I am fairly confident that someone is going to tell me that Aztec Banana Pudding isn’t an accurate name for this dessert. I was trying to think of something snappy to describe a moist pudding loaded with banana, coffee and cardamom, with a chocolate, orange and pecan gooey filling. Aztec seemed like the best description. (Cue food historians). This recipe was large instigated by having bananas that were looking a bit battered. (I store mine in the freezer and take them out a few minutes before I need them if I don‘t have time to bake. It turns them totally black but they get really sweet). My lovely friend Tom had also given me a gift of cardamom coffee the previous week, and these two food items collided in my head.

Aztec pudding

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Courgette, Lemon & Elderflower Drizzle Cake really is a delicious treat. The combination of courgette, lemon and elderflower in a cake is one that I hope will appeal to gardeners! I grew up on an organic farm and the realities of seasonal foods were an everyday normality for me. More than that, the relationship between the soil and the land around me with the food I ate was a natural and obvious connection. I believe that my interest in cooking stemmed at least in part from a desire to find ways to use up a glut of that eggs or make something of the crab apples growing in the hedgerows.

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Crystallised flowers and petals  are the perfect decorations I think. They have the simplicity and beauty of nature, with a  little touch of glamour. Sometimes I like to just scatter the unadulterated petals on top of a cake…I love vivid pink against a dark chocolate cake, but often this gentle process of crystallising flowers and petals is the perfect finishing touch to a baked delight.  petals on cake Continue reading