How To Make Homemade Elderflower Cordial

Summer is finally kicking in and I am seeing elder everywhere. It's only this year that I'm starting to realise how prolific it is in the wild. I see clouds of elderflowers gathering along almost every footpath and can't help but reach out and take in their sweet fragrance. This recipe for elderflower cordial is super easy and only needs a relatively small number of flower heads. But do remember, the fewer elderflowers that are left, the fewer there are to grow into elderberries. These are a really good food source for wildlife so please be mindful to only take what you need and not to leave the bushes bare.

How To Make Homemade Red Gooseberry And Mint Gin

It's not often you see recipes involving red gooseberries, but this red gooseberry and mint gin is heaven sent. Red gooseberries are ever so slightly sweeter than their green counterparts so need less sugar to reduce their tang. If you don't have red gooseberries feel free to use green, but up the sugar volume by 100g to compensate.

Some of the infusions I make tend to suit a particular season. This red gooseberry and mint gin is made for summer, just like my Sunshine Vodka. The gooseberries give it a lovely fruity flavour while the hint of mint in the background is fabulously refreshing, especially with a splash of fizzy tonic. And just look at that colour!

How To Make Homemade Lemon And Ginger Gin

If I'd known I would do Dry January when I considered making my Lemon and Ginger Gin, I would have delayed the infusion for a few weeks. I only had chance to have one little test sip before I had to relegate it to the booze cupboard, where it would gloat in the darkness for a month. 

This is a real all-rounder of a gin. Ever since having the boys, my taste buds have changed, and I find myself hankering for fewer sweet drinks and more for something with a bit of a kick. I think it must have been all that Schloer and orange juice. 

Usually, the infusions I make tend to suit a particular season. For example, my Sunshine Vodka is just perfect for summer, whilst my Red Berry Rum is the best thing to cosy up with at Christmas (except for maybe a Tom Hardy bedtime story). This gin infusion however, is suited equally well to being supped in front of the TV with the fire roaring, as it is topped up with tonic and slurped on the patio.

Homemade Christmas Gifts To Impress

I'm ashamed to admit it, but many of the homemade cakes, bakes and boozes I make don't make it out of the house. Especially the food. I swear, from the moment it goes in the tin, it dwindles by the minute.

So, Christmas really is my opportunity to share some of the products of my labour. Recipes for jams and chutneys in particular result in such a large number that there's plenty to go around and you can't beat the feeling of pride you get, handing over something you labelled yourself.

Here are a few ideas for edible homemade gifts you can make for your friends and family this Christmas.

1. Spiced Cranberry and Fig Chutney

How To Make Homemade Sunshine Vodka

That's it, ladies and gents: summer is over, the kids are back to school and the shops are already filled with pumpkins. Autumn is here. But it's not too late to fake it. Bring back that summer feeling with this delicious Sunshine Vodka liqueur. This is an easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy recipe that you can even tailor to your own choice of tropical summer fruit.

Sunshine Vodka with a splash of lemonade

How To Make Homemade Cherry Bakewell Liqueur

I absolutely cherry bakewells. They're sort of half cake, half tart and go exceptionally well with a cup of tea. I was looking for a new liqueur recipe to make as, though I already had some rhubarb and orange gin and some sunshine fruit liqueur in the cupboard, I wanted to make something a little smoother and sweeter with rich red berry flavours. 

This cherry bakewell liqueur recipe is one of my simplest liqueur recipes and is a satisfyingly boozy take on the real thing. 

How to Make Homemade Rhubarb and Orange Gin

Rhubarb can be a tricky vegetable to know what to do with. It's sharp, tangy flavour is often muted by oodles of sugar in a crumble and even then, it can be too sharp for some delicate palates. But by combining it with the citrus sweetness of orange in this rhubarb and orange gin, I think the vegetable has at last found it's partner in crime.

I had had a bag of rhubarb in my freezer for some time, waiting for my decision on what to use it for. I didn't have enough in weight to make a wine, but it also felt a bit if a cop out to make a dessert - in which case, I then would have had to much of the stuff.

In the end, I took it to Facebook: rhubarb and ginger jam or rhubarb and orange gin. And, of course, the latter prevailed.

How To Make Homemade Spiced Apple Vodka

Apples and cinnamon - what a match made in heaven. And whilst this liqueur needs some time to mature for the flavours to infuse as deeply as possible, there's no denying it's worth the wait. And it's so easy to make too!

In liqueur-making, apples can be combined with brandy, gin and even rum, but I love the sharpness that comes from a vodka blend. This recipe will make about a litre of the finished liqueur and stores well in a cool cupboard.

Christmas Gift Guide for Grown-ups

I love Christmas. I love it even more now I'm an adult and can enjoy the indulgent delights of booze-soaked Christmas puddings and warming sips of mulled wine. And there's the food too, of course: spiced, fruit cakes, citrus, sweet treats and deliciously steamy puddings covered in custard or a dollop of cool, whipped cream. That's why for this year's Christmas gift guide, I've chosen to feature the kind of food and drink I'd love to find in my own stocking on Christmas morning. The kid's Christmas lists can wait - this is all about us.

How to Make Homemade Red Berry Rum

It's sad to think we're moving into Autumn and towards Winter but, to cheer you up when the nights start closing in and the kids have walked puddles of muddy slush all through your kitchen, here's a delightfully warming recipe I picked up from Good Housekeeping magazine back in 2011. The good news is that this only needs a month at most to mature and doesn't need any specialist equipment, so you can easily start it in the next month or so and it'll be ready for Christmas. Then all you have to do is pop on your slippers, curl up with Strictly and enjoy a tiny tot of this gloriously rosy liquid sipped from your favourite glass.

Despite having pasted this recipe into my recipe scrapbook six years ago (how is it that long ago?) this is actually only the second time I've made it. Though not due to any fault of it's own, that's for sure.