Many men I know complain that Valentine's day is just a commercial gimmick. Personally I think this is just an excuse for not having to bother buying anything!!!!! The sentiment of showing someone you love them is however a nice thing to do and I admire Valentine's day for that. So lovely blog readers - he is my home made Valentine for you all - a heart gingerbread cottage that I made at the weekend. I used this recipe for the gingerbread - click here - but added 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and the zest of an orange. You need to wait for the mixture to cool down before being able to roll it out (it doesn't say this in the recipe but if you try before it is coolish, the dough is way too sticky and you are tempted to add more flour which would make the gingerbread quite dry). To decorate I used 900g royal icing sugar whipped up with 150ml water and 1 tsp vanilla extra and then decorated it with lots of lovely pink sweets. I cut a little triangle in the back house panel at the base and inserted some fairy lights so that when you plug it in the windows light up. The peppermint glass was made with 10 glacier minuts crushed in a blender to a fine dust. Cut out window shapes in the gingerbread before baking and fill with peppermint dust which will become glass like during the baking. It is best to bake on silicon mats so that the glass doesn't stick!With the sheets of gingerbread only taking 12 minutes to cook, you still have time to bake one today! Have fun if you do!

We have a very nice postman in our village. He is super helpful (perhaps because if there are spare cakes or cookies on offer I give them to him) and always smiling! Yesterday he made me smile with an arrival of two unexpected parcels - both presents for me - hurrah! The first was this lovely pictures of ice cream sundaes that my super kind agent Heather Holden Brown had seen in a shop and "had to buy for me". It goes perfectly in our kitchen although I think it would look equally good in our sheperd's hut too - decision decision! It is totally kitsch and I just adore it! The other parcel was from lovely Bree who competed in Masterchef with me - she is such a brilliant cook and I know would have give me a run for my money if we had not met in the first round when unfortunately only one of us could stay. She had been on holiday to St Agnes and found these floral chocolates - so very me! I have to confess that the pink one disappeared not long after opening the parcel - rose geranium chocolate - it tasted superb. Thanks Bree and Heather (and Elly toox) for such lovely thoughtful gifts.

Tomorrow my brother arrives from New York. I haven't seen him in ages and I am so excited. As his flight was cancelled at Christmas due to the snow, this weekend it is Christmas again in our household. Roast turkey and all the trimmings and a gammon ham is simmering on the Aga ready for glazing this evening. Mum has redecorated the Christmas tree which they have kept in water since Christmas. I think we are just a little mad but Christmas is such a wonderful day, why not have it twice? I am contemplating putting on the Christmas carol CD but our cleaners are about to arrive and I think they might question my sanitity if when they open the door Hark the Herald Angles sing is tinkling from the lounge! Perhaps later!

For any fans of Masterchef, the wait for the next series is almost over and there are big changes afoot with a whole new format - auditions in front of John and Gregg and then 20 contestants are chosen to compete - I would not have stood a chance! If you can't wait for the show to start on 16th Feb (9pm BBC1), there is a preview trailer on you tube - click here to see - you will catch the tiniest glimpse me in it towards the very end with all the previous Masterchef finalists as we are involved in one of the tasks! I am sure you will spot quite a few faces you know in the above photo. I am not sure if I can say yet what we got up to but our episode airs on 24th February at 9pm BBC1 so only a few weeks to go now! You can't miss me in the photo as I am wearing bright pink!!!! Needless to say being in a room with the other finalists for the day was amazing if slightly surreal for everyone involved!

