I can safely say that today has been one of the nicest days EVER! I went to Shepherd's Bush for the photo shoot for the sundae book. Kate, Steve, Sunil and Aya have created just the most beautiful pictures and the book looks better than I could ever have imagined! I thought I would share with your these fun pictures from the day - the book has a very retro 1950's feel! We had great fun with the mannequin which ended up needing a little "padding" and a petticoat to make the skirt hang perfectly! Who would have thought a mannequin at a cook book shoot! But the end picture was stunning. Thanks Kate, Steve, Sunil and Aya for such a lovely day.

Props from the Sundae shoot - so nice that I could have taken them all home with me!

This is the cake I have made this evening - a buttermilk sponge with wild strawberry jam, all sugar pink with tiny birds and trailing ribbons. It is for a special 60th Birthday celebration for my friend Lucy's Mum. Somehow she is going to transport it all the way on the train tomorrow from Bedfordshire to Carlisle! I think that will be the furthest one of my cakes has ever travelled! Happy Birthday Lucy's Mum xxx I do hope she likes it! Off to London tomorrow for the photoshoot for the Sundae book. I can't believe that this book is almost finished now and am really looking forward to meeting Steve and Sunil who are transforming my recipes into pictures! Will post a few sneak preview pics on my return if I am allowed!!!

There are times when even though I should be cross with Peapod our kitten, she just makes my heart melt. Today she had pulled flowers out of the arrangement I did for a supper party last night. I should have been cross but she looked so cute playing with a tulip that I just forgave her instantly! She has also discovered that lying in front of the Aga is a good place to be as the stone floor is warm! Could she look any more at home I wonder?

I am sure after the afternoon tea extravaganza at Kathy Brown's garden in Stevington last year we both said "Never again!". After the RHS flower show, we said "Never again!" Somehow we have forgotten this and are busy planning a wonderful event for August - A Mad Hatters Tea Party - Kathy has even ordered some Mad Hatter hats from America! With "Eat Me" cakes and "Drink Me" lemonade - I am having a delightful time dreaming up our menu. Playing card biscuits with stained glass hearts and diamonds, popping candy cakes and possibly the little seeding cakes from yesterday - with their edible mud! So what would you serve for a Mad Hatters Tea Party? All suggestions gratefully received! Details of the event will appear here on Kathy's Website at some time soon I am sure - perhaps we will see one or two of you there!!

Today is Mike's 65th Birthday - Happy Birthday Mike! As regular readers of this blog will know, Mum and Mike are very keen on gardening and we get lots of lovely fresh produce from their enormous allotment. When it came to a cake for Mike's birthday, there was no choice but for it to be a gardening theme so I made these seeding cupcakes cakes served in their very own propagator tray (which doubled as part of his present!) With oreo cookie crumbs as mud (Hello Cupcake was the inspiration for this) and green butter icing piped into leaves and stems to make the seedlings, these cakes were just the ticket!

A Song Thrush in our garden!

I have spent the last few days over in Suffolk for work - the upside is getting to eat yummy food at the Bildeston Crown - these were two of the wonderful desserts we had - sage and apple doughnut, apple tatin and goats milk panna cotte - the other a 1970's inspired arctic roll and trifle! So yummy and the pictures really don't do them justice. Needless to say after a few minutes our plates were empty and scraped clean and we were asking for seconds. The Crown recently won Silver in the National Tourism Best Hotel in the UK awards - beaten only by Michael Caines's Gidleigh Park in Devon which has two stars - so we are really proud of our hotel - Well done Chris and Hayley for a much deserved award!

This weekend was our village school's May Fete. With Maypole Dancing and Morris Dancing it was a lovely country affair. Not quite as grand as the May Fair at Ickwell that we went to last year but there is something about a village fete to warm the cockles of your heart. There are only 62 children in our village school but I think this is a good thing - the older children and younger children mix so well together. We were treated to Tai Kwando demonstrations and rice crispy cakes for 5p. What a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

If you are ever near Kew Gardens in London, it is definitely worth taking afternoon tea at Newens Bakery. They have been making Maids of Honour tarts since the early 18th Century and entering their shop is like stepping back in time. Although they do serve other lovely cakes, the Maids of Honour Tarts are their specialty. If you haven't come across these tarts before, think bakewell tarts meets lemon tart and you would be just about there. Obviously Newens keep their recipe top secret (although Henry the 8th had the recipe and kept it under lock and key apparently) so this is my own interpretation - not completely true to the original (I don't think they use cream cheese!) but they melted in the mouth all the same!

