Kate Doran - Homemade Memories: Childhood Treats with a Twist

PEANUT BUTTER AND JAMMIE DODGERS

OATY DUNKERS

ALMOND, HONEY AND CINNAMON FIG ROLLS

ORANGE, CARDAMOM AND POPPY-SEED SHORTBREAD

JAFFA ORANGE CAKES

LEMON AND THYME CREAMS

REAL BOURBON BISCUITS

BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE-CHUNK COOKIES

CARAMEL TEA AND BISCUIT SLICE

SPICED GINGERBREAD

STICKY FINGERS

BLACKBERRY AND HAZELNUT MERINGUE SANDWICHES

OAT AND RAISIN BUTTERMILK SCONES

FIG AND RYE ROCK BUNS

APRICOT, PEANUT AND SESAME FLAPJACKS

PECAN CARAMEL APPLES

SALTY-SWEET POPCORN

ORANGE AND HONEY ICED BUNS

JAM-PACKED DOUGHNUTS

MALT WHISKY LOAF

WHOLEMEAL TOASTER PASTRIES

CAKES

PINK GRAPEFRUIT, GINGER AND POPPY-SEED CUPCAKES

MINI CARROT CAKES WITH COCONUT AND LIME

NECTARINE AND POLENTA UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

SPICED STRAWBERRY, ORANGE AND ALMOND LAYER CAKE

PISTACHIO AND LIME LOAF WITH HONEY APRICOT DRIZZLE

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CATERPILLAR CAKE

WHITE MODELLING CHOCOLATE

NUTTY, BUTTERY CRISP RICE SQUARES

CHOCOLATE HONEYCOMB BISCUIT CAKE

ONE-BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH YOGHURT GANACHE

CHOCOLATE LEAVES

COCONUT AND RASPBERRY BATTENBERG

COCONUT MARZIPAN

CHOCOLATE-FRECKLED BANANA BREAD

WHATS FOR PUDDING?

BLUEBERRY, ALMOND AND PLUM CRUMBLE

RHUBARB JELLY AND ICE CREAM WITH CARDAMOM CRUNCH

BUTTERSCOTCH DEVILS DELIGHT

BRITISH SUMMER MESS

UPSIDE-DOWN LEMON MERINGUE PIE

CHEATS CRME CARAMEL WITH CHAMOMILE AND HONEY

COCONUT BROWN RICE PUDDING

CARAMELISED RICE PUDDING POTS

FIG AND HAZELNUT BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

STICKY DATE PUDDINGS WITH COCONUT CARAMEL

GOOSEBERRY FOOL

APRICOT, JAM AND AMARETTO TART

PEAR AND PECAN TREACLE TART

BOOZY CHOCOLATE PUDDLE PUDDINGS

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH CAPPUCCINO CREAM

THE ICE CREAM VAN

VANILLA CUSTARD

VANILLA ICE CREAM (AND VARIATIONS)