Well the cookie pan worked - although I am not sure this is the most exciting looking cake in the world, it was certainly a large cookie, don't you think? I resisted putting any decorations on (as it would have lost its cookie look) much to the disappointment of our nephews and nieces who are very fond of the odd sweet or two on a cake! The recipe on the box was in French and I just about managed to translate it. It seemed to have a HUGE amount of melted chocolate in (perhaps my translation was a bit wrong) and the result was rather similar in taste to a chocolate fondant pudding (yum yum)

Earlier this week I was invited to Kathy Browns for a tea party. Regular readers of this blog will know how fond I am of Kathy and her passion for cooking with edible flowers. Needless to say when I arrived, the table was set with many yummy things to eat - after the day I had had at work it was like stepping into a really nice dream! Delicious hazelnut, goat's cheese and fennel pate, chorizo bread, two different types of jelly - blueberry and violet and orange jellies served in orange skins like we used to have when we were children and ginger cake. I took a gluten free plum and blueberry cake and it got the seal of approval (which is a good thing as it is going to be on the cover of my gf book!) My favourite of all was of course the violet jellies - they looked so pretty in the elegant glasses topped with violet flowers and fresh blueberries. Kathy had just used a blackcurrent jelly and had flavoured it with violet syrup - so simple but utterly delicious and I had forgotten how nice it is to eat jelly! Served alongside was fresh cream flavoured with violet liqueur. Heaven! Thank you again Kathy xxx Kathy has been making honey marmelade with her own honey and has a lovely post about it on her blog if you want to drop by and have a look http://www.kathybrowngarden.blogspot.com/

I am sure that shop owners sometimes have things on their shelves that they imagine noone will ever buy. I am sure that was the case with the biscuit pans I bought at the weekend. To be fair the box was in the sale at a bargain price of £8.65 and I just had a feeling that it would be useful one day. So here are my new giant sandwich cookie pans - aren't they cool! I love the instructions on the side that 1 cookie + 1 cookie = a sandwich cookie (sadly they missed the filling out of the equation - I did A Level maths you know and am quite good at equations!) Anyway needless to say I am itching for a reason to christen the pans - it is our nephews birthday at the weekend so he may get a large cookie as a treat!

If you love sweet things and are going to buy yourself one cook book this year (other than mine!) then it has to be Laduree Sucre - oh my word - if it is possible to be in love with a book, then I am head over heals! It is packaged up in a Laduree macaroon box, nestled in tissue paper, with a velvet cover and gilt edged pages. It is so beautiful to look at, even without opening the pages! Inside are all Laduree secret recipes for perfect patisserie - macaroons, tarts, cakes. This is definitely a book to drool over. Whilst it has a steep price tag - £28 - it is definitely worth it as a special treat!

With the mini cake book photoshoot at the fore front of my mind, I was extra delighted when the postman delivered these divine mini cakes which Maren had kindly send to me from Germany - the flavours were delicious - with exotic combinations such as fig and almond, thyme and raisin, and chocolate and berries. I took them down for a meeting with my lovely editor Julia on Monday and we munched out way through the box (with a little help from Megan and Steve too). The slogan is something along the lines of "Happiness should be small, but please 9 times" I can certify that they definitely lived up to their claim on the happiness front - we thought they were delicious and how amazing that they posted so well all the way from Germany with not a crumb out of place when they arrived. Thanks Maren xxx

It is hard to put into words the thrill when an envelope drops through the letterbox and I know it contains my first copy of my book. Although I have always seen the photographs before and proof read black and white pages, nothing quite prepares you for seeing the actual book. A few days go my Whoopie Pie book arrived - and to say I am pleased with it is a HUGE understatement. Steve and Maxine have done such a lovely job and all the pies are completely OTT and very me - lots of glitter and colours. So I can finally share with you a few of my favourite pages. The one I am proudest of is the rainbow tower as I made these pies and carried them on a 3 1/2 hour journing to Hastings for the photoshoot - it is suprising that they still look nice after such a long journey including two changes of trains! The other pictures are pumpkin pies, perfect for Halloween; Oyster pies (not fish flavoured I hasten to add) on their own little beach and Vanilla Dream pies complete with jammy spoon (the photo just makes me want to pick the spoon up and lick it). I hope that you like my little book - out quite soon - hurrah!

