Category: Recipes

You will find quick and easy, made-from-scratch recipes made from seasonal ingredients. There are some healthy recipes and quite a few treat recipes too. I cook the food that I love so this is not a comprehensive guide to cookery.

My focus is on Baking (particularly Cakes, Muffins and Biscuits and Cookies), Desserts (particularly Ice Cream, Meringue, Roulades and Sweet Tarts), Soups, Salads, Simple Suppers (particularly Pasta and Savoury Tarts) plus a few Snacks, Sauces and Preserves. I also have a few Drink recipes with a particular focus on home-made Gin. These are the kind of goodies that you might get a great local independent cafe or coffee shop – perhaps minus the gin!

All of these dishes are aimed at those who either have basic cooking skills or, like me, just don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen but want to produce something tasty and delicious.

Cheese Biscuits

Home-made Cheese Biscuits with Chilli

These Cheese Biscuits with Chilli are a heated-up version of a basic cheese biscuit recipe. They are fantastic as a snack with drinks as they are deliciously cheesy and pack a big load of chilli heat. I think they go particularly well with a beer!

I have been making the basic biscuits for years and if you are not a lover of spicy food, you can leave out the chilli. If you are serving them with wine, the non-spicy version might be better. Or you could do a batch and put chilli in one half.

I have a taste for savoury, salty snacks, which I try to moderate generally and indulge occasionally. One of the good things about making your own snacks is that you are in control of the salt levels. Adding strong flavour elements, such as chilli, also helps with this as it means that the snacks have a powerful hit of flavour without being overly salty.

Whether you are looking for a plate of snacks ready for a box-set binge evening or for a drinks party, these Cheese Biscuits with Chilli are fantastic. They will keep in a sealed tin for several days once baked. Even better, you can keep the dough in the refridgerator for a week and slice and cook the biscuits when you want to eat them. You can also freeze the dough for several months. I always prepare a large batch of cheese biscuit dough in the run-up to Christmas and refridgerate or freeze which means that I can have freshly baked home-made biscuits within minutes.

If you are in a snacking mood, you might also like to try my recipes for Spiced Nuts and Marinated Feta. Both are really easy and are great at a party or if you are just watching television with a cold beer!

Cheese Biscuits

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Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 10
Total Time: 20 plus 60 minutes rest time
Yield: Around 30 biscuits 1x
Category: Biscuits
Method: Baking
Cuisine: English

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Description

Whether you make these Cheese Biscuits with or without chilli, they are a fantastic snack with drinks or for a box-set binge. The dough can be kept in the fridge or freezer and baked whenever you feel like fresh home-made biscuits.

Ingredients

Scale

100 g butter (at room temperature)
100 g strong cheese (eg Cheddar)
100 g plain flour
1 teaspoon chilli flakes

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Instructions

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until combined to form a dough.
Roll the dough into a sausage shape, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for an hour.
Set your oven to 180 degrees C or Gas Mark 4.
Remove the dough from the fridge and cut across to form disks approximately 1 cm thick.
Place the disks on a greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and place the biscuits on a baking rack to cool.

Notes

If you don’t like chilli, you can leave it out. The plain, cheese biscuits are delicious too!
The baked biscuits will keep for several days in an air-tight tin.
The dough can be kept in the fridge for a week. So that you can cut it into discs and bake for home-made biscuits within minutes.
The dough can also be frozen for several months.

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Marinated Feta

Spiced Nuts

Baked Eggs with Cheese

Lavender Cake

Easy Lavender Loaf Cake

Just the name, Lavender Cake, makes me think about an English summer garden. I love the calming floral fragrance of fresh lavender, which is held in both the flowers and the leaves. I also think it looks beautiful with green-grey leaves and deep blue, purple or white flowers.

If you grow lavender in your garden, this is a cake to make in high summer, late June through to August when it is at its best. Make sure that it hasn’t been treated with any pesticides or other chemicals before you use it in your cooking! If you don’t grow your own lavender, you can use culinary lavender which is available from some supermarkets and also online.

