much fine red wine and a mammoth amount of turkey  and where I try and cut down on all the processed-mass-produced rubbish entering my mouth. I replace fat laden fri...

What you need

500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm slices

125g rice flour

50g soft dark brown sugar

100g dried papaya, chopped

Zest of one lemon

50g desiccated coconut

Oil for deep frying

For the lemon honey sauce

3tablespoons runny honey

Juice of ½ a lemon

When I go home to my parents in Surrey, no visit would be complete without an excursion to Wing Yips Chinese supermarket and the little instore bakery. They make THE BEST Cantonese pork buns with a sticky sugar glaze and filled with unctuous nuggets of BBQ pork and its been my mission for a long time to create these succulent morsels so I can enjoy the...

Ooh la la, its nearly that time again when grown men scour the florists (in the case of my husband…. the nearest supermarket) for a bunch of red roses that doesn’t cost the national deficit of a small country and will remain alive for longer than a few hours hidden in the back of the car…

Yes my friends it’s the month of L’amour...

M’Hancha sounds like a weird Disco dance that you performed in the 80’s complete with rolling hand movements and gyrating hips but it is in fact a gorgeous almond, pistachio and rose water filled pastry infused with orange and lemon zest from the sunny climes of Morocco.

M’Hancha literally translated means ‘coiled snake’...