Patty & Bun is a 30-seat space near Bond Street station. Kelly, Selina and Katy and I met there just after 6pm on a Thursday evening. Kelly and Selina had already reached the front of the queue when I arrived, yet we still had to wait 50 minutes to get a table for four. The atmosphere outside was cheerful, people in the queue passed the time chatting and drinking beers. It was a warm spring evening and we didn't mind standing outside, but the curiosity to taste the famous burgers was a lot to contain!

The red shop front and distinctive logo attract the attention of passers-by, but inside, the decor is simple and bare: wooden tables, painted cardboard boxes hanging from the white walls, shelf boxes displaying cans of soft drinks and wine bottles.

All the focus is on the food, as it should be, because the P&B burgers are really worth the wait!

We started with a portion of "Winger Winger Chicken Dinner" to share: six "smoked confit wings with crisped skin, which are smothered in a delicately spiced and reduced BBQ sauce before being served with a sprinkle of super-finely chopped spring onion". (quote from Burgerac)

On the side, we ordered a few portions of hand-cut, skin-on, Rosemary Salt Fries, which were also great.

Kelly and I went for the 'Ari Gold' - 35-day aged, grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions, ketchup, smokey P&B mayo, brioche. Selina and Katy chose the Smokey Robinson, where the pickled onions are replaced with "mounds of caramelised onions and bacon".

Despite having to manage constant queues of hungry Londoners, the staff at Patty & Bun was friendly and accommodating. The service was quick and the prices were very reasonable.

I would love to go back to Patty & Bun soon, but it is not an ideal destination for (large) groups or if you are in a hurry. They don't take reservations, but they do takeaways, which is great if you work in the area.

I often make pizza at home and have learnt how to cook it from my mum. She would normally buy the dough from a local bakery in Rome, but she is an expert in choosing the best ingredients for the topping and in cooking the pizza to get the perfect crust.

Of course, I am not a professional "pizzaiola" (pizza maker), so the idea of teaching people how to make pizza was a bit scary. It wasn't meant to be a real cookery course though, but a fun night of cooking with friends, promoting the Food Revolution idea: that preparing food at home and using good quality ingredients can be easy and fun.

I prepared recipe cards to hand out to my guests, put my apron on and started my first cookery class! :)

I narrowed down the guest list to a few foodies / photographers: Sam, Hannah, Wendy and Charlotte (who unfortunately got sick and could not attend). The evening got pretty geeky as we all took out our Nikon D600 cameras, speedlight flashguns, lenses and light reflector.

I started the workshop by reminding my students about the importance of choosing the best ingredients. I bought most of them from an Italian deli:

• pastry flour (which in Italian is called "00"), fresh mozzarella (from cow's milk, not buffalo)
• tomato sauce (the organic peeled tomatoes in the photos turned out to be tasteless, so I replaced them with Cirio finely chopped tomatoes, which instead were rich and flavoursome)
• extra virgin olive oil (I use my favourite Olive Branch one)
• fresh basil, oregano, salt and pepper

These are the ingredients you will need to make a great Pizza Margherita!

Using a food processor, I mixed together warm water, flour, salt, yeast, water and olive oil. Don't add all the water at once: slowly add a little bit, then mix the ingredients, keep adding the water until you obtain the right texture. You should have a ball of dough that is smooth and not sticky.

Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel. Leave it in a warm room for at least twelve hours (if possible).

While we were waiting for the dough to rise, I prepared Bruschetta with Garlic and Cherry Tomatoes. I cut the tomatoes and seasoned them with extra virgin olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. I sliced a white bread loaf and grilled the slices in the oven to make them brown and crunchy. Then I rubbed a clove of garlic on the warm bread and topped it with the tomatoes.

After our antipasto, it was time to start the pizza preparation!

As we didn't have time to leave it to rest overnight, our dough was hard and lacked elasticity. We tried flattening the pizza using our hands (my husband demonstrated great potential for a future career in pizza making!), but we had to eventually use the "evil" rolling pin.

The rolling pin should not be used to make pizza, as it removes all the gas produced during the rising stage. Flattening the dough by hand maintains the texture that will make your pizza rise in the oven with crunchy bubbles.

When the pizza base is ready, place it on a pizza pan and add the tomato sauce. You need to cook the base with the tomato sauce for about 10-12 minutes.

If you want to use raw vegetables (such as courgettes, mushrooms, peppers, etc.) you need to add them now. All other toppings that don't require cooking (mozzarella, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, boiled eggs, ham, rocket salad, etc.) need to be added after the pizza base is cooked.

The oven should be very hot (around 220-230 °C). Always open and close it very quickly!

When the base is brown and nearly cooked, take the pizza out of the oven and add the mozzarella, basil, oregano and salt. I also like to splash a bit of extra virgin olive oil.

Put the pizza back in the oven for two or three more minutes (just enough to melt the cheese). Your homemade Italian style pizza is ready!

I hope you enjoyed this post and it will inspire you to make pizza at home! Homemade dough is very easy to make, it only requires some patience for the rising and practice for the kneading.

It can be cooked in a iron cast skillet (American style) or in pizza pans (Italian style). And of course, in a wood fired oven, if you are lucky to have one!

My favourite toppings are: cooked ham and marinated artichokes; bresaola, rocket salad and Parmesan shavings; courgette flowers and anchovies. But you can be creative and add anything you like. Ham and Pineapple Pizza? Go for it, I won't judge! ;)

Marie is a food/lifestyle photographer and stylist, Ann is a writer and graphic designer, Britt an award-winning photographer. Nothing short of beautiful could come out of their collaboration!

A few weeks ago, they announced on Instagram that they were planning a Voyage Magazine gathering in London in May. I signed up for the chance to spend a few hours talking to such talented people.

The plan was to have a picnic in St James' Park, so I arrived with a blanket and food to share. Unfortunately, the weather decided to mess with our plans and the day in London was windy, cold and rainy.

We decided to gather on the terrace of Peyton & Byrne Inn The Park cafe. We took out our food, cameras, drinks, and spent the next few hours chatting.

It was a small gathering, so we all had the chance to speak about ourselves and our passions and to get to know each other.

Drinking Elderflower Press Juice with Fresh Raspberries and warming up with hot tea.

The Voyage Magazine ladies gave us special travel notebooks with hand-written poems and Norwegian chocolates!

We all posed for a group photo at the end! Well, except me as I was taking the picture, of course! ;)

Thanks to my blog and my photography, I have had the chance to meet many wonderful people over the years. The Voyage Magazine lunch was a unique opportunity to meet like-minded people and be inspired to follow my passions and dreams. I am grateful to have been part of such a lovely meet-up and I thank Marie, Ann and Britt for organizing the event and taking the time to get to know all of us.

Instead, we hopped on a bus and travelled to the island of Christianshavn, an elegant neighbourhood with many cafes and bakeries. You might have heard of a restaurant called Noma, which you will find in this part of the city... ;)

Attracted by the beautiful cakes displayed in the Lagkagehuset shop window, I went in and bought a few treats for later: a Christianshavner tærten (a small hazelnut cake topped with strawberry cream) and a Kanelstang (a cinnamon bread filled with spices and glazed with sugar). I was keen to try Danish specialties, all in the spirit of reviewing them for you all...hard life of a food blogger, I know! ;)

In anticipation of eating the cakes, we decided to walk all the stairs up to the top of Our Saviours' Church. This is a beautiful baroque church, famous for its corkscrew spire with an external winding staircase, where you can enjoy fantastic views of Copenhagen. I walked all the way to the top of the spire (not without short breath and accelerated heart beat) and also took a short Vine video. My efforts were rewarded by the stunning views!

