Our cookbook of the week is The Sweet Polish Kitchen by British food writer Ren Behan.

Jump to the recipes: sernik (classic Polish cheesecake), racuchy (pancake fritters with stewed apples and honey-roasted plums) and Stefanka (chocolate and honey layer cake).

With a career in family law, writing a second cookbook wasn’t at the forefront of Ren Behan‘s mind. But when she pitched the idea of The Sweet Polish Kitchen to her agent and publisher, they were instantly on board. “It was a kind of kick-yourself moment. I don’t know why it took me so long to find that confidence, but equally, it was quite nice because it was a natural process, and we didn’t feel under any pressure. It was just a book that was definitely waiting to happen, I would say, definitely waiting to be written.”