I love to cook, and I love celeb chefs (Mary Berry and Nigella Lawson are some of my faves ― I like Gordon Ramsay for a main course, but some of his desserts have left me a little unsatisfied).
So you can imagine how happy I am to try the telly legends’ recipes for you! That way, you can see how the recipes work in real life: last-minute substitutions, cramped kitchen, and all.
Here are the ones I’ve tried, loved, and recommend to my loved ones in real life:
I have screenshotted, sent, and then saved his steps on multiple email accounts. I have written them down physically in case the recipe ever gets taken down. It's the only recipe I've tried that delivers genuinely gooey brownies with a crackle-crisp top, every single time ― its reliance on brown butter and cocoa, rather than melted chocolate, makes the taste and texture perfect.
I took tips from multiple pros when making my (not to brag, but perfect) carrot cake recipe. Mary's advice, to use muscovado sugar, made it deeper and tastier. Both she and Nigella recommend adding ginger to the mix, which I swear by. And Nigella recommended a step I've stuck to since: there's no point running the cream cheese icing (which both chefs mix with butter for a firmer finish) through the cake. Just leave it on top.
Let me start this by saying that I am Irish. I know a lot about scones, and I'm extremely fussy about how they're made. Only Nigella, who mixes solid-at-room-temp shortening with butter for a melt-free fat mix-in, fully gets it, I feel.
This punchy, spicy twist on a classic has converted me. I don't think I can ever go back to lemongrass, coconut milk, and bell pepper-free tomato soup again.
If you're going to spend all day cooking anything, make it this. It's the meaty, rich, creamy lasagne of your dreams; infused milk makes the bechamel extra special, while the milk mixed into the ragu's tomato puree genuinely changed how I cook mince-based pasta sauces forever.
Gordon uses mini marshmallows, which I love, while Mary Berry follows a strict Digestive-only rule (there's no place for Rich Tea in my rocky road). Once you've added Gordon's dried cranberries, you'll never go back, either.