Next to the church, we found Café Oven Vande, which had outdoor seating and seemed to be full of locals. We decided to take a rest (I certainly needed to recover from the adrenaline rush) and fill our stomachs. Most of all, we wanted to try the famous "Danish Open Sandwiches": Smørrebrød.

Born as working class food, in modern days smørrebrød had become synonymous of antiquated lifestyle and unhealthy fast-food. This has changed now, as several Danish restaurants have picked up the tradition, transforming smørrebrød into a sought-after culinary experience. It is one of the "must-try" foods in Copenhagen.

Always based on rye bread, the open sandwiches can have a different number of toppings, from herring, to raw beef, seafood and egg (have a look at Danish Sandwich blog for recipes). We ordered a set dish with three sandwiches: shrimp, egg and dill mayonnaise; pickled herring; potato and roast beef with fried onions.

They were quite good, but the café was very busy and we had to wait nearly one hour for the food, which definitely spoilt the fun!

After lunch, we walked to Christiania, a collectively run 'hippie' village within the city of Copenhagen.

"Freetown Christiania" was created when squatters occupied a military area in 1971. The area has since grown and now covers 84 acres, counting about 850 residents; it is regulated by a special law, which makes it independent from the municipality of Copenhagen. Photography is not allowed, neither are weapons and hard drugs. And running, as it causes panic! :)

The main reason why Christiania is a famous touristic destination is the open cannabis trade. Officially it is illegal, but authorities have been reluctant to stop it, as "concentrating the hash trade at one place would limit its dispersion in society, and could prevent users from switching to harder drugs" (source: Wikipedia).

I expected Christiania to be nothing more than a tourist attraction, but it was much more than that. I really enjoyed spending a few relaxing hours walking through the village (and no, I didn't smoke).

Past Pusher Street and the bars, full with people drinking, smoking, playing music and board games, there is a real community of people who live and work here.The houses are built by the community and they are the most colourful and eccentric I have ever seen. There are kids roaming around, playing in the back yards, selling homemade lemonade and popcorn popped by the open fire.

I have always lived in big cities and I love my hectic lifestyle, but I often wonder what life would be like if I slowed down and worried less about career, wealth and possessions.

Visiting Christiania was a gentle reminder to myself of the simple things that matter the most in life. I also felt the happiest I had been in months, playing on a swing that was hanging from a tree, with the sun in my face and looking at the Stadsgraven canal.

Back to reality and to our tour of Copenhagen, we took a bus to cross the Knippel Bridge and go back to Nyhavn, where we had dinner the first night. We walked past the restaurants and went straight to the harbour in front of the Royal Danish Playhouse.

Copenhagen offers a lot of spots where you can rest and enjoy the sunshine: parks, gardens, even a small beach in Christiania, harbours, promenades, etc. One of them is Larsens Plads, a beautiful waterfront with 18th-century warehouses, which used to be a major hub for boats sailing to America.

We walked away from the promenade, to view the beautiful courtyard of Amalienborg Palace, winter home of the Royal Danish family. We also assisted by chance at the Royal Guards marching and changing the guard.

From there, we walked further north to Kastellet, a fortress built in the form of a pentagram, with bastions at its corners and a medieval citadel in the centre.

We went back by bus to our neighbourhood, Nørrebro, and visited the lively area around Sankt Hans Torv. We then continued to Jægersborggade, a popular foodie destination, to have dinner at Manfreds & Vin.

Opened by the same team behind Michelin-starred Relæ, Manfreds & Vin is the first natural wine bar in Copenhagen. It focuses primarily on "rustic everyday food, made with modern techniques and quality ingredients [such as] biodynamic vegetables from Kiselgården, roots from Lammefjorden, pig from Grambogaard, lamb from Havregaard and herbs from the forest".

We arrived around 8pm and were told that all the tables were booked for the night. The seats at the bar are only for walk-ins, so we decided to wait for a spot to free up. We ordered a glass of wine and sat in the "terrace"; after about fifteen minutes, the waitress told us we could sit at a table by the entrance, which had been free since we arrived and we assumed was only for drinks.

From the moment we sat down, the staff became more friendly and attentive towards us. We were served either by the waitress, the restaurant manager and a few different chefs: there was no clear distinction between roles and everyone was doing a bit of everything.

It was nice to have dishes served directly by the chefs, as it reinforced the impression of a very informal and simple restaurant, where the focus is not on appearances, but solely on food.

The menu changes daily, with a few starters, two dishes of the day (meat or vegetarian) and two desserts or cheese.

I started with a salad of root vegetables, söl & blackcurrant (söl should be seaweed pickles...does anybody know for sure?).

For the main course, both Giovanna and I ordered Okse fra mineslund mit kartoffelkompot and stegte gulerodder, stewed beef with potato compote and fried carrots. It was really good and a generous portion too!

I was stuffed, but everything had been so good, I couldn't leave without trying a dessert as well. The waitress presented me with two options: a lemon and yogurt cake, which would have been light, fresh and a good palate cleanser; or a heavy but delicious chocolate mousse. I was undecided at first, but in the end chocolate always wins! :)

Every dish was presented (in English) with a description of the ingredients and an indication of what flavours we should expect from it.

The restaurant management seemed a bit out of tune, but the food and service at Manfreds & Vin were perfect. The place is simple and basic focused on the quality of the wine and the dishes. It was a different dining experience compared to London, where restaurants tend to focus too much on the branding and style rather than on food.

This is all for Copenhagen - Day 2! Stay tuned to read about our last day in the city, as well as my favourite coffee shops!

To see all my food and coffee tips, check out my Copenhagen list on Foursquare.

I was in Copenhagen for only three days, but I have collected hundreds of photos of the city, the food and - of course - the coffee! I have decided to split my travel diary into a few posts: Copenhagen Day 1, 2 and 3. I will save the coffee photos for a special Copenhagen Coffee Tour post.

My best friend Giovanna and I have travelled together around the world many times, but since I moved to London, we hadn't been able to go on holiday together, so we decided to pick a European city we both had not visited and meet there for a long weekend.

We found accomodation through AirBNB and booked a room in Tinna and Emil's flat in Nørrebro, one of Copenhagen's trendiest district. Not only it was the perfect location to enjoy the city's best food and coffee, the flat also had a great atmosphere with its quirky decor, to-die-for kitchen and bright rooms.

Sharing Tinna and Emil's flat reminded me why I loved Couchsurfing: living in a real Danish home and getting a glimpse of how life is for a young couple in Copenhagen. Highly recommended (if you don't mind sharing the bathroom with the hosts).

I arrived at the flat in the late evening on Friday and, when we ventured out to the restaurants on Jægersborggade, we discovered all kitchens close at 10pm. We were left with the only one option of buying takeaway pizza to eat on the street. With so many great restaurants in Nørrebro, it felt like a missed opportunity, but Giovanna and I had so much to chat about that we didn't mind.

On Saturday, we started the day with breakfast at Riccos Kaffebar followed by a walk in the Botanical Garden. We confused street names on the map and convinced ourselves that we were in the King's Garden, therefore spent the time looking for a castle and art museum, and wondering why all the plants had tags on them! :P We only realized our mistake hours later!

