Welsh Cakes are such a simple tea time treat to put together, a great recipe for children and adults alike. They can be ready on the table to eat within half an hour, provided you have the ingredients of course! The Food at Twelve team love this recipe because it's one that doesn't require an oven for the cooking process, just a good non-stick frying pan and you're set to cook up a delicious batch. Great for this Summer when no-one wants to be heating up the kitchen more th

A recent cookery project left me with just over 6kg of chickpea flour and I hadn't really thought much about how to use it before this week. It's been one of those unspoken ingredients lurking in the storage cupboards, but it's taking up too much space and has to serve some sort of culinary purpose again! Chickpea flour has quite a strong smell and taste to it, it's incredibly savoury if you haven't cooked with it before. We've used the flour in our Besan Cheela recipes and

I have to admit to being a recent convert to chocolate cake. Chocolate brownie yes, but a cake...I just never found one I was bowled over by. Over the past couple of years I have fallen in love with a Lily Vanilli recipe which is now my go to chocolate cake. People often ask me for a recipe of something or other and when it comes to chocolate cake, this is the one I always recommend, it's just brilliant. The only box it doesn't tick is being gluten free. Not a problem for

I like muffins. They are infinitely more interesting than a cupcake. Sweet, savoury, something in between (think carrot and rosemary) it’s ok to be courageous in your flavours. You can eat a muffin for breakfast, yes it’s acceptable, just perhaps not everyday! We make slightly healthier muffins for snacks, they’re good for taking to work and cheer up a day in the office. Sometimes though, you just want one of those big fat chocolate filled muffins. Yes those ones, found

I seem to find myself surrounded by people who love an Oreo. No matter where I work, there is always a group of them, I find this strange. As much as I love the biscuit, is it really better than a custard cream or a chocolate bourbon?? Apparently so, but give me a slice of cake over a biscuit any day, don't you agree? One of my favourite things to do, which is an excellent time filler, is day dream about cake or what to bake next. Reading the cookbooks and magazines that f

I have an incredible sweet tooth. Puddings, cakes, sweet and buttery enriched breads are my weakness. I'd much rather eat anything like this than a normal meal if I'm perfectly honest. When out for dinner I eye up the dessert menu to make sure there's something excellent to look forward to. I completely understand when children say they are full but their pudding tummy isn't! But I am completely aware this isn't a sustainable or adult way to function. So I treat myself

It’s cold, rainy and just fairly grim in Birmingham this week. Yesterday was the so called Blue Monday, where it seemed socially acceptable to be depressed and notice the lesser points of life. This so called day only first appeared in our lives in 2005, brought around by a holiday company – yes the weather is always bad, generally we all have a bit less money after Christmas and all the hype to keep up with New Year’s Resolutins and ‘be a new you’ is a bit suffocating, but

Ingredients - 225g dates (without stones) 150ml water 175g plain wholewheat flour 175g porridge oats 175g butter or dairy free alternative 75g demerara sugar 2 tbsp cold water Method - 1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan and grease a square tin (20x20cm) well with butter. You can line the tin with baking paper if you'd rather, it can be a bit tricky to spread the oat mixture on top. 2. Place the dates in a saucepan with the 150ml of water and place over a medium heat, cooking ge