For weeks now I have been wrestling with what has become my nemesis - gluten-free puff pastry. It was the last recipe for the book that was still outstanding and my lovely publishers gave me a bit more time to try and make it work. All attempts were seeming fruitless - more "brick like" than delicate leaves of pastry. I have to admit that I was close to the stage of throwing my hands in the air and declaring it a culinary impossibility but one evening earlier this week a miracle occurred and with a few tweeks to the recipe suddenly we had puff lift off. I tried it again twice just to check it wasn't a fluke and low and behold the recipe worked again and again. It was one of those Eliza Doolittle "By Jove I think she's got it" moments - think sitting on the kitchen floor and weeping tears of baking joy! So here is my gluten-free puff - just some snap shots and not the proper photos for the book I hasten to add - but look - you can actually see the layers and the bonus is the recipe is really easy and much easier than normal puff! So my book is now finished - the photo shoots are underway and the pictures so far are lovely. The book is going to be called "The Gluten-Free Baker" and will be out later this year. Can't wait!

These are some of the lovely hand knitted presents I had from Lucy for Christmas and my birthday - a delicious strawberry teacosy and some very very cute Christmas decorations. Isn't she clever! I am seriously impressed as my knitting skills never get me beyond the straight rows of a scalf! I think a tea party is called for to show off my new tea cosy!

Lying in bed with flu was not quite the start to 2011 I had in mind - my birthday and New Years Eve passed me by in a swathe of sneezes and coughs - very sad but luckily I am on the mend now - I think I will have to take a leaf out of the Queen's book and celebrate a second birthday later this year. I think my cooking genes must have left me to as I have not cooked a single thing since 23rd December - that is two weeks with no cooking and surely a record for me. Anyway - to nicer things and Christmas presents - a few of which deserve a special mention. My friend Lucy decided that we would all make home made presents this year - this seemed like a great idea in October which she suggested it but not so great the week before Christmas when I had to try and pursuade Sacha to make his presents. In the end he made jars of home made Garam Masala and we attached his curry recipe to each with a ribbon - they looked great and were well received. For our homemade gift from Lucy's partner David we received a most special present - a piece of music which he had composed for us - a Christmas lullaby for harp, which I will enjoy learning to play. David used to be the organist at York Minster so is super talented and the piece is beautiful. Lucy had been clicking her knitting needles very rapidly and made some lovely socks and Christmas tree decorations and for my birthday - a beautiful strawberry teacosy for my collection. Thank you so much Lucy and David so such very thoughtful presents xxx

Happy Christmas One and All. I hope that you are all having a very festive day with friends, family and loved ones. The snow has caused a few problems for us over the last few weeks in the UK - Sadly my brother should be here with us today with his wife Amy and they are stuck in New York as their flight was cancelled due to the snow - we miss them very very much. Secondly we have had no internet for nearly two weeks - naughty snow. It is such a relief to be at my Mums and online again! Anyway, despite my brother not being here we have had a lovely morning - lots of chocolate and our traditional bacon sandwiches and bucks fizz. I must have been good this year as Santa bought me lots of lovely presents. I have just given my Mum her Christmas present - a 12 days of Christmas sampler although I have given her so many samplers already that there very little wall space left in her house! I must remember this next year! This is a long thin one which I stitched in 3 weeks (a record stitching session as I had very little time with all the gluten free baking - I have never ever stitched so much so fast!) I think I may have to stitch one for myself next! Hope you all have a very special day and stay warm xxxx

Some people collect shoes, my weakness is Christmas tree decorations - not quite sure that I have my priorities right! Having bought our decoration boxes down from the loft, I realise that I have enough to decorate at least three large trees. Sadly I am restricted to one so it is always difficult to pick my favourites. I know I really shouldn't buy any more but each decoration was bought somewhere special and reminds me of a holiday or a friend. Here are a few of my favourites - from Suffolk and Hamburg in case you want to know where they came from - see I honestly do remember each one! Tomorrow I am off to the Christmas Market in Hamburg (mulled wine and chestnuts here I come). Maren if you are reading this - please don't let me buy any more decorations!

