Saffron & Pistachio Biscuits

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These little biscuits are an ideal accompaniment to a good strong cup of coffee – maybe even a Turkish coffee, if you’re feeling adventurous.
Each bite is sweet and perfumed with a crisp and slightly chewy texture.

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Cardamom & Black Pepper Biscuits

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We love the perfumed taste of green cardamom and it sneaks into our baking on a regular basis although preparing it can be a little laborious.

Ground cardamom seems hard to come by and we’re not convinced it would keep so well anyway, so whole pods need to be ground and sieved before we can use them.
Finally our baking has been blessed with the arrival of Holy Lama Naturals' Spice Drops which come in a convenient bottle with dropper. Made from real cardamom the extract is perfectly concentrated to deliver the right amount of flavour.

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Savoury Seedy Crackers

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These crispy seedy crackers are so simple to make, it seems almost insane to go and buy something similar from the shops. Plus you can flavour them with almost any seed you like. We've used caraway seeds, but sesame, poppy, fennel or even cumin seeds would also be excellent additions – it very much depends on what you prefer.
Linseed meal is included too for extra flavour and it's good for you as well. We wonder if that cancels out the naughtiness of the lavish amounts of cheese we like to eat with these crackers?

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Earl Grey Butter Biscuits

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It's amazing how so few ingredients can go towards making such a delicious treat and these butter biscuits are very easy to make. No need to worry about having lots of space to roll out dough, as these biscuits require such a simple method to shape them. Just by pressing a fork on the dough to flatten them, gives a good shape with a pleasing ridged pattern on top – perfect for catching the sugar crystals for added crunch.

We must stress that it is important to use a good quality Earl Grey tea. You may have noticed that cheap Earl Grey tea (especially the stuff in tea bags) contains little white flecks. These are artificial flavouring pellets which will not give a great finished result.
Good quality loose leaf tea is fragranced with real Bergamot oil which is essential for a good biscuit and a cuppa of course.

These little biscuits are a fitting partner to be enjoyed with afternoon tea or coffee or as part of a dessert with ice cream and a fruit compote.
They have good keeping qualities and will remain crispy when stored in an airtight container. We dare you to see just how long they last, that's if you don't succumb to their irresistible butteriness too soon!

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Wakes Cakes

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Many foods have a story to tell and often the things we eat today have their roots firmly embedded in our British heritage and this time of year seems appropriate to look at Wakes Cakes.

For many, summer signals the moment to head off to the coast and countryside and relax from our daily toil for a week or two. These days a quick discussion with work colleagues and an approval from the manager will get some holiday time booked. All relatively simple.

During the 18th and 19th centuries time-off was practically unheard of. Textile mill workers would often labour seven days a week for long hours and low pay. Obviously this regime put a lot of strain on families and absenteeism was a common problem for mill owners.

Wakes were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications, a time when people normally would want to take time off work and be with their families. Mill owners, not being overly generous with rights for their employees, found that their workers would often be absent at this time, so eventually seeing sense, they agreed that all the mills should close for a week to give everyone a (unpaid) holiday.

Eventually, the wakes were adapted into a regular summer break when the week would be the focus for fairs where Wakes Cakes were sold and eagerly eaten. These weeks, occurring at different times, are still celebrated in the Midlands and Northern England albeit in different ways.

This recipe is an old Derbyshire Peak District version and although referred to as ‘cakes’ the end product is actually much more a biscuit. They have a rich crisp texture with chewy currants and interesting little flavour hits from the caraway seeds.

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