Like many of the cakes that I make, this Lavender Cake is a variation on a simple loaf cake recipe. Lavender and lemon has become a popular flavour combination in cakes and desserts. For this recipe, I combined lavender with orange, which adds a similar zesty citrus flavour. It occurred to me when I had made this cake that lavender and orange are both included in the classic Herbes de Provence herb mix from the South of France which is used in savoury dishes.

So many lavender recipes….

I use lavender mainly in sweet recipes. I make Lavender Ice Cream, which is creamy and floral and fantastic at the end of a summer dinner party. If you want to give someone a summer treat, you could do worse than make them a lavender-themed Afternoon Tea with Lavender Shortbread Biscuits and Lavender Scones. I sometimes make a Honey Cream Tea, combining Cream and Honey with the Lavender Scones, which is a great twist on an English teatime tradition. If you have a lot of fresh lavender in your garden, you can capture the flavour by making Lavender Sugar which you can use as a baking ingredient.

….and so many cake recipes!

If you like this cake, you may like some of the other loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Rosemary Cake, Thyme Cake, Earl Grey and Orange Cake,Lemon Drizzle, Blood Orange, Lime and Coconut, Rum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

Lavender Cake

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Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 45
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
Category: Cake
Method: Baking
Cuisine: English

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Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

4 tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon of fresh or half a tablespoon of dried culinary lavender
125 g butter
175 g Lavender Sugar (use caster sugar if you do not have Lavender Sugar)
2 eggs
175 g self-raising flour
Zest of 1 orange

For the icing:

Juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon of fresh or half a tablespoon of dried culinary lavender
100 g icing sugar

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Instructions

Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
Put the milk into a small bowl and add the fresh or dried culinary lavender. Heat to scalding point and then set aside to cool. Heating the milk allows it to take on the flavour of the lavender.
Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
Cream the butter with the Lavender Sugar or caster sugar. (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
Add the lavender-infused milk and the grated zest of your orange.
Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
While the cake is baking, squeeze the juice from your orange into a small bowl and add the fresh or dried culinary lavender. Heat to scalding point and then set aside to cool. Heating the juice allows it to take on the flavour of the lavender.
When your cake is done. Remove it from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
When the cake is completely cool. Combine the lavender-infused orange juice with the icing sugar and then pour over the cake.

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Spiced Nuts

Easy Spiced Nuts with Chilli

These easy Spiced Nuts are roasted in the oven with cumin, turmeric, brown sugar, soy sauce and lots of chilli. This recipe is based on one for Spiced Nuts in Sarah Raven’s brilliant Complete Christmas. However, I’ve changed the spices a bit, upped the chilli and substituted some of the other ingredients to make my recipe vegan.

I always need to have some kind of nibble when I have a glass of wine or other alcoholic drink. Sometimes, I go for crisps, sometimes olives or cheese biscuits, but my all-time favourite snack is nuts. This recipe for Spiced Nuts is fantastic because it combines a big hit of chilli, which I love, with the umami of the soy sauce, a hint of sweetness from the sugar and the based note of the spices. You can add extra salt when the nuts have been roasted but, in my view, this is not necessary due to the use of the soy sauce.

If you have only every eaten ready-roasted, salted nuts, I strongly encourage you to try roasting your own. It is so easy to do and means that the nuts are seriously crunchy and delicious. Also, like these Spiced Nuts, you can add the flavourings that you love and control the amount of salt.

I will serve these nuts with drinks. They are a good snack if you are out walking or after exercise. Also, they are pretty awesome if you are doing a sofa-based box-set binge. I also think that they make good edible gifts if you put them in a nice jar. I make a big batch coming up to Christmas for snacking and also to also a great snack to munch on when we are slumped in from of the TV.

What you need to know about this recipe

You can use any kind of nuts for this recipe or a combination of different kinds. I used walnuts, peanuts, cashews, pecans and macadamia nuts in this recipe. However, make sure that you use plain unsalted nuts.
If chilli is really not your thing, you can leave it out. However, it is quite mild and is good counterpoint to the sweet umami flavour of the nuts.
It is really important to allow the nuts to cool in an uncovered container. If you cover them while they are still warm, the trapped steam will make them soggy!
These nuts will keep for up to a month at room temperature in a sealed container.

