Baking biscuits is definitely a winter activity, especially during the Christmas season. We love the scent of freshly baked goods that circulate the house and boost our festive spirit. If you are looking for inspirational baking ideas, you should try Christmas Almond and Strawberry Biscuits. They are delicious and delicate, very easy to make and can be made in any size and shape. Use any fruit jam you like: strawberry and raspberry jam have red festive colour, however orange jam with a pinch of ginger and orange zest smells very Christmassy. Find the recipe here…

You can vary the vegetables according to your taste or what’s in season and make this Tarte Tatin a great starter or accompaniment to any meat meal. I’ve used new root vegetables, onion, and chicory, a few pieces of chilli pepper, thyme leaves – as simple as that – and homemade rough puff pastry. Serve Roast Vegetables Tarte Tatin warm, with a glass of cold white wine. Find the recipe here...

Keks is a sponge cake with a high content of unsalted butter, packed with dried fruits and almond flakes. It’s baked in a loaf tin and then served generously dusted with icing sugar. Dried fruits – apricots, black currants, sultanas and raisins are soaked in a warm mixture of orange liqueur and orange juice with the addition of orange zest. Keks is buttery, sweet and moist, taste amazing both freshly baked and after a few days. The cake can be prepared in advance and kept tightly wrapped in baking paper and aluminium foil. Find the recipe here…

Traditional sweet mini pies baked and eaten in the festive season before Christmas. Mince pies are made from short crust pastry filled with the sweet mix of dried fruits, spices, citrus zest, all soaked in alcohol. These festive pies of English origin have been known there since the 13th century. They originally were savoury, not sweet as consisted of a mixture of minced meat, suet, fruits and spices. Today almost every housewife has her own recipe for mince pies and mincemeat if she prepares a homemade version of the pies. I prefer less sugary filling but use a bit sweeter French buttery pastry. Try my recipe here…

This is my favourite pastry for quiche. It makes delicious cases which can be filled with meat and vegetables. This is actually savoury shortcrust pastry but less buttery and hence less delicate. However, its firmer texture holds the shape perfectly with custard-based filling inside and its bottom is never soggy. The pastry can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a week. If you decide to freeze it, use it in 3 months. Find the recipe here…

French Madeleines are my favourite little spongy cakes – so buttery, soft and sweet with a citrusy flavour. They may come with many different flavours - vanilla, chocolate, orange and many more. Some bakers add to the batter poppy seeds or chocolate chips, other glaze ready cakes with lemon-glaze or sprinkle with icing sugar. I like French Madeleines plain only with orange or lemon zest and vanilla extract. The Madeleines are the best straight from the oven, they only need a couple of minutes on a wire rack before you eat them. Find the recipe here…

Sausage Rolls are a staple of British food. They are a very popular snack available from bakeries, take-aways and supermarkets. One of the popular british bakery chains sell 2.5 million sausage rolls per week! An early version of the roll with pork filling was popular in London during the Napoleonic Wars and then recognized as an English dish. The sausage rolls are the best party food. They can be served with drinks, either straight from the oven or cold, with vegetable dips or relish. Great and easy snack for a coming Christmas party or Christmas. The sausage rolls can be prepared and cooked in advance, kept in the fridge and warmth through in the oven. Find the recipe here…

This is the perfect soup for this time of year, a comforting hearty dish which warms up from top to toe. The creamy smooth potato and leek soup is one of the simplest and takes about 1 hour to make. In autumn or winter is served hot but it can be chilled for vichyssoise – ideal for hot summer days. The recipe doesn’t call for broth but water which makes it even less complicated and more accessible for those who are not used to cook and eat soups. Serve Potage Parmentier for lunch or supper with croutons, crusty bread, the buttermilk rolls or the onion buns. For vegan version - swap the double cream for the coconut milk. Find the recipe here...

Great for a lunch served with a crunchy green salad, as a starter or a savoury bite for any occasion. The Mushroom Tartlets which are extremely delicious and flavoursome, combine flaky shortcrust cases and creamy filling. I used Chestnut Mushrooms which have great flavour and texture but if you have wild mushrooms at hand, use them - they would be even better. The Mushroom Tartlets are quite easy to make and assemble. The filling can be prepared ahead and shortcrust pastry would be more crusty and flaky if it’s kept in the fridge overnight. The homemade shortcrust pastry can be replaced with good quality store-bought one. Find the recipe here…

Courgettes or zucchinis are wonderful summer vegetables. They are now in season in the UK and this season will last fortunately quite a long time - until September. Dark green courgettes are the most popular variety but white and yellow kinds can be also spotted on markets. There are many ways to cook the courgettes, the most popular is barbecuing, frying and stir-frying. But zucchinis are also wonderful as the main ingredient of tarts and quiches because they go hand-in-hand with cheese. They make delicious combination with feta, Parmesan, ricotta and many more. In this recipe, the best friend of the courgettes is cheddar cheese. Find the recipe here...

The poppy seed roll – or in other words – the poppy seed strudel - is a typical polish pastry usually prepared for Christmas and Easter.  It consists of sweet yeast dough filled with aromatic poppy seed paste which is full of nuts, dried fruits, almonds and resins. According to some old polish beliefs, poppy seeds eaten at Christmas Eve dinner brought happiness and prevented from evil, were also a symbol of fertility. Why is this pastry exceptionally delicious? Because of the balance between the thickness of the dough and the amount of the poppy seed paste - moist, naturally sweet and rich in nuts and fruits. Find the recipe here...