twiggstudios

I love Dutch speculaas cookies, They are a yummy spiced cookie, sometimes made with ground nuts, but not always. Perhaps it depends on the region.
I decided to change them up a little and use ground roasted hazelnuts. I love the toasty nutty flavour of brown butter so i used that too to enhance the nutty flavour, which was lovely with the hazelnuts and spices....

Grape, rosemary, honey and hazelnut galette, A recipe Suze from gourmet glow and i made in Puglia while we were there recently for a retreat.
It was so fun to cook in a beautiful Italian kitchen, with a large group of amazing women.
I showed the attendees how to make this flaky, buttery pastry, my favourite recipe from Danielle Alvarez that i learnt about when i was in Provence last October. It was a great pastry to make in the warm weather as i have found a way to press the butter...

A zesty vanilla Victoria sponge layer cake, with rose macerated strawberries and mascarpone cream.
I make variations of this cake all the time, swapping lime zest for lemon, and adding different fillings, here i have used strawberries, jam and curd. But it also works well if you use lemon zest in the sponge, omit the rosewater and use peach and raspberry...

Homemade Elderflower liqueur is a great way to use up the abundance of elderflowers that are just starting to bloom right now.
Every year i make syrups or cordials with them and but i really love to create liqueurs too.
I love the musky perfume from elderflowers, It fills the whole house with its intoxicating scent as you return home from picking them....