Maids of Honour Tarts
Makes 18

70g/2 1/2 oz caster sugar
115g/4oz butter, softened plus extra for greasing
115g/4oz ground almonds
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
85g pannetone crumbs (I used a citrus pannetone and the peel gave the tarts a little extra zing but you can substitute breadcrumbs if you do not have pannetone available)
500g shortcrust pastry
flour for dusting
6 tbsp lemon curd
6 tbsp cream cheese
18 whole almonds
equipment: 2 muffin tins, 3 inch round flower cutter

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F and grease 18 cups of the muffin tins. Cream together the caster sugar and butter using a handwhisk until light and creamy. Add the ground almonds and whisk again. Place the eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and pannetone crumbs in the bowl and mix in well. Roll out the pastry on a floured worksurface to 1/2cm thickness and cut out 18 flower shapes with the cutter. Press each one gently into a hole on the muffin tray, pressing the flower edges neatly against the sides of the tin. Place a teaspoon of lemon curd and cream cheese in the bottom of each tart. Spoon the citrus almond filling into a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle and pipe the filling into each tart. Top each tart with an almond and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the pastry is cooked and the filling is golden brown. Leave to cool on a rack (although that said, we ate several each warm from the oven as we were impatient!)

Nutella is one of those things you either love or hate. Whenever we go on holiday to France my husband eats it for breakfast almost every day. He never does when we are in the UK so it must be a holiday thing. My friend Maren is very fond of it too! So these cupcakes are dedicated to them – true Nutella fans! I baked these in my new retro spotty cupcake cases – so cute that I had to use them instantly!

Nutella Lover's Cupcakes

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 15 – 20 minutes Makes 18 cakes

115g/4oz butter, softened

115g/4oz caster sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

85g/3oz self raising flour, sifted

30g/1oz cocoa, sifted

100g/3½oz hazelnuts, coarsly chopped

100g/3½oz plain chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp soured cream

For the icing

360g/12½oz icing sugar, sifted

125g/4½oz/heaped ½ cup/1 ¼ sticks butter, softened

115g/4oz plain chocolate, melted

2 tbsp Chocolate hazelnut paste (Nutella!)

2tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F and place 18 cake cases in two bun trays. Whisk together the butter and caster sugar in a large mixing bowl using a whisk or mixer until light and creamy. Add the eggs and whisk again. Fold in the flour and cocoa using a large metal spoon and then gently fold through two thirds of the hazelnuts, the chopped chocolate and the soured cream. Place a spoonful of cake mixture into each cake case and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the cakes are firm to touch. Leave to cool.

Place all the icing ingredients in a mixing bowl (you should retain a tablespoon of the melted chocolate for decoration) and whisk with a hand mixer or whisk for 4 – 5 minutes to form a creamy icing. Pipe onto the cooled cakes and sprinkle over the remaining hazelnuts. Using a fork drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the cakes and leave to set.

It is peacock mating season which means Wilfred the Peacock starts his early morning calling at about 5am and wakes us up! The only upside of this early morning wake up call is getting to see him displaying his beautiful tail for the peahen who I have to say doesn't seem at all interested in him! Perhaps like us she is just wanting a bit of peace and quiet!!!!

My lovely brother recently had his birthday. As he loves cooking almost as much as I do and as he is in New York with a limited supply of UK products - we sent him a gift hamper filled with all things English - Walnut whips, PG tips, Treacle and Golden Syrup, Love Hearts, Cadbury's finger biscuits, Tunnock's tea cakes, Baked Beans, Heinz Tomato Soup, Custard Powder, Garibaldi biscuits (yuk but my brother likes them!) and lots of other goodies! He looks a little overwhelmed in the picture but I know he liked it!

I love this time of year with wonderful fresh garden produce available, sweet broad beans and lovely herbs such as mint and rosemary coming into their own. New potatoes are in season too and it is such a treat to used these deliciously flavoured potatoes in salads or roasted whole in their skins seasoned with salt and pepper. On warm days, we sneak our first summer picnics, a rug underarm and a few baked goodies in our hamper, happily whiling away a few hours in the fields. Evening suppers in the garden are something to look forward to after work – why not try this light summer salad using the best of May's ingredients, served with succulent lamb in a rich sauce.

Rosemary Lamb Cutlets with Summer Mint and Bean Salad

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time 30 - 35 minutes

Serves 4
For the lamb
2 racks of lamb, French trimmed weighing 300g each
salt and pepper to season
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, peels and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
250ml Madeira wine
3 tbsp redcurrant jelly
100ml water
For the salad
600g/21oz new potatoes
200g/7oz feta cheese
4 spring onions, finely chopped
150g/5 ¼ oz mange toute
200g/7oz broad beans
200g/7oz fresh or frozen peas
2 tbsp olive oil
juice and grated zest of 1 large lemon
salt and pepper to season
15g/½oz fresh mint, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190C/375F and season the lamb with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in an oven proof stove top pan with the shallots, garlic and rosemary. Add the lamb and lightly brown for about 5 minutes, then add the Madeira. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 20 – 25 minutes. Whilst the lamb is cooking simmer the new potatoes in boiling water for 20 – 25 minutes until soft. Simmer the peas, beans and mange toute in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain both the potatoes and beans and blanch them in ice cold water. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice and zest with the fresh mint and season with salt and pepper. Toss the cold potatoes and green beans together in a bowl and spoon over the dressing. When the lamb is cooked, remove from the pan and leave to rest for a few minutes. Return the pan to the heat, add the redcurrant jelly and water to the juices in the pan and whisk over a gentle heat until the jelly has dissolved. Cut the lamb into individual cutlets and serve with the rich Madeira sauce and fresh bean salad.