The garden was beautiful and I am glad we went there, albeit by mistake!

Keen on having a good meal after the takeaway pizza, we headed to Kaffe Kalaset, which was recommended to me by friends as the best place to have breakfast in Copenhagen. It's indeed a great brunch spot!

I ordered a full vegetarian breakfast with scrambled eggs, grilled vegetables, felafel, potatoes, hummus, cheese and fruit; yoghurt with fresh berries and homemade muesli; bread and butter. Giovanna ordered the kødbyen, organic rye bread with scrambled eggs and bacon.

Kalaset was very close to Nørreport station, so after brunch we visited the food courts at Torvehallerne: these are two modern and bright glass buildings, with butchers, fishmongers, fruit and veg stalls, as well as delis, cafes and bakeries.

Since one of Coffee Collective shops is located inside Torvehallerne, we ended up going back there every day. Thanks to the sun and outdoor seating area, the market was packed with visitors every time.

The afternoon was spent wandering through the city: admiring the view from the top of Rundetaarn; watching street artists in Amagertorv; walking along the Strøget (one of Europe's longest pedestrian streets); dancing at a "free hash" festival in Rådhuspladsen (City Hall square); and enjoying some down time at Tivoli Gardens amusement park.

Making the most of the long daylight hours (the sun set around 9pm), we managed to complete nearly all the sight-seeing must-do's on the first day. Not content though, we also squeezed in a quick visit to the famous Little Mermaid.

The statue, based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, sits on a rock in the harbour off Langelinie promenade, north of Copenhagen's city centre and close to the Kastellet fortress. It is Copenhagen's icon and major tourist attraction.

Being hardcore tourists, however, has its downsides, as we found ourselves at 9pm with nowhere planned to go for dinner! Scared of ending up eating pizza again, we decided to go to Nyhavn, a 17th century waterfront, where there's plenty of restaurants and bars.

With a bit of forward planning, we could have dined at one of the best restaurants in the area, such as Geist, Told & Snaps and Retour. Because ours was a last minute decision and we hadn't booked anywhere, we ended up in eating at one of the many touristic places by the canal: the Heering bistro. Although the food wasn't bad, it was over-priced and the service was lazy, so I wouldn't recommend it.

Giovanna tried the Tartare of Salmon and the Brændende Kærlighed, a traditional Danish dish with mashed potatoes, bacon, butter brown onion and beetroot; I ordered the Boeuf Bearnaise with baked tomato and pommes frites.

That's all for our first day in Copenhagen, but stay tuned: more to come soon! To see all my food and coffee tips, check out my Copenhagen list on Foursquare.

***We purchased a 72-hour travelcard for 192 DKK (about £22), which we could use on all buses, trams and metro. I would recommend this, as it was very useful to explore the city.

I attended the event with my husband, without many expectations; as I am not a big drinker, I thought I would feel out of place. On the contrary, I was won over by the great cocktails created by Kensington Place Bar's mixologist, Imants Zusmanis.

Kensington Place, part of the D&D London group, is a stylish and modern British brasserie in Notting Hill. It opened its doors more than 25 years ago, but has recently undergone a make-over with a redesign of the interior and a new menu that has a strong emphasis on seafood.

I fell in love with Kensington Place as soon as I walked into the bright and colourful restaurant. The canapés I tasted during the evening have intrigued me about their food, so I am planning to go back for lunch or dinner soon.

The star of the night was of course the Excellia tequila: handcrafted in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, from the finest ingredients.

Imants used Excellia tequila to develop a menu of six delicious cocktails: Agave Fashioned, Rough Diamond, Tequila Sunrise, Grapefruit Fizz, Excellia Sours and Mexicanero.

I tasted the Grapefruit Fizz, made with Excellia Blanco, fresh grapefruit, Limoncello and Prosecco. It was good, but too bitter for my taste, so Imants made me a Rough Diamond: Excellia Reposado, Ratafia, cranberry juice, lime and sugar. It was bright red (my husband suggested to rename it Rough Ruby!), sweet and delicious. My perfect cocktail!

As the evening went on, we met The Artful Diner, who managed to get us a cocktail outside the menu: Mexican Passion, made with tequila and passion fruit. I am really not a fan of this fruit, and yet, I absolutely loved this cocktail! Another example of the great skills of KP's mixologist, Imants Zusmanis!

We had a fantastic evening and, if these photos are anything to go by, it seems that everyone else had a great time (and loved the cocktails) too! :)

Bar

Disclaimer: I attended the event at Kensington Place Restaurant & Bar as a guest. All views are my own.

The first Shoryu Ramen, in Regent Street, opened last year, managed by the same people as the Japan Centre across the road.

The new pop-up is in Denman Street, two minutes' walk from Piccadilly Circus, which means I can just about go there on my lunch break. I only need to take the tube and change three lines, after all. Totally doable.

I have already been twice since they opened two weeks ago, so I must really love it! :)

The first time, I went with Jason of Feast to the world. Mindful of how full and heavy I felt after eating tonkotsu at Bone Daddies, at Shoryu I chose the basic ramen option: Shoryu Ganso Tonkotsu, their signature ramen, with miso broth and added spinach and garlic.

I loved it and kicked myself for not having carried the DSLR to take proper food photos! So this week I went back (in time to take advantage of the half price ramen offer one more time!) with Kelly of Plum Project.

We ordered a starter to share: Gyoza Dumplings, which were crispy and tasty, although the white pepper was slightly overpowering.

As for the ramen, in the spirit of "trying different things for the blog", I ordered the Char Siu Tonkotsu this time. This is the original tonkotsu ramen, served with seven pieces of extra BBQ pork.

Extra sesame sprinkled over for photographic purposes - of course! ;)

I loved the broth (not as oily and thick as the one I tried at Bone Daddies) and the noodles! Although Kelly will probably tell you I know nothing about ramen, after I shocked her by taking out both the seaweed and the egg... ;)

Kelly followed on the footsteps of Jason and ordered the Dracula Tonkotsu: caramelised black garlic mayu, balsamic vinegar and garlic chips. While Jason wasn't convinced by the use of balsamic vinegar in ramen and told me he preferred the Char Siu, both Kelly and I loved the Dracula. It's definitely what I am going to order next time I eat at Shoryu.

We washed it off with some green tea.

I know I had doubts about the ramen trend, especially about the tonkotsu which I thought was too greasy and fat. But the food at Shoryu won me over and I am ready to have more!

Juliet's is a lovely café in the high street, which serves breakfast and lunch (according to reviews, the Eggs Benedict are a must), with beautiful looking salads and cakes. We sat outside and busked in the sun, happy to be "on holiday" in the countryside.

We walked through Tunbridge Wells and by the food market at The Pantiles, a Georgian Colonnade with shops (one is a well-stocked cookware store), art galleries and restaurants.

After lunch, coffee and a nice stroll in the town, we were ready to drive to Rye, in East Sussex, where we had booked a room at The Corner House. Thank you Regula (Miss Foodwise) for the rec, this bed & breakfast was charming, beautiful and quiet. It was exactly what we needed to take a break from our busy lives!

We dropped our bags and walked about a mile to Rye city centre and Cinque Port, which used to be by the sea, before the coastline shifted a few miles south.

