Botanical Bakes & Bites

Botanical Bakes & Bites Plant-powered cakes and savoury bakes

🌳 We’re at Sherwood! 🌳 Robin Hood Festival There may be a little rain in the forest today, but don’t let that put you of...
29/08/2026

🌳 We’re at Sherwood! 🌳 Robin Hood Festival

There may be a little rain in the forest today, but don’t let that put you off — Sherwood is looking wonderfully atmospheric, and we’ve got plenty of tasty things waiting for you! 🌧️🌿

On the stall today you’ll find Tartys of Applis, Tarte of Ymbre Day, Honey, Orange & Mead Cake, Maid Marion Pyes, Friar Tuck Pyes and plenty of other plant-powered pastries.

So pull on your boots, grab your cloak (or, you know… a waterproof 😂) and come find Botanical Bakes & Bites in the forest! 🏹🌳

0% dairy • 0% egg • 100% flavour 💚

On Sunday I boiled 3kg of onions ready for making Tarte in Ymbre Day, a medieval onion tart. Because I hate waste, I sav...
25/08/2026

On Sunday I boiled 3kg of onions ready for making Tarte in Ymbre Day, a medieval onion tart. Because I hate waste, I saved the cooking water and reduced it down into a rather lovely onion stock.

The boiled onions were drained, cooled and put into the fridge until I had time to deal with them.... Unfortunately Monday loomed with a thumping migraine so said onions were left considerably longer than I had intended 🤨

Fast forward to this morning and I discovered something rather strange lurking at the bottom of the bowl...

**Onion jelly**

Not just slightly thick onion juice, proper, gelatinous, translucent stuff that was quite happily adhering to the side of a tilted bowl and could be picked up on a spatula! Naturally, this meant everything had to stop while I investigated what on earth I'd accidentally made. 😂

It turns out that cooking onions can release soluble polysaccharides (long chains of carbohydrates) from their cell walls, particularly pectins (the stuff that makes jam wobbly). Leave those cooked onions sitting in the small amount of liquid they continue to release, and apparently you can end up with something remarkably gel-like. Even more interestingly, it's very sweet.

And the tarts? They've come out tasting rather unexpectedly like a mildly onion-flavoured Portuguese custard tart 😳 😂

Which has obviously led me to wonder what would happen if I added a little more sugar and grated nutmeg to the last bit of filling...

This is why I never get anything done. I start off making medieval onion tarts and somehow end up conducting experiments in onion polysaccharides.

For science! 🏔 🇬🇧 🧅🥧🔬😂

🏹🌿 I’M HEADING BACK TO SHERWOOD! 🌿🏹Next weekend, 28th–31st August, the ROBIN HOOD FESTIVAL returns to Visit Sherwood For...
21/08/2026

🏹🌿 I’M HEADING BACK TO SHERWOOD! 🌿🏹

Next weekend, 28th–31st August, the ROBIN HOOD FESTIVAL returns to Visit Sherwood Forest — and Botanical Bakes & Bites will be there! 😁

I’ll be bringing a merry little feast of plant-powered medieval-inspired bakes, including some old favourites and a few things inspired by the foods, flavours and folklore of the forest itself. 🌰🍄‍🟫🌿

I’m currently aiming to be there from Friday, although a slightly battered foot may delay my arrival — but Saturday to Monday you’ll find me amongst the outlaws! 🏹

Come and find me, say hello, talk historical food with me, and see what goodies have made their way out of my kitchen and into Sherwood. 😋

Robin Hood Festival • Sherwood Forest
28th–31st August

🌿🏹 Zero egg. Zero dairy. Totally Botanical. 🏹🌿

I lost a day with being in A&E on Sunday but luckily, today's tasks weren't urgent and one of my daughters is going to t...
20/08/2026

I lost a day with being in A&E on Sunday but luckily, today's tasks weren't urgent and one of my daughters is going to to do the foraging for me that was on today's schedule.

This means I've been able to crack on today and should be all caught up by the end of it. Phew!

My Herby 'sossy' Rolls. Who doesn't like a big sausage!

1 broken toe, 3 stitches and 7.5 hours of my life lost in A&E later, I'm good to go, sort of 😂Today will be mostly doing...
17/08/2026

1 broken toe, 3 stitches and 7.5 hours of my life lost in A&E later, I'm good to go, sort of 😂

Today will be mostly doing admin and organising myself for the days ahead. Daughter no.3 will be on pastry duty all week and deciphering my scribbled 'recipes'. I say recipes, they're mostly just suggestions with half the ingredients still in my head 🙄🤣 Oh, and I have 9 days left to make enough goodies for a 4-day event at Visit Sherwood Forest for the last weekend of their amazing ROBIN HOOD FESTIVAL !! Oo-er!! 😳

Admin also includes trying to keep up with media posts whilst simultaneously cutting down on how much time I spend on my phone... ummm... 🤔🤨🤭😅😂

Anyhoo... enough warbling, there's work to be done! 🫡

Just what you need when you know that you have 10 EXTREMELY busy days ahead of you; a visit to A&E! I trod on a plug on ...
16/08/2026

Just what you need when you know that you have 10 EXTREMELY busy days ahead of you; a visit to A&E! I trod on a plug on the way back from a quick visit to the loo in the middle of the night, fell over, broke a toe or two and split them open.

I just hope it isn't the usual long wait as I have a 4-day at Visit Sherwood Forest 's Robin Hood Festival at the end of the month! Still, where would I be without life's little trials and tribulations 😉😂

Proud to have been flying the flags on my Botanical Bakes & Bites stall in Lincoln today. I don't care about your choice...
15/08/2026

Proud to have been flying the flags on my Botanical Bakes & Bites stall in Lincoln today. I don't care about your choice of partner or your gender. What I do care about is inclusivety and loving who we are as people.

Much love to my brother Neil Gosling and his wonderful husband James Collins 🏳️‍🌈 and to my beautiful daughter 🏳️‍⚧️ I'm so proud of you all for being out and proud 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

I have no idea what's happened this morning but we're only just finished setting up 😂Anyway, we're here with The Lincoln...
15/08/2026

I have no idea what's happened this morning but we're only just finished setting up 😂

Anyway, we're here with The Lincoln Farmers Market @ Castle Hill Lincoln

There's Orchard Fruit Pockets, Family-sized fruit pies, Apple & Caramelised Red Onion sossy Rolls, Honey & Mead cake (vegetarian), Gluten-free Carrot, Orange & Walnut Cake and all the usuals.

Come and say 'hi' 👋

Address

Lincoln

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 7pm
Tuesday 8am - 7pm
Wednesday 8am - 7pm
Thursday 8am - 7pm
Friday 8am - 7pm
Saturday 8am - 7pm
Sunday 9:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+447598535305

Website

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