Other easy snack recipes

I love savoury snacks. Whether I am box-set watching in front of the television or having a party, my evening is not complete without them. I will sometimes open a packet of crisps or a jar of olives. However, if I am thinking ahead, I will try and make some home-made nibbles.

Making your own snacks is often healthier and cheaper than buying ready-made snacks. They are also really delicious. I try and keep them fairly healthy, without compromising on taste. Therefore, I aim to keep them relatively low fat and with low salt levels compared to shop-bought snacks.

All my snack recipes can be made in advance and most of them will store for a few days. If you are a big fan of cheese, like me, you might like my crisp Cheese Biscuits or my Marinated Feta Cheese. My Moroccan-style Dukkah is a seed mix which can be eaten as a snack or sprinkled on hummus or salads. Most of my snack recipes are vegetarian. However, I have a few others such as my quick and easy Smoked Salmon pate recipe.

Recipe for easy Spiced Nuts with Chilli

Spiced Nuts

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Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 225 g nuts 1x
Category: Nuts
Method: Roasting
Cuisine: English

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Ingredients

Scale

225 g mixed nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, macadamia)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt (optional)

Spiced Nuts

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Instructions

Set your oven to 180 C or Gas Mark 4.
Put all ingredients, except the salt, in a large bowl and mix to combine.
Then pour the coated nuts onto a baking tray.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the nuts are starting to brown.
Remove from the oven and place the nuts in an uncovered bowl to cool. The soy sauce gives the nuts a salty taste. However, if you wish, you can add extra salt at this stage.

Spiced Nuts

Notes

The nuts will keep for several weeks in an air-tight container.

Spiced Nuts

Marinated Feta

Marinated Feta with Garlic, Chilli and Fresh Herbs

I love this Marinated Feta recipe. For me, it is the perfect example of how by adding a few flavouring elements – garlic, chilli and fresh herbs – you can transform simple feta cheese into a truly memorable dish. It is so easy to make and it keeps for up to a month in the refridgerator. This is food preparation that anyone can do. It does not require any level of culinary skill but allows you to be creative with flavours and produce something that is tailored to your individual taste. Marinated Feta is also really versatile and is great as a nibble with drinks or on bread as a light lunch. It is also excellent for picnics as it can be transported easily in its own jar.

A cultural mix-up….

Clearly, Marinated Feta is not a traditional English dish but, using herbs from my garden, it brings a bit of sunny Greece to cooler northern Europe. One of the wonderful things about modern English cooking is the way it is influenced by cuisines from other countries which are absorbed and adapted. I think that this is what cooking and developing recipes is all about. In a strange way, this dish is actually inspired by memories of my rural English childhood when, not so long ago, access to foods from other countries was not so common as it is now. When I was about ten, a wonderful Greek delicatessen opened in my local town, bringing olives, dolmades, taramasalata and wonderful Marinated Feta to greedy locals! I loved the garlicky, herby feta and, many years later, tried to recreate it in this recipe.

… and the perfect recipe for experimentation!

I have made this recipe using garlic, chilli and have chosen to use bay leaves, rosemary and thyme as my fresh herbs. However, you can change the flavour combinations according to what you have to hand and what you think tastes good. Don’t like chilli? Leave it out. Love garlic? Put more in! If you have other favourite herbs, why not try them instead?

Other easy snack recipes

All my snack recipes can be made in advance and most of them will store for a few days. If you are a big fan of cheese, like me, you might like my crisp Cheese Biscuits. If nuts are your thing, you should try my sweet and spicy Spiced Nuts. My Moroccan-style Dukkah is a seed mix which can be eaten as a snack or sprinkled on hummus or salads. Most of my snack recipes are vegetarian. However, I have a few others such as my quick and easy Smoked Salmon pate recipe.

Marinated Feta with Garlic, Chilli and Fresh Herbs

Marinated Feta

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Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 10
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1 500 ml jar 1x
Category: Cheese
Cuisine: English

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Description

Feta Cheese, marinated with garlic, chilli and fresh herbs, takes minutes to prepare and keeps for up to a month. It is fantastic as a nibble with drinks or spread on bread for a light lunch. It is also great for a picnic as it is easily transportable.

