Do you know what would be great to have on Christmas morning? A big slice of hazelnut praline challah bread with a cup of tea or coffee before getting organised to cook the day's feast.
Something delicious that can be made ahead and enjoyed before tackling a big list of food preparation tasks? I am all for it.

​It has gotten much colder lately. This, to me, is the perfect season for hygge (a Danish word that means “a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment”). And what better hyggelig moment than a weekend afternoon spent curled up on the couch wrapped in a fluffy and warm blanket with a good book and a steaming cup of tea accompanied by a plate of delicious biscuits. And lately, not just any biscuits but chocolate and tonka sablés bretons for me.

It’s blackberry and hazelnut madeleines season! Well, it’s really just blackberry season but think about all the delicious things you can make with this delicious berry: jams, desserts, fruit salads, savoury sauces, etc. I have shared a few recipes using this wonderful fruit on the blog before such as this blackberry fruit salad or this blackberry and almond chantilly roulade.

​I cannot remember the last time I baked a whole cake. At least, I don’t think I have made one since I moved to Belfast. I definitely bake less during summer time and tend to privilege fruit salads, ice creams and sorbets for dessert. But I do like the scent of summer fruit cooking and bubbling in a crumble or clafoutis such as this cherry and dark chocolate one or this version with raspberries and white chocolate. 

​My fruit bowl on the kitchen counter has seen a serious rotation of raspberries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, blueberries and strawberries over the summer. They have been mostly eaten as they are and sometimes added to a weekend smoothie with frozen bananas, almond milk or coconut water. But lately, I found myself wanting to bake a few things. It could be a combination of the weather cooling down and wanting to take advantage of all the wonderful produce before summer fruit season ends.

​It is quite warm these days and I am happily swapping mugs of mint green tea for a lot of water and when I crave it, a refreshing glass of homemade lemon, lime and mint soft drink.

​In everyday cooking, I use a lot of my own recipes or ones that I know by heart and can make without opening a book or checking out the steps on the internet. And when making recipes I have shared here over the years, my favourite thing is to see if I can improve them a bit.
For example, I have tweaked the recipe for chocolate and hazelnut brownies many times until it reached the perfect texture and taste I wanted. This was actually one of the first recipes I shared on the blog nearly seven years ago.