MALTED MILK CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM BALLS

PEANUT BUTTER AND JAM ARCTIC ROLL

PEACH MELBA BAKED ALASKA

CINNAMON BREADCRUMB ICE CREAM

MINT CHOCOLATE SEMIFREDDO

BROWN SUGAR CONES

GREEK YOGHURT SOFT-SERVE ICE CREAM

LEMON SORBET

PINEAPPLE AND GINGER ICE LOLLIES

MINI MILK LOLLIES WITH CARDAMOM AND HONEY

MIX-INS, MILKSHAKES AND SUNDAES

MIDNIGHT FEASTS

IRISH CREAM FUDGE

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT KISSES

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

TEMPERED CHOCOLATE

CARAMEL-FILLED CHOCOLATES

CHOCOLATE COCONUT MINT THINS

ROSEMARY SEA SALT CARAMELS

MILK CHOCOLATE AND HONEY NOUGAT BARS

REAL HONEYCOMB

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE PASTILLES

ORANGE BLOSSOM TURKISH DELIGHT

SHERBET FOUNTAINS WITH LIQUORICE STICKS

PEPPERMINT MARSHMALLOWS

DRINKS

ROSEMARY LEMONADE

FLOWER AND HERB ICE CUBES

BLACKCURRANT, BLUEBERRY AND MINT CORDIAL

APEROL SPRITZ

PEACH AND MINT ICED TEA

SGROPPINO

FROZEN MAPLE CAPPUCCINO

CHOCOLATE MILK FOR GROWN-UPS

HOT CHOCOLATE

CARAMELISED WHITE HOT CHOCOLATE

LITTLE LOAF BASICS

A LITTLE LOAF

PEANUT BUTTER

STRAWBERRY, PLUM AND VANILLA JAM

MILK CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD

LEMON CURD

MILK CARAMEL

HOT CHOCOLATE FUDGE SAUCE

WHIPPED CREAM

VANILLA EXTRACT

INDEX

THANK YOU

COPYRIGHT

Close your eyes and think of your favourite childhood treat. Maybe its a bowl of crumble, syrupy and steaming, a slab of chocolate cake, a chewy fruit pastille or a melting ice cream. Imagine how it looks and smells, the taste and texture, then let those senses transport you to Sunday dinners with family and birthday parties with friends, giggly midnight feasts or days at the seaside, the air hot and sticky and the sand between your toes.

The way youre feeling right now? Thats what I love about food.

Nicknamed the Little Loaf aged three by a great aunt who noticed that my appetite for bread was bigger than I was, I fell in love with food from an early age. Not just eating although that was a pretty big part but everything that comes with it, from the preparation and cooking to the experience of sharing food with others and the way it can make you feel.

My mum was, and still is, a wonderful home cook, my dad an enthusiastic eater, and some of our fondest family memories can be measured in meals eaten and recipes made. Sugary treats were limited to special occasions possibly one of the reasons I have such a sweet tooth now but held in high regard and almost always homemade. Mum encouraged my brother and me to bake our own birthday cakes a tradition I adore and uphold to this day and together wed spend happy hours in the kitchen, making a mess and eating the spoils.

In 2011 I started the Little Loaf blog, a place to share my love of food and the stories that surround it. I taught myself how to make real, homemade bread something wed tried with Mum as children but never really mastered and before long I was including sweet recipes as well. Baking my own bread made me think more about the benefits of making other food from scratch and I soon realised that I could not only recreate the classics Id made in my childhood crumbles and custards, cakes and ice cream but homemade versions of shop-bought treats.

I started experimenting with familiar biscuit brands, all kinds of chocolates, sweets and these are a game changer homemade marshmallows: all things Id never before considered could be made at home without industrial machines and unpronounceable ingredients. The process brought back all sorts of deliciously nostalgic memories which, when I shared them on the blog, seemed to resonate with readers. People from around the world started getting in touch, making my recipes and sharing stories of their own. Its then that the blog really began to feel like home.

Home in real life is a little flat in South West London where I live with my husband and most enthusiastic recipe taster Luke. Im not a professional chef by trade anything I didnt learn from my mum or granny Ive taught myself through cookbooks, blogs and endless trial and error but in a funny way I hope that this is reflected in my recipes. Were making homemade memories here, not packaged, professional ones: food for real people cooking in regular kitchens that can be perfectly delicious without being, well, perfect.

Cooking is a lot like telling stories. Ask two people to describe the same event and, despite the facts being exactly the same, their accounts will always be slightly different. So it is with a recipe: even if you follow the instructions to the letter, the results will be a fraction different each time. Ive tried to make my recipes as foolproof as possible, but suggest you also embrace these little differences. The joy of making food at home rather than opening up a packet is that a bit of your personality goes into everything you make.

This book contains all of my childhood favourites, starting with biscuits and ending with a simple little loaf. In between there are doughnuts, jellies and crumbles, ice creams, sweets and enough sugar-dusted memories to savour long after the last crumb has been cleared away. My hope is that these recipes will last you a lifetime, that this book can be something you can curl up in bed with, turn to with a party to plan or when comfort is in need, cover with sticky fingerprints in the kitchen and use to create wonderful homemade memories all of your own.