I love the run up to Christmas - no more so than opening an advert calender every morning in December. This year as a treat for surviving the Good Food Shows I bought myself a gnome advert calender. I have filled it up with presents for Sacha to open every day (not quite sure that this was what I had in mind when I bought it - I think I was hoping it would be filled up for me - hey ho!) He is just so cute and festive with little parcels in each pocket - I think I will miss him when it is time to pack the decorations away! Did I ever mention that my brother used to work as an elf in lapland? That's another story!

Oh blog.... it has been a while! With all the ice and snow, hibernation has been the only option. It has been so cold that we have not one but two patchwork quilts on our bed and the electric blanket is cranked up to max. Brrrrrrrr - I hope you are not feeling as chilly as we are - the frosty picture was taken just now in the garden - this is how cold it is here!! Last week we had a much needed short holiday to Bath - lovely Christmas markets and yummy food (although I failed to pursuade Sacha that going to the roof top spa would be enjoyable - I guess as it is open air and it was snowing he probably had a point). I have just four gluten free recipes left to do (what a relief it will be when it is finished) and this weekend was our niece Serena's birthday. Every year she only has one request - a strawberry cake, even though strawberries are not in season in December! Far be it for me to deny a request - so yesterday I made a victoria sponge with wild strawberry jam and strawberry tartlets filled with creme patissiere and brushed with a peach and lemon glaze. All very simple but served on a cake stand together they looked quite pretty. It seemed slightly strange to be serving these alongside more seasonal mince pies but everyone enjoyed them all the same!

Yesterday I gave four demonstration/masterclasses at the Good Food Show in Birmingham - my last set of demos before Christmas - can you hear my whooping with joy that they are all done! Finally I can start to think about Christmas! The show was really good fun - I was on the British stage in between Rachael Allen and Gary Rhodes so felt very priviledged, demonstrating whoopie pies (the recipe for my pear and walnut whoopies is below if any of you want to have a try yourselves) and also demonstrated some christmas recipes and held two cook along masterclasses making pear galettes with calvados custard (which I am pleased to report didn't go lumpy!) Tim Kinnaird - who was a finalist on this years Masterchef - had a stand selling his delicious macarons - we ate far too many of these as they are seriously addictive and yesterday evening before leaving I took part in James Nathan (MC Winner 2008)'s scallop masterclass - I have never shucked a scallop before so it was good to learn a new skill - and the fried brioche bread (with a quails egg dropped into a hole in the bread and fried) was delicious, if a little naughty! All in all a really memorable day (highlight being that I managed to "acquire" a Masterchef mug!)

Toffee, Pear and Walnut Whoopie Pies
Makes 12 pies
Preparation time 30 minutes, cooking time 15 - 20 minutes

For the pies
125g butter or vegetable shortening, softened
200g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp maple syrup
320g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
250ml soured cream
1 ripe pear

For the toffee glaze
30g brown sugar
50ml maple syrup
1 tbsp butter

For the walnut cream
75g walnuts
100g caster sugar
300ml double cream

Equipment: Mixer or whisk, 2 Whoopie Pie pans greased with butter or two large baking trays greased and lined with silicon mats or greaseproof paper, piping bag with large round nozzle (optional)

