How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These are those thick, spongy American pancakes that are often eaten with warm maple syrup and crisp fried bacon. I love them with the syrup alone, but if you do want bacon, I think streaky is best. You can easily cook these pancakes by dolloping the batter onto a hot griddle (smooth, not ridged, side) or heavy based pan.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

There is no reason on earth why this, adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, has to be a birthday cake, but since the first two times I made it were for my sister-in-law

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is so temple-achingly sweet that one small marked-out diamond, or maybe two, is enough. But even so, I love its perfumed sugariness — as much as I love the tender, rose-shot green of its equally fragrant nubbly interior.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I know this sounds like a mad idea, but I came across this in a ringbound book I bought off the internet in the middle of the night called The Joy of Muffins. Joy indeed, for what do you know, these taste so good: gooey, crunchy, soft and filling; sticky buns for the slapdash cook.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is really a free-form pizza-like tart, which I made for the first time while we were doing the photography for How To Be A Domestic Goddess. We happened to have some polenta pastry left over and some spare blackberries in the fridge and I, suddenly rebelling against the planning and rule-following necessary to get all the food photographed, played around. This was the result. And really, you could use any fruit. I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

It’s not hard to make biscuits that hold their shape well while cooking; it’s not hard to make biscuits that taste good and have a melting, buttery texture: what’s hard is to find a biscuit that does all of these things together. This one does it all, and with ease. Like all doughs, it freezes well, so it makes sense — in a smug, domestic kind of a way — to wrap half of this in clingfilm and stash it in the deep freeze until next needed. It’s hard to specify exactly how much icing you’ll need, but you might end up using more than specified below if you’re using a lot of different colours. As my children grew up, I always cut out the newly acquired age of each child on his or her birthday. My children couldn’t have contemplated a birthday party without them, and nor could I. Since then, I have found them deliciously invaluable to say and celebrate anything I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Syllabub is one of those ethereal, dreamy confections which seem at odds with the description

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

The cheese blintz is a wonderful thing: a pancake cooked on one side only, filled with a mixture of curd cheese, lemon zest, vanilla and egg yolk, folded into a parcel and then fried in butter before being splodged with some cold sour cream and perhaps some sharp fruit sauce. This is the traditional way, as eaten by generations of central Europeans. My version is not so different. I’ve added some cream cheese to the curd, to make for a less grainy filling, and I’ve baked the pancakes rather than fry them. I could pretend this is to make the pudding more compatible with modern eating habits but it would scarcely be the truth. The reason is that it is a lot simpler. I love these with the sour cream alone, but the blueberry sauce takes this pudding to another realm and, what’s more, it’s a doddle to make. If you’re using frozen blueberries, by the way, don’t thaw them before cooking them.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is the picnic food of fondest imagination, although I’m not much of a picnic-person, so to ensure they get the number of outings they deserve and I need, I’ve always made them for more conventional indoor eating! I love them as much cold as warm, which is why I’ve suggested you make eight. The trick, if trick it be, is to use spring onions, which have all the flavour but none of the BO-ey breath of the usual onion, as in cheese & onion, component. It also cuts down on cooking time. I use Yorkshire pudding tins, with their wide, shallow indentations, for these, but if you wanted to use individual flan tins, of course you could. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I have a nostalgic fondness for this yellow slab punctuated by waxy halves of scarlet cherries — the cake we called station cake at home — but this is best with those dark and glossy natural-coloured glace cherries.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

In the past, I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I use a sour cherry preserve (or conserve) for this, but if you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I don’t need to tell you how beautiful this is: you can see. It’s extravagant, certainly, but it’s meant to be. And it feels like a treat, breaking through that gilt-tortoiseshell crust to the voluptuous depths of egg-nog-scented cream beneath. The tip of freezing the bowl before pouring in the smooth cream-custard I culled from Simon Hopkinson, for which and for whom I am always grateful.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These beauties also make a very good alternative to mince pies. I buy the icing ready made and dyed (which is why it isn’t a very convincing colour for holly, let’s be frank) and use cranberries as the holly berries. The cake underneath is somewhere between chocolate and gingerbread. If you’re thinking of taking anything to friends’ houses, may I suggest these? And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is just a more poetic and old-fashioned name for honeycomb – ‘cinder’ presumably referring to the splintered texture made by the whoosh of air introduced by the bicarb.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These are a very English kind of macaroon, the sort you always used to see displayed in bakers

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is a wonderful pie for those of you who don

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

At about the time I started getting into top cupcake mode, ostensibly for children, I noticed that the people who really seemed to get excited by them were the children