All the shops in town seem to be of antiques and by 5pm were all closed! We wandered through streets named The Mermaid, The Mint, Wish Ward and by the dry river Breed, before admitting to ourselves that the only place to be on a Saturday afternoon in Rye was a pub! ;)

After a pint of local ale and a walk back to the bed & breakfast, we were ready for some food! We asked for advice to Sam at the Corner House and he recommended the nearby Playden Oasts Inn. We walked a few minutes to the restaurant, where we drank more ale and ate an amazing fish & chips: "Cod in our own Beer Batter with Chips & Peas". Followed by delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Sunday started in the best way: with sunshine outside the window and Full English breakfast on the plate! :)

We had planned to do a 8-mile coastal walk, from Pett beach to Hastings, via Fairlight. We started off with the best of our intentions and walked for an hour up the cliff, with beautiful views of the coast.

Soon though the path took us back to the main road, so we decided to take the car and drive to Eastbourne.

I'm glad we did, as Eastbourne is a pretty town by the sea, similar to Brighton with its Victorian architecture and boardwalk, but definitely less touristic and worth visiting.

We ended our mini-holiday eating Spanish churros at the French food market on the Eastbourne promenade (as you do...), before driving back to Gatwick and then getting the train back home.

It was a short but restful getaway and I felt energized by the country walks, the sun and the fresh sea air. I am glad we got the opportunity to discover this beautiful corner of England!

I tried different recipes and found my favourite combination on an Italian food blog, called Fragole a merenda. It worked perfectly!

Ingredients

• 100g oats
• 50g wholemeal flour
• 50g spelt flour
• 50g demerara sugar
• 100g salted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170 °C.

Grind the oats in a food processor for a few seconds only, to make them smaller (you don't want to get a fine powder).

Sift the flour (wholemeal and spelt), baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix the dry ingredients with the crushed oats.

Add the softened butter and milk, little by little, until you get a stiff dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and store it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Unwrap the dough and place it in between two sheets of baking parchment paper. Roll it out using a rolling pin, until it's about 3-4 mm thick.

Cut out the biscuits (I used a plain round cookie cutter) and, if you want, use an alphabet cookie stamp set to write a few words on them. Last month I made a batch of biscuits branded 'Digestive', but this time I carved out the words 'Terrone Coffee'.

Transfer the biscuits to a baking tray covered with parchment paper and cook them for 10 minutes on each side. Check the biscuits in the oven during the baking: they can easily burn or get too dark. You want to get a nice golden colour.

Cool down on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

I love Brixton Village and it's one of the first places I reviewed for Mondomulia last year, so I was very excited when Edy told me about the new Terrone pop-up! I also live in Brixton now, so visiting is definitely easier than crossing the city to Netil Market! ;)

At the pop-up they use the Terrone Ciclista blend: a mix of four Arabica coffee from Santo Domingo, Brazil, Mexico and Sumatra. The coffee is ground in a Nuova Simonelli grinder and made with La Marzocco espresso machine.

If you prefer filter coffee, they offer Stumptown coffee hand-brewed on the aeropress.

The new menu for Terrone's brew bar was designed by Apple & Pear, an Italian duo of graphic designers specialized in branding, print and web design. Working from their Clerkenwell studio, they have designed Terrone's new menus, labels, packaging and business cards (and done a fantastic job)!

The barista working alongside Edy at Terrone Coffee pop-up is Lucian Trapanese, a young talented Italian barista, latte art expert, espresso lover, who also works at Fred & Fran in Stoke Newington. His girlfriend Elena was also helping at the bar.

Other baristas that are part of "Team Terrore" and you may find in Netil Market or Brixton pop-up are Callum Hale Thomson Young Barista and Benjemyn Deyn.

I have been at the Brixton pop-up café a few times already and I was really impressed by the quality of the Macchiato and Flat White I tried. They were among the best coffee I had recently!

There is a great atmosphere at the Terrone Coffee pop-up, with many people coming and going everyday, especially at the weekend when Market Row and the nearby Brixton Village are heaving with foodies.

There are plenty of seats and food is served in the form of sourdough sandwiches (made by the amazing Bread Bread), pies and cakes. And if you are lucky, you may even find my Carrot Cake, as for the past two weekends I have been baking cakes and cookies to sell at Terrone's pop-up! :)

Terrone Coffee Pop-Up is open for a month only, so hurry up for a chance to visit it!

You can also find Terrone at the London Coffee Festival (25-28 April, Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London). Edy will take part in the Coffee in Good Spirits competition tomorrow; Edy, Benjemyn and Callum are also competing in the UK Aeropress Championships on Saturday.

Terrone Coffee will be at the True Artisan Cafe on Sunday, 16:00 - 19:00, Bar One. I will be there! :)

Launched in February 2007, Monocle is an international lifestyle magazine, headquartered in London and focused on global affairs, business, culture and design.

Aside from the printed and online publication and a radio show, Monocle have shops in New York, London, Toronto, Tokyo and Hong Kong where they sell "products that cater to their readers’ tastes", as well as a café in Tokyo's Yurakucho. The Marylebone's coffee shop is the latest addition to the brand.

Walking through Marylebone on my lunch break, I was filled with a sense of calm and peace. Every shop in Chiltern Street is beautiful: antiques, wedding gowns, art. Monocle could not have found a better location to reflect the brand's ethos! (no wonder the café is around the corner from their HQ office).

Leaving the bustling Baker Street and hoards of Madame Tussaud's visitors behind and turning right into Chiltern street felt stepping into a different space.

As soon as you walk in the café, you enter the Monocle world as everything inside seamlessly encompasses the brand.

While I imagine the Monocle café in Tokyo to be an open space for busy shoppers to get a quick meal and regain energies before attacking the shops again (it is located in Hankyu Men's department store), the London sister café really feels more like a membership club. It's in a part of town not invaded by tourists, shoppers or office workers on a lunch break; I see it as the perfect place for nomad workers and freelancers to meet clients.

The espressos are made on La Marzocco machine and coffee beans are from Allpress Roastery. I ordered a macchiato, which was good in taste, although the milk didn't have the creamy texture I am used to getting from my favourite independent coffee shop. Here the milk was foamy and more similar to what I find in Italy.

My "lunch" was a cinnamon bun, which was exactly as good as the ones I buy from Fabrique's bakery in Hoxton (just more expensive...). At £3.00, the macchiato was also above London's average coffee prices.

I replaced the white chocolate and cranberries of the original recipe with dark chocolate chips and Galaxy Minstrels. Just to make it clear that these are not low-fat biscuits! ;)

The recipe worked perfectly and was very easy to follow. The cookies will fill your house with a lovely buttery smell and I garantuee you they will make your flatmate/partner/family very happy! :)

Ingredients

Makes 12 cookies

• 135g unsalted butter, softened
• 80g caster sugar
• 80g brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 190g self-raising flour*
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 160g chocolate chips
• 100g Galaxy Minstrels (I used four buttons per cookie)

* If you use plain flour, add 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 170 °C and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Using an electric whisk, cream together the butter and both types of sugar, then break in the egg, add the vanilla essence and mix well together.

Sift together the flour and salt, then add to the creamed mixture in two batches, mixing thoroughly until a dough forms. Lastly stir in the chocolate chips.

Break off pieces of the dough (about two tablespoons in size), roll them into balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure to space them apart from each other by 7-8cm as they will spread during cooking. Add three or four Minstrels on each dough ball.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the cookies are a light golden on top. Leave on the sheet for about 10 minutes to cool and set, before transferring to a wire rack.

