The Hidden Hut: Irresistible Recipes from Cornwall’s Best-kept Secret

125g unsalted butter, melted

240ml buttermilk

100g honey

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6 and line a 12-cup muffin tray with 12 tulip muffin cases. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the chopped rosemary, pecan nuts and apricots.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until light and creamy, then whisk in the melted butter, buttermilk and honey until well combined. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and fold everything together using a spatula until just combined. Be careful not to work the mixture too much or the muffins will be tough — it doesn’t matter if it is still slightly lumpy.

Spoon the batter evenly into the cake cases. Top each one with a sprig of rosemary to decorate. Bake the muffins for 25–30 minutes until risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or cold.

SMOKEY BACON PASTRIES

Crispy dry-cured smoked bacon, rich yolky eggs and Cornish Brie make for a great breakfast pastry filling. I like to enjoy these with a bit of cranberry relish on the side.

Makes 12

butter, for greasing

500g puff pastry, defrosted if frozen

plain flour, for dusting

8 rashers of streaky smoked bacon

6 spring onions, thinly sliced

50ml double cream

3 large eggs

50g Parmesan cheese, grated

180g Cornish Brie, diced

freshly ground black pepper

cranberry relish, to serve

Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7 and grease a 12-cup muffin tray with butter. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. To make it extra flaky, fold it in half and roll it out again. Do this twice more, then roll it out thinly one final time.

Take a 12cm round pastry cutter and check that you can get 12 circles out of the pastry before you start to cut them, as you don’t want to have to re-roll the pastry. Roll it out a bit more if needed. Cut out the pastry discs and use them to line the 12 holes of the muffin tray, then put it to one side.

Grill the bacon until crispy and golden, then shred into small pieces. Divide the bacon bits evenly between the pastry cases, followed by the spring onions.

In a large bowl, whisk the cream to soft peaks. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until light and fluffy, then fold them into the cream. Season with black pepper and fold in the Parmesan.

Pour the filling into the pastry cases and top with the diced Brie, dividing it evenly between the tartlets. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the oven temperature down to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6 after 10 minutes, until golden on top and the pastry is cooked through. Make sure the pastries are cooked and move freely in the muffin tray before taking them out of the oven. Serve warm or cold with cranberry relish on the side.

BUTTERMILK DROP CAKES WITH LEMON CURD

Topped with warm lemon curd and served straight from the stove, these drop cakes are a sure-fire way to draw everyone to the breakfast table. Serve with berries and crème fraîche.

Serves 4

320g plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

a good pinch of sea salt

50g caster sugar

2 large eggs

290ml buttermilk

60g butter, plus extra for frying

crème fraîche and berries, to serve

FOR THE LEMON CURD

90g butter, cubed

140g caster sugar

a pinch of sea salt

120ml lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

3 large egg yolks

1 large egg

FOR THE MINT SUGAR

4 tbsp caster sugar

a good handful of mint leaves

First, make the lemon curd. Put the butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the sugar, salt and lemon juice. Stir until well combined and the butter has melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set to one side.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Add this to the lemon and butter mixture and whisk to combine. Return the bowl to the simmering saucepan and heat for 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.

To make the mint sugar, simply either blitz the sugar and mint leaves in a food processor or bash them together using a mortar and pestle. Put to one side.

Preheat the oven to 110°C (90°C fan oven) gas mark ¼. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the eggs and buttermilk, and whisk everything together to make a smooth batter.