The Bakinglady 

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...

Bish bash bosh banana cake

There’s nothing worse than spending half your morning lovingly measuring, weighing, sifting, stirring, creaming and folding a cake batter only for the finished article to be a total disappointment!

This cake takes minutes to make, just weigh three ingredients, slap everything in a large bowl, beat with a woo...

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...

Comfort food for me has to include one of the few things my Dad used to make.. an old fashioned bread pudding! Made with the stale bread, we would otherwise have thrown away, it was perfect, eaten hot for pudding or cold as a little something to see us through until dinner time. Dads secret ingredient was the tea he used to soak the stale bread in, befo...

No bake flapjack

420g rolled oats - porridge oats....NOT READY BREK type oats

60g desiccated coconut

160g Branflakes crushed with your hands but not pulverised!

150g sugar, I used soft light brown sugar but you can use any sugar at all

300g golden syrup or honey, corn syrup,maple syrup or agave syrup

150g margarine or...

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 ...

Cold, leftover mashed potato always reminds me of my lovely mum and dad, and my Surrey childhood. Dad would have made ‘Eggo’ - inspired by his army days- fried in lard, mixed with egg and a hefty sprinkling of the Schwartz spice called Season All , Or mum would have utilised it to make the family a fantastic curried mince beef and onion pie...

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...

Tato cakes ❤️ it always amuses me how different countries can take, basically the same two ingredients and produce two totally different dishes �� in Italy, this potato and flour mixture would be gently simmered in water and made into gnocchi, smothered in a garlic butter or pesto, in the UK we shallow fry the mixture, cut in...

Brandy snaps

110g butter or block margarine

110g granulated sugar

110g golden syrup

110g plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch salt

Place the butter, sugar and golden syrup into a small saucepan and put onto a very low heat. Stir constantly, feeling the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. You want...

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

...

Chocolate pop cake

250g self raising flour

300g sugar

3 heaped dessertspoons cocoa powder

Really good pinch bicarbonate of soda

250g butter or block margarine

250ml fizzy pop drink - you can use anything from cola to cherryade, orangeade to lemonade... whatever you like!

125ml milk

2 medium eggs, beaten

Ploughman’s lunch sossy roll

1 small onion, finely diced

12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 eating apple, peeled cored and finely diced

1 heaped teaspoon dried sage

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Salt and black pepper to taste

50g mature cheddar cheese, cut into thin slices

2 tablespoons chutney of your ...

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

Serves 8-12

Light, moist and nutty, this is the perfect alternative to Christmas pudding after a heavy dinner. I would describe it as tasting a little like a coconut macaroon and with its mantle of whipped cream, chocolate stars and jewel like pomegranate seeds and it’s just so pretty… best of all tho, its simplicity itself and can be baked...

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...

Biscotti- are Italian cookies which literally translates into ‘twice baked’ and are one of the tastiest and simplest biscuits to bake as well as making a wonderful gift when placed into a pretty glass jar or cellophane bag tied with ribbon or raffia.

A ‘good’ biscotti should be crunchy but not teeth breaking or jaw crunchi...