The new Dishoom has a great location, just off über-cool Redchurch Street in Shoreditch. Similar to the Covent Garden branch, the restaurant is split into two levels: ground floor and basement. One thing I noticed, as soon as I walked in, was the amount of light that filled the place. The restaurant is so big, it spreads from Boundary Street on one side to Shoreditch High Street on the other, meaning there's always plenty of light coming in, morning and afternoon.

I love the beautiful interiors of Dishoom Shoredicth, which was designed by Russel Sage Studio and inspired by the tradition of Bombay's Persian cafés from the 50-60's.

Much like Bombay cafes, Dishoom is open all day, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between. Of course, this is not an authentic Bombay cafe. It is a modern London restaurant trying to recreate that atmosphere and decor, but I believe they have made a pretty great job!

During our holidays in Mumbai last November, we went to the popular Irani joint B. Merwan, open since 1914 outside Grant Road station, in South Mumbai. We had bun maska: fresh brioche bun filled with a generous dollop of butter and sprinkled with sugar. The bread was soft and delicious, the perfect snack to replenish my energies after a morning spent haggling in the Manish Market.

The bun maska at Dishoom sadly wasn't as good as the real thing: the bread was toasted and crusty, rather than freshly baked and soft. It was filled with a slice of butter - no sugar sprinkled here as far as I could taste - and the butter didn't melt with the heat of the chai. It was just like any bread and butter, while the bun maska at B. Merwan had been for me such a perfect combination of flavours and texture. It was so delicious, I will always remember it as one of the best things I have ever tasted in my life.

With that memory in mind, no other bun maska could have ever compared! :(

On the other hand, I very much enjoyed the chai at Dishoom and their selection of sweet Nankhatai biscuits, sprinkled with sunflower seeds, and salted Jeera biscuits, with cumin seeds.

After a few glasses of chai and the biscuits, we were ready to order breakfast. I chose the Bacon Naan Roll: a freshly baked naan wrapped around grilled bacon, chilli tomato jam, cream cheese and herbs.

Serena and Sylvia ordered the Egg Naan Roll, where the naan comes wrapped around two fried eggs with runny yolk, chilli jam, cream cheese and spicy green herbs.

Sandy chose a vegetarian dish from the all-day menu: Chole Frankie, a naan parcel filled with spiced chickpeas, pickled vegetables and chutney.

Albert was more adventurous and went for the Full Bombay: Akuri (spicy scrambled eggs), grilled bacon, Cumberland sausage, toast and grilled tomatoes. A perfect way to mix traditional Bombay Irani food with the classic British breakfast.

I didn't order dessert, but my friends had the Pineapple & Black Pepper Crumble: fresh fruit infused with black pepper and vanilla, topped with oat, seed and nut crumble, served with cinnamon ice cream. It was very tasty, not overly sweet and pungent in flavour!

I loved the brunch and it was the most enjoyable meal I have ever had at Dishoom. The whole experience was relaxed, calming, which is exactly the feeling I get when I visit the "real thing" in Mumbai. I am happy to see that Dishoom is only getting better and it really takes in the customers' feedback to always improve and offer a great dining experience.

I have shared a lot of cake recipes lately, so I thought it was time to make something a little different and out of the ordinary. The Easter holidays gave me time to experiment with an idea I had in my mind!

I have always wanted to use Lotus Speculoos Spread in baking, but couldn't decide on any recipe in particular. Until I saw a photo of speculoos truffles on Pinterest, which gave me the idea of speculoos cake pops!

I put together bits and pieces of different recipes I found online and developed the one I am sharing with you today.

A French blog, called Steph a Table, gave me the idea to use madeleines, but instead of the supermarket ones, I made them from scratch.

Madeleines Ingredients

Recipe from All Recipes

2 eggs1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon lemon zest125g icing sugar100g plain flour1/4 teaspoon baking powder125g butter, melted and cooled

Preparation

Preheat oven to 190 °C. In a bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and lemon zest with an electric mixer on high speed for five minutes. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, until you obtain a thick mixture.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture, 1/4 at a time. Then fold in the melted and cooled butter.

Grease and flour a madeleine mould (I used a Lakeland silicone madeleine mould and baked about 60 mini madeleines). Spoon the cake mixture into the moulds, filling 3/4 full.

Bake for 10/12 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool the madeleines in the moulds for one minute, then remove them and leave on a rack to cool down completely.

The next steps were: preparing buttercream frosting (I used a recipe from BBC Food); assembling the cake pops (I used my Coffee Cake Pops recipe); coating them with chocolate.

Buttercream Ingredients

• 140g butter
• 280g icing sugar
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Cake Pops Ingredients

• 600g cake
• 200g buttercream frosting
• 4 tbsp Speculoos Spread
• 400g chocolate or candy melts
• lollipop sticks
• sprinkles

* These are ballpark measurements and I recommend keeping more of each ingredient at home, in case you need more frosting for the cake mix or more chocolate to coat the cake pops.

Preparation

Prepare the buttercream frosting by beating the butter in a large bowl with the icing sugar, until smooth. Add one or two tablespoons of milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture.

Crumble the madeleines in small pieces using your fingers, then mix the crumbles with the buttercream frosting and the speculoos spread until you have a dough like mixture.

Place mixture into fridge to firm up for at least 30 minutes (the longer, the better). Line a baking tray with baking paper.

When the dough is firm, scoop out small portions and roll into a ball, then place this on the baking sheet. Repeat until all mixture has gone. Keep the balls in the fridge, so they stay firm (I kept them overnight).

Melt the chocolate or candy melts in a bain-marie or in the microwave. If you are using the microwave, be careful to use medium power and stir the chocolate every 30 seconds.

Dip one lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and then push it in a cold cake bite. Repeat this step until you have used all the sticks, before starting to coat the cake bites. This will allow the chocolate to stiff around the stick.

If the chocolate sets in the bowl, melt it again in the microwave.

Dip the whole cake pop in the chocolate, using a spoon to ensure the chocolate is spread evenly. Gently tap the cake pop on the side of the bowl to let the extra chocolate drip off.

Before the chocolate sets on the cake pop, add the sprinkles. You can dry the cake pop facing up (you will need a foam block) or facing down (placing them on a plate).

Overall, it took me nearly four hours to make these Speculoos Cake Pops! That's because I made the madeleines from scratch, but if you have leftover cake, then it will be much quicker, obviously!

I also wasted ingredients and time when I had a cooking accident involving three bars of Green & Blacks chocolate and the microwave! :( (use it at low power, seriously!)

And I made so many madeleines that I had enough mixture to make fifty-two cake pops: one hour and a half was needed to roll the pops and coat them in chocolate.

Nonetheless, it was a fun baking experiment and I took great pride in inventing this recipe! Thank you to our friends: Surekha who helped with the preparation and Adam who took the photos of me decorating the cake pops.

I gave some cake pops to them, some more to my friend Pooja, while Serena, Sylvia and Federica also tasted them. I gave the rest to my hubby to take to work, which made his office very happy! :) I also managed to eat a few ones myself!

The end result was truly delicious and many people loved them, which made it all worthwhile!

Il Porto Fluviale only opened in December 2012, but is already a popular destination for Roman youngsters and families, making on average one thousand covers per day.

Housed in a 900 sqm warehouse (originally part of the Magazzini Generali, Rome's wholesale market), it is four things into one: a bar, a trattoria (eatery), a pizzeria and a private room with chef, the Salotto. The name, Porto Fluviale, refers to the old port by the banks of the river Tiber; commercial boats would arrive there from overseas to deliver goods for the city of Rome.

