Baked Lemon And Poppy Seed Donuts

Alright, I'm totally in donut mode now.

There is something about baked donuts that sparks joy in people. Myself included. They always come up perfectly round and beautifully baked and it’s just pure deliciousness in the comforting shape of a donut. 

You do need a special tin (these are so essential to my life that I have two..) but I promise it is worth it! I don't love deep-frying food, and this is a perfect compromise to still allow donuts in your life if you're like me.

Basically the sky is the limit with these. I have done a few variations in the past (chocolate, strawberry, cinnamon), and it made sense to give it a go in lemon form!

The lovely glaze is easy to whip up, tart and sweet and makes a perfect addition to the spongy cakey goodness of the donut.

Makes approx. 16 donuts

Strawberry Glazed Baked Donuts!

I know which plate I want...

It’s that time of year again! Everything is pink and there are hearts everywhere. And then on Feb 15th the frugal ones can score some half off chocolates.

Stage 1 - baked

I don’t really “do” Valentine’s – this year me and the Swede are getting a Chinese takeout and calling it a day. But I do love any excuse to bake pretty things, so I decided to do a baked version of the strawberry (“Homer Simpson”) donuts that I made a few years ago.

Stage 2 - glazed once

Because I’m obsessed with baked donuts.

And you will be too. If you do presents for Valentine’s, ask your other half to buy you a donut pan. You won’t regret it.

Stage 3 - strawberry glaze and sprinkles

These are really simple to make, and feature a cheeky double glaze (plain/classic and strawberry/pink). Feel free to halve the glaze ingredients if you don’t want to double dip. But sugar = love, so I dipped twice.

Slow Cooker Coconut Beef Curry

This is my new absolute favourite.

I love slow cooker meals that take like 8 hours. The main benefit for me is that I can put one on in between night shifts and wake up to the smell of a delicious dinner that’s all cooked and ready to go. It’s the one time in my life I feel like an adult.

Beef is great for that. 6-8 hours on low and you have chunks of beef that are falling apart. They can literally be cut with a spoon. You need that in your life.

This curry is an insanely delicious meal. I felt LUCKY to wake up to this meal. I’m not going to say it made night shift worth it, but I wasn’t mad at it.

The other great thing is that the spice paste makes enough for 2 curries, so you can either halve it or make the full amount and store some in the fridge for a week or two so you can have yet another delicious meal.

Muttar Pilau and Baked Chicken Tikka

Happy Sunday! Brighten up the cold unforgiving week to come by planning to make this for dinner this week.

I forgot how much I love rice. I haven’t properly cooked rice in months (microwaveable rice is really useful for quick dinners but it sure doesn’t taste as good as freshly boiled rice.

I saw this recipe in the newspaper ages ago and it piqued my interest. We’re talking an Indian spiced fried rice. I love rice, I love peas, and I love spices. Sign me up. I didn’t want to cover it in sauces, so I went with a delicately spiced oven baked chicken. You could also have this as a veggie main on its own.

Now, the rice has a lot of steps, but it’s surprisingly quick to whip up, I made enough rice for 4 and enough chicken for two, and that maths means that I’m going to live off the leftovers of my rice now. Thinking ahead!