At this time of the year, when the leaves turn shades of ochre and there is a bite in the air, I crave comfort food. Perhaps it is something about wearing cosy, woollen jumpers, snuggled up on the couch that creates these cravings. I particularly enjoy cooking with Squash in any way I can. Squash is the hero vegetable of Autumn. A simple squash roast in the oven will suffice on some days like I did here. But for those days when I feel like something sweet for a slow brunch on the weekends, only pancakes will do. These roasted squash pancakes drizzled with rosemary infused maple syrup are not only delicious, healthy but a great way to get a vegetable intake in the mornings, particularly for kids.

My baby boy, my Huckleberry Finn turned 6 months old today. Wiggle as I sometimes like to affectionately call him has reached a momentous milestone. An age worth celebrating because that's a big achievement for both baby and parents.

Life has been a whirlwind since Finn entered our lives 6 months ago. Life has changed irrevocably. Everything has been new & foreign from changing nappies, to bathing a tiny human, breastfeeding and burping (because babies get a lot of wind). But 6 months on and we are old hands at these tasks. Now that Finn is old enough for solids, it's a whole new phase we are going through again. There have been ups and downs. Plenty of emotional, mental and physical strains. Parenting is hard, you are sleep deprived everyday and feeling like a zombie starts to feel normal. But I couldn't imagine life without Finn and he has changed our life for the better.

Motherhood & has kept me very busy lately. Sleep deprivation, early mornings and late nights has meant I have had very little time to myself, as I adjust to my new life. I have learnt to multi-task even better than I did before, and domestic chores have become less important. But last weekend, I managed to find time to spend some time in the kitchen baking. It felt great to have a couple of hours to myself doing what I love.

With rhubarb season upon us, I've been making good use of rhubarb season at the moment. So far I've made rhubarb jam, rhubarb syrup to mix with drinks and last weekend I made my version of a bakewell cake with rhubarb and blossom orange.

I feel so happy to say goodbye to Winter and welcome the arrival of Spring with open arms. It's been a while since my last post but I have good reasons for it. We bought our first home in London. I'm still getting used to the idea that we are home owners. Our spare time has been preoccupied with decorating, moving, unpacking and buying furniture and home accessories. All this has been taking place whilst I'm in my third trimester of my pregnancy.

I have also been busy with other projects.

I recently received a surprise in the post. A sweet and lovely new recipe book called Love, Aimee X, which features 50 creative baking recipes by Aimee of blog Twigg Studios. I have been following Aimee on Instagram for some time and I'm a huge fan of her beautiful posts and baking recipes like this Chocolate & Matcha Mille Feuille she kindly contributed to the blog.

After browsing through her book, I was inspired to make this orange and rosewater tea cake that I adapted from one the recipes in the book. With hints of orange blossom and rose water, one bite and it will transport you to an exotic location. It pairs perfectly with a cup of mint tea.

Congratulations Aimee, this book is well deserved.

It was Australia Day on the 26th January and it made me fondly miss my home country. It is peak summer over there and the weather was hot. I thought of what I would be doing if I was home. There would be a visit to the beach and lots of ice-cream eaten. Perhaps a visit to the harbour to watch the yacht parade. A gathering of friends and family would take place that would involve a bountiful, summer feast. It made me incredibly sentimental.

To honour this day, I made this Lamington Pavlova. A hybrid of 2 quintessential Australian desserts. A simple cocoa infused meringue recipe that is layered and topped with lamington flavours. Delicious and just what I needed.

To all my fellow Australian friends – hope you had a great day!

I can hardly believe it is December. The last month of the year, the festive month. Isn't it appropriate that we spend it celebrating and ending the year on a high note. I’ve been pulling out the decorations from their year long hiding place, as well buying new ones. There won’t be a traditional Christmas tree this year. Instead, I’m going minimal and alternative. I started making , so I’m not I’m going against all tradition entirely.

I have also found myself in a popcorn fad of late, as part of my quest to seek out healthy snack alternatives. Not only are they easy to make but you can be as creative as you want with the flavours. This week, it is all about simplicity in the recipe and styling. Perfectly suited for the festive season ahead. The sweetness and saltiness married with hints of toasted sesame seeds and nori seaweed, making it far too easy to consume the whole lot in one sitting. I urge you to try it, you won't be disappointed.

How did it get to November so quickly? We have been completely embraced by Autumn weather in the last couple of weeks and you can feel the chill in the air. We even had fog in the last couple of days, which we don’t get often and appropriately apt for Halloween. I have enjoyed layering up and wearing comforting scarves again.

My weekends have recently been cut short. My Saturdays are now occupied with house hunting, as we search for a place we can buy and call our own. It’s been testing times, both mentally and physically. Being nearly 5 months pregnant, it’s been physically demanding, as I traipse around South-East London viewing properties in the hope of finding one remotely suitable to buy.

I have to admit that I feel like I have lapsed with the regularity of my posts on this blog of late. I was recently away in Ibiza acting as chief bridesmaid for a wedding and prior to that, well the other major news in my life is that I’m pregnant. So there is my excuse. I'm currently 4 months pregnant and life has already begun to change dramatically. No matter how much you research and read about what to expect with pregnancy, you are never quite prepared for what you start to feel changing within you, emotionally, mentally and physically. The tiredness and fatigue has hit me hard resulting in a less active me. I’m learning to listen to body, and allowing myself to slow down and rest without guilt. Perhaps with winter looming, it is the best time to take it easy and spend more time at home.