It's evident that a lot of research was done before launching this venture. The concept was developed by Laurenzi Consulting, the space was curated by architecture studio Roberto Liorni, while the brand image was designed by Repubblica Gastronomica.

The location, in a working class neighbourhood and in a warehouse, reminds me of New York's Meatpacking district. The interior design reminds me of East London, with its reclaimed furniture and industrial lights. But the food, that is 100% Italian.

In the evening I went for aperitivo, I ordered a half pint of their home brewed beer, a golden ale called La Fluviale, which was served with a trio of appetizers. I nibbled at the bar, while waiting for my friend to arrive.

Later we moved to one of the tables in the bar and ordered spritz and cicchetti (small plates traditionally served in Venetian bars, more about them here).

The spritz is available in many different versions, depending on which liquor they add to the Prosecco: Aperol Spritz and Campari Spritz of course, but also Paperol Spritz (with a rhubarb-based liquor and lime), Rosso Veneziano (with Select liquor), Hugo (with Sambuca syrup and fresh mint) and a few more. All cocktails are created by famous Italian mixologist and spritz expert, Pino Mondello.

The cicchetti menu offers regional dishes from different parts of Italy. The attention to the freshness and quality of ingredients is always very important here. I tried the burrata stracciatella with sundried tomatoes; beef meatballs and aubergine arancino (fried rice ball).

Each section of the restaurant has got its own separate menu, but the common line is to provide comfort food, good and authentic, served in a modern environment.

In the Trattoria for example, you can order the classic first courses of the Roman cuisine: spaghetti carbonara, manicaretti with ricotta, tagliolini with butter and anchovies, and so on.

If you prefer pizza, you can choose between Neapolitan style and Roman style, as the pizzeria comes with two wood-fired ovens, one set to a lower temperature to cook the thick pizza like in Naples, the other oven reserved for the thin and crispy Roman pizza.

Homemade sourdough bread is baked every morning. At the gastronomia counter, you will always find Parma ham, Bufala mozzarella, mixed cheese and charcuterie. Cakes are prepared on the spot, at the dessert counter.

The griglieria corner offers grilled meats, while the friggitoria is where the classic Roman fritti are made: aubergines arancini, salted codfish croquettes, battered mozzarella bites, etc.

At Porto Fluviale, you are really spoilt for choice!

Finally, my favourite part: the salotto. This private dining space, managed by chef Maria Castellano, is right in the centre of the restaurant, separated by glass walls from the trattoria and the pizzeria. One side is facing the outside street.

The space is fitted with a high-quality kitchen, with KitchenAid food processors, a larder, stove and sink.

The stoves are fitted into the long wooden 15-seat table, so that the chef can cook for your guests while they sit around the table. The party becomes a cooking workshop! Or if you prefer, the chef will prepare everything in advance. The menu is always planned directly between yourself and the chef, who is also in charge of the food shopping.

At lunch ( and at the weekend), Il Porto Fluviale offers bargain buffet menus: all you can eat appetizers, pasta and salads, plus drink, for 9.50€ during the week; or 15 € with dessert included, during the weekend.

I think I know where I'll go for weekend brunch next time I am in Rome! :)

My friend Sylvia of Peaches and Donuts found this recipe in the book Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, and sent it to me. In return for the favour, I made the cake for Easter Monday lunch and invited her and her husband to try it.

Sylvia declared that my cake was better than Honey & Co’s, which was a great compliment to receive.

I didn't find this recipe at all complicated; it requires time and patience, but that’s not very different from baking bread.

I think I rolled out the dough too thin (the original recipe doesn't specify how thick it should be), as that’s the only explanation why I ended up with enough leftover dough to make a third loaf. My "mistake" made the cake moist, as the bread to chocolate ratio was more in favour of the chocolate! :)

I also changed a couple of ingredients: I replaced the lemon zest in the dough with orange zest, as I thought this would pair better with the chocolate; I used about 2/3 plain flour + 1/3 strong bread flour; I also replaced unsalted butter in the chocolate filling with salted butter. This was a necessary adaptation, as I had ran out of unsalted butter, but it worked well anyway.

Ingredients

• 530g plain flour

• 100g caster sugar

• 2 sachets (14g) dried yeast

• zest of 1 orange

• 3 free-range eggs

• 120ml water

• 1/3 tsp salt

• 150g unsalted butter, softened

• sunflower oil for greasing

Chocolate Filling

• 50g icing sugar

• 30g cocoa powder (I used Guido Gobino’s from Turin)

• 130g dark chocolate

• 120g butter, melted

• 100g pecans, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

Syrup

• 260g caster sugar

• 160ml water

Preparation

In a bowl, add the flour, sugar, yeast and zest and mix together using your hands or a food processor with the dough hook. Add the eggs and water and mix for a few minutes until the dough comes together. Add salt and start adding the butter, a cube at a time, letting it all melt into the dough. Mix for five-ten minutes, until you obtain an elastic, smooth and sticky dough.

Grease a large bowl with sunflower oil, place the ball of dough into it, cover with cling film and leave to rise overnight or for at least half a day.

The next day, start by preparing the chocolate filling. Mix the icing sugar, cocoa powder, melted dark chocolate and melted butter. Beat until you get a smooth, spreadable paste.

Grease two 2lb loaf tins and line the bottom with parchment baking paper.

Divide the dough into two parts, work one part on a floured surface, leave the other part covered in the fridge.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough onto the surface, then trim the edges with a knife to obtain a 38cm x 28cm rectangle. Spread half of the chocolate filling over the dough, leaving a 2 cm border all around. Sprinkle half of the pecans and one tablespoon of caster sugar.

Brush a little of water over the long edge of the dough on your left. Using both hands, roll up the rectangle like a roulade, starting from the long side on your right, rolling towards the left side. Roll the dough completely into a perfect, thick log, sitting on its seam.

With a knife, trim off 2 cm of both ends. Gently, cut the roll into two, lenghtways, from the top to the bottom. Position the cut sides facing up, gently press the ends together. Lift the right half over the left half. Repeat with the left half over the right half and press the ends together to seal it. Carefully lift the loaf and place into the tin.

Repeat the process with the remaining dough. Then, cover the loaves with a wet tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1/1.2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 170 °C. After the cakes have risen, remove the tea towels and place them on the middle shelf for 30 minutes.

Make the syrup while the cakes are in the oven. Place the sugar and water into a saucepan over a medium heat. As soon as the sugar dissolves and the syrup starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

When Sandy and I arrived at Caravan Kings Cross, Sam and Hannah were nowhere to be seen; a few tweets later, we realized they were waiting at Caravan Exmouth Market instead! Luckily it was only a short bus ride away and around 12:30 we finally met at the right location!

Sam and Hannah had been waiting for a table for 45 minutes (having arrived at Caravan at 11:40). We waited ten more minutes together, before finally sitting down.

I tried the brunch menu at Caravan Kings Cross last summer (you can see my review here) and food-wise the Exmouth Market brand didn't offer any surprises.

Cornbread French Toast, Bacon, Rocket and Avocado was my safe choice and it didn't disappoint: it was tasty and filling. Sandy ordered Fried Egg and Spicy Beans on Grain Toast.