What a lovely and relaxing break we had - sadly after a morning back at work the holiday to Port Logan feels like a distant memory! We stayed in a perfect cottage that I would recommend wholeheartedly to anyone wanting to visit this part of Scotland. The view from every window in the house was amazing and with hares running through the garden and surrounding fields, I don't think we could have picked a more perfect spot. A rugged coastline with empty beautiful beaches, wonderful birds and wildlife. Our trip to the smokery was a great success - we ate the best fish and chips ever - salmon fillets smoked and battered - delicious and left with bags of smoked kippers, goats cheese and chicken! Whilst we had lots of lovely food, I had trouble understanding what must be a local delicacy "cheesy chips" that were on offer everywhere we went - chips with grated cheese on - not something I was keen to try! Port Logan was every bit as lovely as it was on the TV programme and we enjoyed spotting all the film locations. We will definitely go back some time soon

By the time this post is published, I will be in the West of Scotland in Port Logan. A much needed holiday and rest is in order - although the laptop is coming so that I can spend just a little time editing the book! I just hope that it doesn't rain all week but the cherry blossom is mean to be out in Scotland now so I am sure it will look pretty even if it rains! The reason for Port Logan? It is where they filmed 2000 Acres of Skye - one of my favourite TV series and I am looking forward to taking a boat out past the light house like they did in the series. I am stopping at a Smokery on the way to Port Logan so smoked kippers, smoked salmon and trout will definitely be on the menu!

I often use Amazon for pre ordering things that I can't wait to get hold of - the Twilight DVD for example (I am a complete Twilight fan although am not sure this is something I should admit to!) I never imagined that my own book would be available to Pre Order SIX MONTHS in advance!!!! But there you have it - my little book - on Amazon in both the American and UK versions with release dates of 5th and 6th October! It made me smile to see it and I think for the first time I realised I had actually written a book - afterall - if Amazon calls me an author it must be true!

I love to make fresh pesto. If you have a pot of fresh basil growing on the window sill in your kitchen, a few nuts in the store cupboard and parmesan cheese in your fridge, then it is a very easy stand-by dish when you need to rustle something up for lunch. I had not been shopping at the weekend (too much ice cream testing got in the way) and my husband was looking disappointingly in the fridge that there was nothing for lunch. So as not to fail in my wifely duties, I rustled up this pesto, served with simple spaghetti - he said the dish transported him back to our holiday in Puglia a few years ago (which I take a compliment as the food in Puglia was so good) and all was forgiven for not having made it to the supermarket!

Pistachio and Truffle Pesto
2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp of pistachios
1 tsp truffle salt or a few drops of truffle oil (the more the better in my view but I like truffle)
1 clove garlic, peeled
3 tbsp olive oil
fresh ground pepper (and salt if you are using truffle oil rather than truffle salt)
3 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

Place the salt basil and pistachios in a large pestle and morter with the garlic clove and bash everything to a smooth paste, add the oil gradually together with the parmesan and pepper and grind together. This pesto is best used on the day it is made but will store in the fridge for a few days covered with a little olive oil.

Belated Happy Easter wishes to you all - I hope that you all had a good break. Over the weekend I finished testing all the recipes for the Sundae book and spent several days writing it up so that now the whole book is drafted, just a fair amount of editing needed but at least the end is very clearly in sight. It has been such a nice project to work on and I am really looking forward to the photoshoots in May as I know they will transform my recipes! Last Thursday my friend Susan and I decided to make hot cross buns using Susan's "prove in the fridge overnight" method. I have to say I was fairly skeptical that it would work (although she assured me it would) as I had always thought that bread needed to be in a warm place to rise. I was of course proved completely wrong! When we had made our dough, and this would work for any form of yeast bread I think, we left it to rise in the fridge overnight. The next morning, the dough was beaten down and kneaded and then shaped into buns and left to rise again and then baked. As you will see from the bowl of dough in the fridge the rising was fairly impressive even at such a cool temperature. The dough was light and had a rich taste - presumably from the rising taking place so slowly. So next time you are making bread, why not give this overnight method a try. It makes for a delicious fresh bread breakfast without having to get up super early to make and prove your dough!

I have made so many cakes this week - it almost feels like I am testing for a cook book again! Golden cupcakes for a golden wedding - a couple in our village were married 50 years ago in the village church and still live in the village, Easter Cupcakes for our village sewing circle More Easter cupcakes for a Danish chap who came over for a meeting yesterday at Birmingham airport (I always find meetings go better with cupcakes!) - these looked very stylish packaged in a proper cake box (I have plenty left from the RHS show) and a red ribbon, an Easter cake for the Mum of a friend of mine who is unwell - swushed up with clear cellophane and a ribbon that matched the cake it looks very pretty, and another lot of cupcakes for a meeting this morning! For the cakes this morning, I added lemon curd to the butter cream which went so well with the lemon drizzle cupcakes - so lemony and tangy. I will definitely be doing this again!