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/350F/180C. For the pies, cream together the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl for 2 – 3 minutes until light and creamy using an electric or hand whisk. Add the egg and maple syrup and mix again. Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the bowl together with the salt and soured cream. Whisk again until everything is incorporated. The mixture will be quite stiff and if you are mixing by hand you will need a strong arm. Add 100ml of hot, but not boiling water, and whisk into the mixture. If using Whoopie Pie pans, place a large spoonful of batter into each hole in the tin. If using a piping bag, spoon the batter into the bag fitted with a large round nozzle and pipe 12 rounds on each tray (about 6cm in diameter) leaving a gap between each pie as they will spread during cooking. Thinly slice the pear, removing the core and place two slices on top of 12 of the whoopie pie halves. Bake each tray for 10 – 12 minutes in the oven, turning the trays round half way through cooking to ensure even baking until the pies spring back when pressed lightly with your finger. When cooked, remove the pies from the oven, cool slightly then turn out to cool on a cooling rack.
Heat the ingredients for the toffee glaze in a saucepan over a gentle heat until the sugar has melted and then drizzle over the warm pear topped pies. This is best done on a cooling rack with foil or greaseproof paper underneath to catch any drips.
To prepare the walnut cream filling, sprinkle the walnut halves on a silicon mat or sheet of baking parchment. Heat the caster sugar in a pan over a gentle heat until it melts and goes a light golden colour. Do not stir the sugar whilst it is melting but watch very closely as it will burn easily if you are not careful. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan to ensure even colouring. When the sugar has all melted, quickly use a spoon to drizzle the caramel over the walnuts, cool, then blitz to a fine dust in a food processor. Whip the cream to stiff peaks and fold through the walnut powder. Spoon the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large round and pipe circles of cream onto the bottom pie halves. Top with the toffee pear pie halves. As these pies contain fresh cream, they should be served immediately or stored in the fridge.

I wish to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of my poor hens. Our philandering rooster has packed his bags and moved next door. My poor hens just seem so sad. The reason behind the move is that my neighbour Pam has just got some new hens so the naughty rooster obviously decided he wanted a change of scene. Honestly! I am so cross with him. How could he leave my poor lovely girls (not to mention my home cooked porridge!!!) I imagine that he might come home in a few days or weeks - I have to say I hope so as I miss his quirky crow waking me up every morning.

Having done 8 cookery demos in the last 7 days, I am understandably feeling a little frazzled and am so glad it is Friday! Just Birmingham NEC next Wednesday (do come say Hi if you are at the Good Food Show) and then I will be able to relax! The third part of my gluten free book has had to take a back seat for the last week or so but baking resumed again before work this morning. I am now feeling all festive as there is a yummy warm spiced stollen loaf cooling in the kitchen. It gave me the perfect excuse to use the present my Mum gave me earlier in the week - a stollen pan - did you even know such things existed? I didn't! You fill the pan with dough and then invert it onto a baking sheet so that as the dough rises and bakes, the pan rises on top of the loaf giving the stolen its traditional shape. I wasn't expecting it to work too well with the gluten free dough (as it is very sticky and unkneadable) so imagine my delight when I took it out of the oven and it looked like a proper loaf. Thanks Mum for the lovely present and hurrah for being back on track with the book - only 17 more recipes to go - the end is in sight!

If you need a gift for a foodie who has everything, you may want to look at the delightful pinnies at http://www.poshpinnies.com/ - completely lovely with velvet bows on a variety of thick cotton prints. I bought the grey stripy one below with bright pink velvet trim at Olympia and love it (although within 30 minutes of the purchase I had managed to cover it in chocolate ganache during one of my demos - luckily it has washed out well). They have kids and mens aprons too!

Well I am just back from Masterchef Goes Live at Olympia. It has been the most exhausting but amazing two days! So lovely to see all the Masterchef peeps (especially Tim, Alex and Dhruv from this years series, John and Gregg and of course the lovely Andi Peters - pictured below with Alex, Andy and Chris eating one of my cupcakes from my cake decorating demonstration) and a big thank you to all from Haymarket and Shine for looking after us all so well. My "Talent" badge got us access to the VIP lounge which made us feel very special! My Mum and Aunt entered the pairs Live Invention Test cook off and beat 15 other pairs to take first prize. I was so proud of them and John and Gregg had nothing but praise for their trio of desserts. All in all a wonderful weekend and roll on the Good Food Show at Birmingham next week. I am there on the Wednesday so do pop and say Hi if you are there! (With many thanks to http://www.meemalee.com/ and @mastercheflive (twitter) for the borrowed pics as I didn't have a chance to take any)

My latest Hannah's kitchen article is out today - cute little gingerbread birdhouses to decorate your tree with. I am feeling all Christmassy already - only a few weeks until I can get the decorations down from the loft and plan buying our tree. I know it is only early November but you can't blame a girl who loves Christmas for getting a little excited (although of course I haven't even started to think about Christmas shopping yet - that will have to wait until my book is finished!)

