It's time to take advantage of the beautiful British asparagus season, what better way than simple spelt tempura asparagus, served with a delicious garlicky aioli. This may sound complicated, but they are such simple recipes that give a feeling of mastery and sound utterly seductive. These vegetarian dishes make beautiful starters which your guests will be seriously impressed with.

Spelt Tempura Asparagus with Aioli

Gavin Wren Recipes, Small Bites, Spelt & ancient grains, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian

There are recipes in this world which are hurried through the dining room with an aura of devout reverence, as their presence at the table embodies the pinnacle of gastronomic endeavour. I have always held tempura in such lofty esteem, regarding it a delicacy of such immeasurable finesse, that it would be sacrilege for a homely cook of my standing to even attempt it. God forbid.

Yet, after an afternoon of frolicking with flour, ice cold sparkling water and the most beautifully fine, delicately fresh, organic British asparagus, tempura’s spell has been broken. I now feel comfortable sharing this delicacy with you, fully believing that it is within the reach of every single one of us, because it is beautifully simple.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you Spelt Tempura Asparagus with Aioli.

Spring, along with the asparagus season, has well and truly sprung. The past few days of high twenties… come and read more…

Crispy, rich, sweet spelt tarte tatin with caramelised pears, vanilla and a sweet cinnamon labneh to top it off. This is a simple dessert which is utterly beautiful and will have your guests in awe at your baking skills. It makes the perfect dessert, afternoon tea or just an indulgent treat to add some sweetness to your life.

Spelt Tarte Tatin with Caramelised Pears and Cinnamon Labneh

Gavin Wren Baking, Recipes, Spelt & ancient grains

This spelt tarte tatin with caramelised pears, vanilla and cinnamon labneh is a pure taste of crispy, layered, puff pastry indulgence. Full of buttery richness and finished with a sweet cinnamon labneh, this is a dessert which I simply can’t get enough of. It’s also simple to make, there’s a tarte tatin in everybody that the Tatin sisters would be proud of, if only you’ll let it out! Lactose Schmactose. I fucked off my lactose …

Wholemeal ginger cookies made with spelt flour and reduced sugar, as well as some wholesome oats, to really bump up the micronutrients in this recipe. Fiery ginger makes for a perfect flavour to go alongside a mug of hot milk on a cold day.

Wholemeal Ginger Cookies

Gavin Wren Baking, Recipes, Spelt & ancient grains

Today I’m making wholemeal ginger cookies, using spelt flour and trying to curb the sugar content. These are lovely, light cookies with a deep flavour and soft bite, perfect to go on the side of some hot milk to warm you up on those winter days. What is Going on? I’m in a mess. Existentially. Everything I do leaves me in an existential mess these days. Maybe I need to stop saying that word so …

Honey and walnut celeriac cake made with spelt and rye flours, plus no refined sugars to create a healthy, hearty and wholesome cake with delightful overtones of celeriac and topped with a vegan frosting made from walnut butter! It's the healthiest, most filling cake you'll find this year!

Honey Walnut Celeriac Cake

Gavin Wren Baking, Recipes, Spelt & ancient grains

The fabled, long lost celeriac cake recipe. Today I’m writing about a cake inspired by the ever popular carrot cake, but with a spin to make something completely different, a cake created with the beautifully ugly vegetable, celeriac, using no refined sugar. Celeriac cake is something which crosses the boundaries between sweet and savoury, because although this is undoubtedly a sweet cake, you still get some of the lovely celeriac flavour coming through, which creates …

Maple syrup brings a rich sweetness to theses maple pecan spelt muffins stuffed with whole rolled oats, pecan nuts and no refined sugars, just naturally sweetened with banana and maple syrup. These easy spelt flour bakes make for a wholesome alternative muffin recipe that's just as tasty yet packs more positive nutrition, perfect for afternoon tea or a sweet weekend treat.

Maple Pecan Spelt Muffins

Gavin Wren Baking, Dairy free baking, Recipes, Spelt & ancient grains

It’s been quite savoury around here recently. Not much sweet goodness going on, and my God, was I longing for something sweet. So today’s post is about some utterly delightful little maple pecan spelt muffins topped with oats which are dairy free that I put together last weekend. These are muffins made with a mixture of wholemeal and white spelt flour, along with whole oats and sweetened using maple syrup and that ubiquitous banana, because …

Stop Food Intolerance

The Future of Wellness & Food Intolerance

Gavin Wren Food Opinion Pieces, Writing

It’s an incredibly unique thing, our current obsession with food intolerance. The world has experienced vast swathes of intolerances in history, normally towards large groups of other people. Today, there’s a swelling mass of people claiming that certain foods don’t make them feel very good. Often backed up with little or no scientific data, these people are changing the course of food in our country and reshaping the profile of products on the shelves in …