Both arrived covered in rocket, which appears to be the hipster topping du jour. I challenge you to count how many dishes are served with rocket in this city, you will find it is ubiquitous! It reminded me of an article by Seb Emina (author of The Breakfast Bible) for The Clerkenwell Post, where he wrote: "my heart sinks when I see a straggling mess of rocket teetering over my fried eggs". A fan of classic breakfasts, Seb prefers them without salad, and I agree.

Sam chose Poached Eggs on Toast, with Peas and Hollandaise Sauce. Butter and Sourdough Toast on the side.

Hannah couldn't resist her sweet tooth and went for Pancakes with Crème Fraîche and Compote. I didn't taste it, but one observation I can make is that the portion seemed a bit small for the price: £7.50 for only two pancakes.

But then, it's hard to please me when it comes to pancakes, as for me it's impossible to beat the quality and portion size of Bea's Diner in Maltby Street!

While researching for this post, I read a few negative reviews about Caravan, complaining about the service for not being friendly, accurate and quick.

With the exception of the long wait, I don't have any complaints: while not overly friendly and warm, the service was fast and the orders arrived without mistakes.

I enjoyed the brunch, overall, and I would love to go back to either locations in Kings Cross and Exmouth Market (admittedly, the prospect of a long wait might send me somewhere else!).

The Cow Beastie Eggs is a milk chocolate egg, printed on the outside with natural cocoa butter, to create a cow pattern (it is also available with a zebra design). I like this idea of a chocolate egg that is, not only good, but also stylish.

I personally think that the Cow Beaste Egg would make a perfect gift for female colleagues, friends and teenagers.

It is nicely wrapped in transparent paper, so you know exactly what you are buying.

In Italy, Easter eggs are always wrapped hidden in coloured foil and come with a surprise inside (usually a little toy or plastic jewellery). I very much prefer English eggs, which instead of a toy, come with...more chocolate!

The Beastie Egg comes with six praline and salted caramel mini eggs. These were very tasty, big enough to eat in two bites, and filled with moist praline or gooey caramel.

The egg chocolate itself was very good, with a thick shell and a sweet taste (with hints of caramel I would say). I normally prefer dark chocolate eggs, as I love biting through a crunchy chocolate piece, taste the bitterness of the chocolate that slowly melts in your mouth. The Hotel Chocolat egg was instead very sweet and I felt like I had to pair it with bread or a biscuit, to balance the sweetness out.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality of this Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg. It's good to know that they offer good luxurious chocolate at affordable prices.

I have had a look at their Easter range online and all the chocolate eggs look beautiful. I would definitely buy it as a gift in the future.

Disclaimer: I have received the sample for free for the purpose of this review. All views are my own.

I came to know about Embassy East via Twitter, as often is the case. It happened through Workshop Coffee (my favourite London cafe, I am there nearly every day!) as Embassy East uses their beans.

So one day I decided to visit Embassy East during my lunch break. It's a long walk from Farringdon and I ended up having time for just a quick macchiato. A week later I was back for more, but on a Sunday afternoon this time.

The cafe is small, with only four tables in the main room and a bar with stools by the window. There is also a longer table at the back, which feels like a private room, a lovely and quiet one.

Chris and Lehi, who opened the coffee shop in January, introduced themselves to me, probably recognizing me from my tweets. I like when a business read tweets from their customers and welcome them to the shop. It is not feasible for a big restaurant, but it's nice when small shops do it, as it shows that they are happy to see you and to interact.

Lehi was busy brewing Workshop’s Buf coffee in the chemex, while Chris was taking espresso orders on La Marzocco machine.

Instead of a complicated menu of coffee drinks (macchiato, piccolo, cortaco, cappuccino, latte, etc.), Embassy East is keeping it simple: you can choose between espresso, black, white or filter; and between three sizes (4oz, 6oz, 8oz).

But don't worry if you want a Flat White, they will know what to do! ;)

For more pretty photos and a throughout review of their coffee, I recommend you head over to A Southern Belle in London and read Kate's blog post.

I haven't been to Embassy East for lunch yet, but I hear the Haggis Toastie is a must-try (thanks Chloe). I am sure they apply to food the same passion they reserve for coffee.

A good reason for me to go back soon.

To make this Honey Granola, I adapted two recipes by Eat Sleep Cuddle and Elizabeth's Kitchen. I also added new ingredients, as I had a few things at home that I wanted to use up, such as coconut flakes or half packet of mixed berries (left over from the Apple Cake).

I love this recipe, but you can change your granola the way you like it: replace dried fruits with chocolate chips; add extra cinnamon and nutmeg for a spiced flavour; replace honey with maple syrup; and so on.

We ate this honey granola for breakfast this morning, sprinkled over Chobani Blood Orange Yogurt.

Ingredients

• 2 cups jumbo oats
• 2 tbsp linseeds
• 1 cup pecans, chopped roughly
• 80g dried coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 100g dried cranberries or mixed dried fruits

Preparation

Pre-heat oven to 150 °C.

Chop the pecans roughly and mix them with oats, linseeds and coconut flakes. Add the cinnamon powder.

Add the wet ingredients, olive oil and honey, to the oat mixture. Stir until evenly coated, adding more honey if required.

Spread the granola out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, stirring half way through, until golden.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely, until the granola has set. Stir in the dried fruits.

Store in airtight containers.

The new photos are a testimony of how much my food styling and photography has improved since I started. It makes me proud, as my objective was always to focus on my photography and improve my skills.

I feel more confident now at using the light, styling the food and editing the photos. Not to mention I'm a much better baker! ;)

They are also a reminder that there is always something more to learn and I should try to be creative and be better, every day, as I grow alongside my blog.

So, I hope you won't mind me sharing the recipe again!

It all starts with an old recipe, passed down by generations, hand-written on a battered book...

Ingredients*

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of sunflower oil
• 3 cups of plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 Russet apples, chopped in thin slices
• handful of raisins (or mixed dried fruit), soaked in rum or whisky
• walnuts, chopped

Preparation

Soak a handful of raisins overnight with rum or whisky. This will make the cake soft and moist.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C.

Peel the apples, slice them finely and put them aside.

Whisk the eggs and the sugar. Add the sunflower oil, flour and baking powder. Mix the ingredients together; the dough should be quite solid and hard to stir.

Grease a cake tin with butter, then sprinkle it with flour all over. Remove the flour in excess. Pour half of the cake mix in the tin.

Place the apple slices over the cake. Add the raisins and walnuts.

Pour the other half of the cake mixture over, filling 3/4 of the cake tin.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or one hour (check the cooking with a toothpick).

* I have tweaked the measurements slightly compared to the old recipe and replaced cups with half cups.

We arrived at noon on a Saturday; early for Roman standards, where it is common to have lunch around 2pm. It was a good move to avoid the weekend crowd and we were able to sit immediately in the almost empty room.

The idea behind this new venture is to enjoy fish in a quick and affordable way, so that you wouldn't spend more than "eating a pizza", as the owners say.

You can easily have a great meal anywhere in Rome, but rarely restaurants also impress me for their décor. At the Fish Market, I loved the food, the concept and the space, as everything was clearly done with great attention to detail.

At the entrance of the restaurant there is a large fish case, where the fresh catch of the day is displayed; behind it, stand the chefs in the open kitchen.

You can order anything you see on the stall and choose how to have it cooked, grilled or battered. There is also a specials' board on the wall and a menu with a few starters and sfizi di mare, small fish plates to tickle your appetite.