With the Mid Autumn Festival taking place on the 27th September this year, I wanted to try and make mooncakes for myself but mini versions with a twist. They are traditionally filled with red bean or lotus seed paste. Since I live in a chocolate loving household, I decided to add chocolate to the lotus seed paste for a richer filling. I bought a mooncake mold on amazon like . They created a beautiful impression and were much easier to make than I imagined. They are also traditionally made with an egg yolk in the middle but I left this out, as I didn’t think it would complement the chocolate and lotus seed paste. Plus, I’m not a huge fan of the egg yolk. As a child, I would always remove them.

I recently acquired this – an ice cream maker. I know what you must be thinking. It’s the end of summer. But you can have ice cream at any time of the year right? I don’t know why it took me so long to buy one but I finally did it. I spent all summer pawning over pages of ice cream inspiration on Pinterest. I have ice cream envy every time I see photos of this . If anyone knows of a place that serves this in London, please feel free to share it’s location.

I can't resist buying seasonal fruits like these white currants I recently spotted at my local farmers market. It is rare to see these so I bought them with no idea with what to make with them. There were a few suggestions from my friends on Instagram like a cheesecake. After a quick Pinterest inspiration session, I went for this light and summery dessert of vanilla creme pots. The tartness of the white currants teamed well with the raspberries. How beautiful is the colour?

After my recent trip away, it's feels good to be home again and back into a routine. Although I love travelling, after a while I miss routine, simple home possessions, and mostly cooking in the comfort of my own kitchen. Especially when I can create desserts like these.

If you’ve seen me on Instagram you would see that I was recently road tripping around Cork and Kerry in Ireland. Although the campervan we had was tiny and cosy, the freedom we had more than made up for it. Seven days of freedom, going at our own pace and bunking down wherever we felt like it for the night. If you’ve had the privilege to visit the emerald isle, you will know how beautiful, rustic and green it is here. I’m always blown away by how green the landscape is. We had sunshine and a tonne of rain and wind. But it wouldn’t be an Irish holiday without a bit of rain. I'll share more photos of this trip soon.

This week, I want to share this very simple meringue combination I rustled up before I went away. It’s basically a plain meringue with a dollop of whip cream with lychees and passionfruit. A light, summery and tropical combination that is perfect to end a meal. It couldn’t be easier.

I should be posting an ice popsicle recipe since it is officially ice-popsicle week. I'm sharing this granita recipe instead. Icy, cold and sweet. It's close enough to an ice-popsicle and a refreshing treat for those hot summer days. I used some of this elderflower citrus cordial I made a few weeks earlier. But you can check out these chocolate & cherry ice popsicles I made weeks earlier.

Anyone fancy a decadent, chocolate cake laced with whiskey? This does sound quite rich for this time of the year but if you were offered a slice of this, I'm sure you wouldn't say no, right? I have been meaning to add this cake to the blog and it has been on my "to do" list" for a couple of months. I finally found the time to bake it and share it. I first made for Mark for his big birthday back in April, and it was so well received that I wanted to share it.

I combined chocolate with whiskey because Mark has a weakness for both. You can leave the whiskey out entirely, if you wish. I made a much bigger version for his birthday and it was only when I presented the cake did I realise how enormous it was. It was only right that we shared it around the pub, as there was no way we could finish the entire cake. This version is smaller version but can easily feed a party of around 15 people.

Who could say no to a home-made ice popsicle, especially one made with cherry, chocolate and coconut. I had on my mind, a chocolate from my childhood and a favourite of mine. I can't begin to imagine how many of these I would have consumed during my childhood. When I have friends and family visit from Australia, I make sure they bring some over for me. In fact, it's a prerequisite.

With the summer season with us, I thought these popsicles would make a refreshing after dinner treat. I love the combination of cherry and chocolate, the perfect sweet and tangy match. Cherries are all over the markets at the moment. I find myself buying a kilo of them and devouring them within one sitting.

I did something for the first time last week. I went foraging for elderflowers. I was reading up about elderflowers being in bloom during May and June, and I suddenly was noticing them everywhere. I saw them from the train, in the parks, in private gardens and peaking through fences. London is abundant with them right now and I inspired to make elderflower cordial, a first for me.

A short walk around the neighbourhood park and I was rewarded with a bounty supply of elderflowers. I knew my mini foraging expedition was completely legal, but I still felt like people walking by me were judging, and no doubt thought I was being a thief.

It's been a little quiet on this blog lately. Well, 2 weeks of radio silence since my last post here, which seems like such a long time ago to me. Last weekend was a rather busy one with a very big birthday celebration. It was Mark's big birthday and it was a long day of celebrating, drinking and eating into the early hours of Sunday morning. There would have been no other way to celebrate. It was such a lovely day spent with friends and family. A huge thank you to Mark's brothers who traveled from Dublin to London just for the night.

Can I also mention that I spent the night before the big day baking the biggest cake I have ever made? Even I surprised myself at how great turned out. It was 10 inches and 4 layers of chocolate whiskey cake. It was so good that I plan to remake a smaller version of it and share it here in the coming weeks.

Brunch is my favourite meal of the day yet I recently realised that I have not added one single post about this meal on my blog. It’s the one meal which I can completely enjoy and indulge in on the weekends. Breakfast during the week is rushed and involves me multi-tasking whilst eating breakfast. More often than not, I’m standing up doing something else, whilst gulping down my breakfast so I can head out the door in time for work. So come the weekend, I’ll make an effort. I like that it’s ok to have either a sweet or savoury dish (or both) for this meal.