Herbs and garlic

Ingredients

Scale

150 g feta cheese
3 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
Fresh thyme (to provide 2 tablespoons of leaves)
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
300 ml good quality olive oil

Marinated Feta

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Instructions

Sterilise a 500 ml capacity jar by washing it in soapy water and then putting it in an oven at 120 C for 15 minutes.
Chop the feta into cubes of approximately 1 cm square and place them in the jar.
Tuck the rosemary sprigs and the bay leaves around the cheese. Strip the leaves off the thyme stems and add them to the jar.
Peel and slice the garlic cloves and add them to the jar.
If using, scatter the chilli flakes over the top of the cheese.
Fill the jar with the olive oil making sure that all the cheese is covered.
Put the lid on the jar and leave in the fridge for at least 24 hours, ideally several days, for the cheese to absorb the flavours of the garlic and herbs.
The marinated cheese will last for up to a month.
When you wish to eat the cheese, remove the jar from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. This will mean the oil is liquid and the flavours are fully developed.

Notes

Marinated feta is great on its own as a nibble with drinks. It can also be spread on bread as a light lunch. It is a good option for picnics as it can be easily transported in its jar.
Use this recipe as a basis and experiment with flavours that you like. If you don’t like chilli, leave it out. If you love garlic, put more in. You can alter the quantity and type of herbs used.

Thyme Cake

Thyme Cake – a brilliant twist on a plain loaf cake

This Thyme Cake is a basic lemon loaf cake to which is added the wonderful flavour of fresh thyme. As the name of my blog probably suggests, I love using herbs and spices in my cooking. They are a fantastic way of making your dishes unusual and memorable without having to use any particularly advanced culinary skills. You simply just add them into your dishes.

Fresh herbs are used widely in savoury dishes but I love to experiment with them in sweet dishes, such as cakes, biscuits and desserts. The recipe for this Thyme Cake was inspired by the success of another herb-infused cake, my Rosemary Cake.

I love thyme, it is one of my favourite herbs and I use it widely in savoury dishes such as Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme and Dauphinoise Potatoes. I have also already used it in sweet dishes such as Thyme Biscuits with Pinenuts and in Thyme Ice Cream with Honey and Mascarpone. It seemed a natural progression to try it in a cake.

This Thyme Cake, like my other loaf cake recipes, is very quick and easy. It is a basic lemon loaf cake, topped with drizzle, but the flavour is transformed by the addition of fresh thyme. The taste of lemon and thyme makes me think about Mediterranean holidays and sunshine!

If you like this cake, you may like some of the other loaf cake recipes that I cook regularly. They are so quick and easy to make and you can get really creative with the flavours! On other pages of this blog you can find recipes for Rosemary Cake, Earl Grey and Orange Cake,Lemon Drizzle, Blood Orange, Lime and Coconut, Rum and Banana and Ginger and Pear.

Thyme Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

Author: Tastebotanical
Prep Time: 15
Cook Time: 45
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
Category: Cake
Method: Baking
Cuisine: English

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Description

This easy loaf cake highlights the wonderful herby fragrance of fresh thyme.

Ingredients

Scale

125 g butter
75 g caster sugar
2 eggs
175 g self-raising flour
4 tablespoons of milk
1 lemon
Approximately ten sprigs of fresh thyme (each about 5 cm long) plus a few additional sprigs to decorate, if required.
100 g icing sugar

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Instructions

Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment or use a paper loaf tin liner.
Cream the butter with the sugar. (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
Add the milk and the grated zest of your lemon.
Remove the leaves from your sprigs of thyme and chop finely. Put half of the chopped leaves (about 2 teaspoons) into the cake mixture. The other half should be reserved for use in the drizzle.
Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
While the cake is baking, put the juice from your lemon in a small bowl and add the reserved half of the chopped thyme leaves. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute. The idea is to heat the juice so that the thyme releases its fragrance. (If you don’t have a microwave, you can heat the juice in a saucepan over a low heat on the stove.) Allow the juice containing the chopped thyme leaves to cool slightly. Then combine it with 100 g of icing sugar to form a thick syrup.
Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing. If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.
You can decorate the cake with a few further sprigs of thyme.

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Rosemary Cake

Thyme Biscuits with Pinenuts

Thyme Ice Cream with Honey and Mascarpone