Trusted British chef recipes, tested at home
Hairy Bikers egg in a hole is a cheesy, spiced take on eggy bread with sourdough, Gruyère, cayenne and nutmeg, ready in under 20 minutes. Each slice gets an egg cracked into a hole in the centre, finished under a lid until the cheese melts. It serves 4. This comes from Our Family Favourites (2024), …
Mary Berry’s Salmon and Crayfish Pie uses 500g of fresh salmon and 250g of cooked crayfish tails with onion, leeks, capers, dill and parsley in a white sauce, topped with King Edward mashed potato and grated Cheddar. It bakes at 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 for 35 minutes and serves 6. This recipe comes from Mary Berry …
Hairy Bikers lasagne is a layered celebration dish packed with pork meatballs, fennel sausage, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan, baked at 200°C for 45–50 minutes. It serves 8 and takes about 2 hours including chilling and assembly. This comes from The Hairy Bikers’ Mediterranean Adventure (2017), and it’s clearly a favourite. The headnote says people can …
Mary Berry’s Three Fish Pie with Leeks and White Wine combines 750g of salmon, smoked haddock and fresh haddock in a leek and white wine sauce, topped with mashed potato and grated Gruyère. It bakes at 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6 for 35–40 minutes and serves 6. Total time is about an hour and 15 minutes. This …
Hairy Bikers spicy fruit loaf is a moist, no-butter tea loaf packed with sultanas, currants, glacé cherries and prunes soaked overnight in strong tea. It bakes at 160°C for 60–75 minutes and keeps for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. This comes from The Best of The Hairy Bikers, their compilation cookbook. The …
Mary Berry’s Fish Pie with Crushed Potato Topping is made with 400g each of hake and salmon in a dill and lemon white sauce with leek, finished with roughly crushed new potatoes drizzled in olive oil. It bakes at 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6 for 30–40 minutes and serves 6. The total time is about an hour. …
Mary Berry’s Victoria sandwich from Mary Berry’s Ultimate Cake Book (2003) is made with soft margarine rather than butter, combined with caster sugar, self-raising flour, four eggs, and baking powder, baked at 180°C/Gas 4 for 25 minutes in two 8-inch (20cm) greased and lined sandwich tins. The Ultimate Cake Book version predates Berry’s switch to …
Mary Berry’s Victoria sandwich cake from her Cookery Course (2015) is the Master Recipe in her baking chapter: 225g each of butter, caster sugar, self-raising flour, four large eggs, and 2 teaspoons of baking powder, baked at 180°C/fan 160°C for 20–30 minutes in two 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins. What makes this the “Master Recipe” in …
Mary Berry’s Victoria sandwich with cream from her Classic (2018) is a cream-filled version of the British classic, made with cold baking spread, caster sugar, self-raising flour, and eggs, baked at 180°C/160°C fan for 25 minutes, then filled with whipped cream and jam. In Classic (2018), Berry describes this as “a great British classic” and …
Mary Berry’s Victoria sponge from her Baking Bible is a classic all-in-one cake made with softened butter, caster sugar, self-raising flour, and four large eggs, baked at 180°C/Fan 160°C for 25 minutes and finished with jam and a dusting of caster sugar. In Mary Berry’s Baking Bible (2010), she calls it “the best known and …