Country and Town House - December 2010
I love Christmas with a passion and enjoy every minute of the run up to the big day, shopping for presents, wrapping, decorating the house, carol singing and enjoying warming mugs of mulled wine. Most of all I love all the Christmas baking - mince pies, stollen, indulgent champagne truffles and Christmas cake. There is no other time of the year when so much culinary indulgence can be justified and the scent of cinnamon and spices in the kitchen warms the heart. To get us in the Christmas spirit as early as possible, we always put up our Christmas tree on the first weekend of December. It is the perfect excuse to get baking and these spiced gingerbread cookies make delightful decorations with snowy icicles and a sprinkle of edible glitter. If you do not have a birdhouse cutter, make a template from cardboard, then cut out the cook dough using a sharp knife. I am sure these pretty cookies will delight any children you have visiting this Christmas, particularly if you make them together – I don’t know a single child who doesn’t love icing cookies!

Christmas Tree Birdhouse Cookies
Preparation time 30 minutes Cooking time 12 - 15 minutes
Makes 8 cookies
115g/4oz butter, softened plus extra for greasing
55g/2oz dark brown sugar
1 tbsp treacle
200g/7oz plain flour, sifted plus extra for dusting
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
300g royal icing sugar
Approx 50ml water
silver balls and edible glitter to decorate
white ribbon for hanging

Whisk together the butter, brown sugar and treacle. Mix in the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon to form a soft dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for an hour. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F and grease and line two baking trays. Roll out the dough to 1/2 cm thickness on a floured surface and cut out 8 birdhouse shapes using a birdhouse cutter or cardboard template. Using a 1 inch round cutter, cut out a hole in the centre of each birdhouse. Carefully transfer to the baking trays using a spatula. Bake for about 12 – 15 minutes until the cookies are firm. Allow the cookies to cool completely. Cut 30cm lengths of ribbon and tie into a loop. Poke one end of the loop through the hole in the centre of the cookie and secure by passing the other end of the loop through the first loop ensuring that the ribbons lie flat. Mix the royal icing sugar with the water and whisk for about 2 - 3 minute until the icing is stiff. Put the icing in a piping bag fitted with a small star nozzle and pipe icing along the top of the roof of the bird house so that it looks like icicles. Pipe a ring of icing stars around the hole of each bird house and allow the icing to set before hanging on your tree.

These are my latest take on fairy cakes. Dainty cupcakes topped with whipped buttercream and decorated with edible paper wings. Simply cut out a pair of wings from two sheets rice paper and pipe thin icing lines around the edge in wing shapes to decorate. Top with a few sugar stars and hearts and lots of edible glitter and, once the icing has set and you are ready to serve (if the wings are left too long on the buttercream they will start to soften so it is best to assemble just before serving), press the wings gently into the buttercream. All very simple to prepare but effective looking and I have no doubt that these would delight any fairy princesses!

It is a while since I found any time to write on my blog. I have been very upagainst it with deadlines for the last few weeks. The good news is that "Mini Cakes and other sweet treats" has been submitted and I have almost finished 2/3rd of the gluten free baking book. I look forward to the day when it is finished and I can relax a little like peapod in this picture. Have you ever seen a more contented cat - lying upside down legs in the air and fast asleep. I now have to prepare for a cookery demonstration on Thursday and then the Good Food Show on Saturday and Sunday - trying not to get nervous.... I am going to be demonstrating pastry and cake decorating and also whoopie pies - hope I can remember how to make whoopie pies - it has been a while! Do come and say hello if you are at the show!

This chocolate sandcastle, spade and bucket were from a lovely chocolate shop in Little Walsingham in Norfolk which we visited on Saturday. If you are ever in the area I definitely recommend a visit as the chocolate was really yummy! I love the fact that the chocolate flag is even blowing in the breeze