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I came across Beatrice Ojakangas’ joyfully easy way of making Danish pastry in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking with Julia. I’ve adapted it to fit my practice and prejudices, but her idea of mixing everything in the food processor is liberating. It’s good to know, indeed crucial, that this still produces an authentic Danish pastry. Beatrice Ojakangas helpfully writes, “Don’t think you’re cheating by taking the fast track – this is the way it’s done these days all over Denmark.” And I’m particularly pleased to have a Cheese Danish, as they are my favourite, and I don’t see them in bakeries, so have to make my own! By the way, when I say cheese, don’t think of it in a savoury way but, rather, as in cheesecake.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I don’t want to nominate favourites, but even so, I have to say this is a pie I am ecstatic about – perhaps because it’s so far removed from what I’ve spent my life cooking. The notion of putting Cheddar in the pastry of an apple pie is not a new one but I was pleased all the same to see how well it worked. I’ve used a Springform tin (learning a lesson from the pizza rustica), which makes this a good, hefty, sliceable pie. The double-apple element – Coxes to hold their shape, Bramleys to make for an appley-velvet background – does entail quite a bit of work, but it isn’t difficult work, just moderately time-consuming. Anyone who’s hanging about the house claiming to want to help should be handed a vegetable peeler and an apple corer without delay.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Yes, these are cute; yes, they are kitsch, but I love them all the same. I used to make them with my children when they were little. For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

You just will not get the marzipan to ooze into the cake batter if it starts off fridge-cold. In dire straits, I have cubed it and given it a quick whirl in the microwave. And if you wanted to replace the vanilla extract with the zest of an orange, I wouldn

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This recipe (which started off as Boxing Day Pie) comes from Beryl Scoffield, the mother of one of my oldest friends, and a woman with a reputation for her pies. It’s wonderfully old-fashioned and comforting. It is undeniably good over the holidays when you easily use chopped slices of your Christmas ham, but I have since come to the conclusion that it’s at its best in the summer months, when a slice of cold pie is a deeply appealing proposition (and very much worth bearing in mind for picnics). But having said that, I love it all year round. And I must tell you that it makes for a pretty unsurpassed breakfast! I leave the pie unglazed, which gives it a plain, pale crust, but if you wish it to have a more burnished, golden appearance, keep a little of the beaten eggs back (a tablespoon should do) and mix with a little full fat milk then gently brush this glaze over the top of the pie before it goes in the oven.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I’ve been making this gingerbread since the turn of the century — it was one of my go-to recipes for the countless bake sales at my children’s schools when they were little — and my love for it never fades. The lemon icing is hardly conventional, but its bright sourness is a wonderful foil for the deep, dark spiciness of the cake. This is the gingerbread (minus said icing) I advise you to use for the Advocaat and Ginger Cake should you not want to go the shop-bought route, and when I use it in this capacity, I tend to use the 2 teaspoons of ground ginger rather than the teaspoon of freshly grated ginger-root, though you could certainly use either — or both, indeed. And while I cut it into slabs when serving it iced, if you’re using it to layer up in the cake, make 3 cuts down with the gingerbread in landscape, as it were, so that you have 4 equal sized little loaves, and then cut each loaf into 12 slices. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I should come clean about my interest in the traditions of the Epiphany: it also happens to be my birthday, and I am more than ready to follow French tradition by eating this. The galette itself is simple: puff pastry covering a disc of damp frangipane, hidden within which is a china bean or charm; the person who gets this charm becomes king for the day and is crowned with the gold-paper crown which comes automatically with the cake as sold in French pâtisseries. Obviously you could make your own puff pastry but I generally use shop-bought puff pastry, though you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I came across this Brittany butter cake in the wonderful Anne Willan’s Real Food, and as she says, it’s really a cross between shortbread and pound cake. It’s hard to decide whether it’s cake or pastry. I love a stubby slice of this any time, but it does make a perfect pudding with ice cream and berries served alongside. Use the best butter that you can find, for this is the platonic ideal of the plain cake at its simple best, and the taste of each of these few ingredients is crucial.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is so far from being the sort of jelly you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is for those days or evenings when you want to usher a little something out of the kitchen that makes you thrill at the sheer pleasure you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These are the best scones I’ve ever eaten, which is quite how it should be since they emanate from one of those old-fashioned cooks who starts a batch the minute the door-bell rings at teatime. Yes, I know they look as if they’ve got cellulite — it’s the cream of tartar, which is also why, despite their apparent solidity, they have that dreamy lightness. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is one of the best sort of recipes — a family hand-me-down. My paternal grandmother instructed me in the art of adding the final layer of sour cream, sugar and vanilla towards the end of the cooking time: and it

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

These may be mini pavlovas, but there

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Just the sight of this golden-yellow loaf with its long crack down the middle makes me feel satisfactorily nostalgic.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

If you're looking for a classic, failsafe scone recipe from one of the best baking cookbooks of all time, this recipe from Nigella Lawson is for you.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Follow Nigella Lawson's classic recipe for banana bread. It is super easy, making it ideal for any beginner bakers.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