The ordering system is simple: you fill a paper form with a pencil, ticking the boxes of all the items you want to eat, go to the till and pay. The food is then served at the table.

I would have loved to try everything, but as it was just two of us, we had to control ourselves. I picked a bruschetta con pomodoro as a starter, while Giovanna ordered a Tuna Tartare.

To warm ourselves from the winter cold, we both ordered the Caciucco alla Livornese, a fish stew made with the traditional Tuscan way, with tomato sauce and toasted bread added on top. It was lovely!

I also ordered fried calamari and fried vegetables, which tasted amazing when hot and crispy. Unfortunately, everything was served at the same time, so by the time I had finished the stew, the fried food had become a bit cold and soggy.

After lunch, we strolled around the cobbled streets and Medieval houses of Trastevere, busking in beautiful Roman sun.

I crossed the river Tevere at Ponte Garibaldi and continued my walk to the city centre, through Pantheon and eventually reached Villa Borghese to watch the sunset from the Terrazza del Pincio.

What a wonderful sight! Rome, my hometown, I hope to see you again soon!

French Macarons are often the Achille's heel of bakers. They require patience, practice and precision, so for me attending a macaron-making workshop seemed like the best idea.

Why is it important to attend a workshop before making French macarons for the first time? As I said, they require a lot of attention, so it is helpful to watch someone else making them in front of you (twice!). Practicing with a teacher by your side, ready to correct your mistakes, also makes all the difference.

Here you will find step-by-step photos of my preparation of the macarons. To write this post, I have integrated a few tips learnt during the On Cookery School workshop, as well as a few others found on Serious Eats, The Guardian and David Lebovitz blog.

First of all, an obvious but important tip: always use good quality equipment and ingredients.

Start by sifting your dry ingredients (ground almond and icing sugar), repeat multiple times if necessary. The objective is to have no lumps!

Sift the icing sugar on top of the ground almond; don't mix them.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks three days ahead. When you prepare the meringue, the egg whites should be at room temperature. Using fresh egg whites is more likely to result in macarons that are too fragile and flat.

Pay close attention when you whisk the sugar and egg whites together, as the meringue should not be too liquid, nor too stiff.

Carefully fold the meringue with the dry ingredients, scraping the bowl from the sides first, then from the bottom up.

Use a colouring paste to add colours to your macarons and a jug to fill out the piping bag (it makes it so much easier!).

At the workshop, we didn't have to worry about the cooking side (which was taken care of by Loretta's assistant), but - fyi - it is important to leave the macarons to set for some time before baking them.

Loretta explained us the importance of knowing your own oven. Every oven is different and the temperature shown on the display never really matches the real temperature inside (which is why it is useful to own an oven thermometer!). When making French macarons, the oven temperature must be exactly 160 °C.

For the filling of our French macarons, we used a Valrhona chocolate ganache, that Loretta had prepared the day before.

We were given the chocolate ganache to take home, as the macarons should not be filled when they are still warm from the oven.

And now the hard part: macarons are supposed to rest for a day before you eat them, as they taste better with a bit of rest (you need to store them in the fridge).

I am very proud of my first attempt at making macarons. It was "easy" to make them at school, using the best baking equipment and good quality ingredients, but most of all having the attentive Loretta available at every step to guide me.

I know it won't be easy to make them again, on my own, but I have learnt the most important lesson: don't be afraid to get it wrong the first (many) times. Only with practice and patience you will get the perfect results!

My mum makes amazing jams and marmalades, something I have yet to try doing myself.

Back home, we have a big garden with fruit trees: my dad is in charge of peeling and slicing the fruit, my mum boils it and makes the jam. The whole process takes days, as they usually have large quantities of fruit to go through!

Friends and neighbours also bring crates of fruit from their gardens, as it happened with these bitter oranges.

For me, this marmalade was too bitter to just have it on toast, so I had to come to other ways of using it.

My mum suggested pairing it with chocolate and I loved the idea of a dark chocolate / bitter orange combo. I decided to make my own version of a Sacher Torte, adapting this recipe from Jul's Kitchen (recipe in Italian only).

Ingredients

• 100g unsalted butter, softened

• 35g + 110g caster sugar (used at different stages of the preparation)

• 1 tbsp honey

• 6 egg yolks

• 1 whole egg

• 2 egg whites

• 125g milk or dark chocolate

• 100g plain flour, sifted

For the filling

• 100g bitter orange marmalade (this measure is approximate, you can really use as much as you like!)

For the decoration

• 100g dark chocolate

Preparation

Pre-heat the ovet to 180°C.

Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie, then leave it to cool down.

Beat the egg yolks with 35g of sugar, one tablespoon of honey and one whole egg. Pour in the melted chocolate and softened butter.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites with 110g of sugar, for a few minutes, until they turn white and fluffy. Slowly fold the egg whites into the cake mix.

Sift the flour and add it to the mix.

Pour the cake mixture in a greased cake tin. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Take the cake out of the tin and leave it to cool down on a wire rack.

Slice the cake in half horizontally and spread the marmalade over one layer. Top it up with the other cake layer.

Melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie, and pour it over the cake.

Serve warm. It's delicious with a scoop of clotted cream ice-cream! ;)

Ramen can be prepared with different types of noodles (straight or wavy, thin or thick, round or flat) and every ramen chef would cultivate his/her own stock recipe, so comparing ramen restaurants is not an easy task. It really is down to your personal preferences and taste.

I have spoken to many food bloggers about it and there isn't a general agreement: some prefer Shoryu, some Bone Daddies, some Tonkotsu, and so on. As for myself, I am not even sure I love ramen...but let me tell you more about my experience!

We started our dinner with a portion of Soft Shell Crab, after it was recommended by a few Twitter friends. Given that I am quite squeamish with food, especially shellfish, the crab was not a smart choice.

There is something about the looks and the texture of soft shell crab that simply puts me off eating it...I did try it and it did taste good, especially dipped in the green chilli ginger sauce, but I couldn't bring myself to eat more than a small bite.

The ramen was definitely a more successful choice. My husband ordered the Sweet 3 Miso Ramen, which was made with a chicken bone broth, and came with toppings of eggs, sprouts, corn, wakame and chicken.

I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen with spring onion and chashu pork.

At Bone Daddies, there is a vast choise of toppings to add to your ramen: from bean sprouts to cock scratchings, from noodles to spicy ground chicken. I ordered an extra portion of 20-hour pork bone broth (as recommended by Clernkenwell Boy). It was a good tip, as the tonkotsu comes with too many toppings and not enough broth.

I tried ramen in Japan a few years ago, at Santouka in Kyoto, and I remember it as a tasty but light broth.

The tonkotsu ramen I tried here in London, at both Tonkotsu and Bone Daddies, is very different. The pork broth is rich, dense from the fats and collagen, the flavour is intense, and the bowls here are much bigger. At Santouka, ramen was served in a small bowl that could be lifted with one hand, but here in London the ramen is a big, filling and heavy dish.

After my meal at Bone Daddies I felt heavy and full. It was my only meal of the day and I couldn't even empty the bowl.

I have mixed feelings about it: while I liked the place and I agree that the food is good, the tonkotsu ramen is simply not for me, for it was too heavy and fat. As my friend Serena of Into the F Word put it to me afterwards, it's basically like eating "liquid pork"...But if you don't mind it, ramen does taste good, it is relatively cheap and definitely hip!

If you want to be on trend, Bone Daddies is the place to go to!