My new favourite book

I came home tonight and spotted a card from Royal Mail, who’d left a special delivery with a neighbour. I’ve already had all of my Christmas presents, so I had no idea what it could be.

I love a surprise, and this one was no exception. It turned out to be my very own limited edition printed copy of the Kerrygold Community Cookbook with my very own recipe and name printed in it!

You might remember I posted a little while ago about how thrilled I was about my Blackberry and Hazelnut Brownie recipe being selected by Rachael Allen to appear in the book.

Receiving a real copy put a huge smile on my face; just what I needed with a house like a bombsite/cardboard box shanty town in the middle of getting ready for The Big Move!

I feel like it’s a small testament to how far I’ve come with my baking in the past couple of years – from a few higgledy-piggledy cupcakes once every six weeks or so, to taking on technical bakes like macarons, tarts and fiddly fondant icing, and creating my own original recipes. I owe a lot of that to the wonderful encouragement, advice, tips, and general loveliness I’ve had from friends, tweeters, and many talented bakers and bloggers, so thank you.

If you’d told me  5 years ago – when my favourite late-night snack was pasta with tomato ketchup (mmm, starchy) – that I’d be creating food like this, I would have laughed you out of the room. It’s safe to say, then, that this little beauty will take pride of place on the kitchen bookshelf of my new flat and serve as a gentle reminder that even culinary caterpillars can turn into butterflies.

It wil also serve as inspiration – there are some gorgeous recipes in there!

Alan Palmer’s Summer Almond Cake with Lavendar Icing sounds perfect for a Sunday afternoon tea party…

And Bill King’s Triple Chocolate Orange cake sounds delightfully indulgent.

Yes, that is my 'big fat to do list' in the background...

There are also tons of gorgeous savoury dishes, and lots of recipes from Rachel Allen herself. The best bit about it is that you can download your very own copy for free!

Just visit the Kerrygold facebook page and click on the ‘recip-e-book’ tab. Happy cooking!

My first published recipe – Kerrygold Community Cookbook!

It’s official: Rachel Allen likes my brownies. Yes, that’s celebrity chef, expert baker and tutor at the world-famous Ballymaloe Cookery School, Rachel Allen. Squeeee!!

My Blackberry and Hazelnut Brownie recipe is one of 20 recipes chosen by Rachel and a team of judges over at Kerrygold to be featured in the Kerrygold Community Cookbook – writen by the people, for the people.

I am absolutely thrilled it was chosen; it’s one of my favourite recipes I’ve posted on my blog since I started a couple of months ago, and continues to be one of the most popular. If you’re looking for creative ways to use up those rich, sumptuous brambles, then ditch the crumble, grab some decadently dark chocolate and give them a go – I guarantee you won’t regret it!

There are some really lovely recipes in there, from Cardamom Lavender Tarts with Caramelised Oranges, to Honey Teriaki Chicken, so don’t forget to bookmark it for some kitchen inspiration from fabulous home cooks from across the UK! To top it off, my entry was also selected at random to win a posh microwave, a month’s supply of Kerrygold butter and Rachel’s gorgeous cookbook, Entertaining at Home, which I’ve been ooohing and aahing over already.

The finished recip-e-book will be available to download for free from the Kerrygold Facebook page from the end of October. I’m SO excited to receive my very own printed copy. Just one problem….how do you frame a cookbook?!