An easy recipe for fudgy brownies fit for a celebration from Nigella Lawson's iconic How To Be A Domestic Goddess cookbook.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Try Nigella Lawson's easy trifle recipe with layers of fresh cherries, custard, and whipped cream drizzled with jam syrup.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This easy recipe for mini cupcakes with decorative icing by Nigella Lawson makes an adorable dessert to share.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This cheesecake recipe from Nigella Lawson's is unbeatable. It is light and creamy, with a divine sour cream topping.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Inspired by Scandinavian baking, this easy cinnamon bun recipe by Nigella Lawson is a comforting treat to enjoy on a cold day.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

An irresistible recipe for easy no-bake peanut butter squares from Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess cookbook.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Fluffy and filled with whipped cream and raspberries, this Victoria Sponge by Nigella Lawson is an incredible classic bake.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Look, the name is meant to be a bit of a joke, but what I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

The Northern Europeans, and especially the Scandinavians, are wonderful bakers and eating these for breakfast or tea on a cold winter

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Not only is this one of the easiest cakes to make, it happens — joyously — to be one of the most delicious. My household is totally addicted! Please don

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I first ate this at Ali Baba, an Egyptian restaurant in London that the great Claudia Roden took me to about 30 years ago, and have loved it ever since; it found its way into my second book, and I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Of course you can make a thoroughly chocolate bread-and-butter pudding, either by adding melted chocolate or cocoa to the eggy custard, or simply by using a sliced-up chocolate loaf. But if you ask me, you

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

As wonderful as this is to eat piled on top of fresh white bread, it is exceptional sandwiching a Victoria sponge, dolloped over muffins and pancakes, or poured into a cooked and cooled pastry case.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Pizza rustica is not a pizza in the way that we

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is the way I make my mince pies, and there is no changing me or them: they are small, to be popped straight into the mouth in one go; the pastry is plain, the better to contrast with the rich, fruited filling; and they have not full casings but little stars as lids, which makes them look beautiful and taste flutteringly light. By all means use good shop-bought mincemeat if you want, but I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I often double the quantities for the meat filling, then freeze half, so I

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I know a steamed pudding sounds stodgy, but I cannot tell you how glorious this is: light beyond words, feathery textured and comfortingly, not cloyingly, sweet. This is predicated on two things. You have to eat it up entirely while it’s warm (no hardship), as it will get heavy on cooling. And it needs to be balanced with custard or cream. There is also a good argument for vanilla ice cream.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

This is what you want to bring out to people by the plateful on a summer

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

A Victoria Sponge is one of the simplest cakes there is and quite one of the best. Plain, airy cakes, sandwiched with sweet jam and smooth, whipped cream, even if the cream was not in the original version: it is no wonder that it has been such a favourite through the generations. I tinker only a little bit: I use a mixture of flour and cornflour/cornstarch in the sponge, which creates cakes that are exceptionally light and tender; and I add some fruit along with the jam. Here, I’ve used raspberry jam and raspberries, but I can tell you that some sliced strawberries with strawberry jam, or blackberries with their corresponding jam, are also to be considered. Should you decide you wish to leave out the fruit, which in winter may be necessary, I’d add perhaps a little more jam, sharpened with a good spritz of lemon juice. Anyway, this is the Victoria Sponge I’ve been making for decades, and I’m absolutely thrilled that it is now on the site. I don’t advise making this in advance, as it stales quickly. As with so many simple pleasures, just savour it in the moment.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

I feel that if I’m talking about Welsh Cakes, I should really introduce them first by their proper, Welsh name, Picau ar y maen, which simply means “cakes on the stone”, and the stone being the flat griddle they are traditionally cooked on. I use a rather more modern smooth (and lightweight) griddle for mine, but a thick-bottomed frying pan or skillet is just as good. These little cakes hold a special place in my heart: they came into my life along with one Heulwen Williams a quarter of a century ago; she made me her grandmother’s version, and then let me have the recipe for my second book. All I’ve changed really from that recipe is the flour. The original recipe stipulated self-raising flour, whereas I prefer to use plain/ all-purpose flour and add the baking powder as below. Feel free to use self-raising flour if you prefer.  But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. For those who’ve never eaten them, I should perhaps give a brief explanation of what they are, and I can best describe them as a cross between shortbread biscuits/cookies and pancakes — of course, they are pancakes of a sort — or a flat disc of fruited scone. They are modest and unfancy, and one of the best accompaniments to an afternoon cup of tea I can think of. I know some people apparently eat them spread with butter and jam, but I’ve only ever come across them or eaten them simply sprinkled with sugar.  It is possible to make them gluten free, though you do need to eat them fast, as they taste good only when still warm from the griddle pan; once cold they are too dry and rather sawdusty. And for the gf option I do recommend sticking to self-raising flour, as for some reason the gluten free flour I get has xanthan gum (which helps make up for the lack of gluten) only in the self-raising version. Still, they are inevitably more fragile to cook, so take extra care on turning them.

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Nigella Lawson · How To Be A Domestic Goddess