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My cookbooks (there are five) are available here. The latest is Easy Wins - a Sunday Times bestseller. There are hundreds of free recipes on my website which you can find here.
From Anna:
Adriann! How full of joy I am to welcome you this week.
I have been eating Adriann’s pastries (which are also ART) from my local Finks bakery for the last few years. They have seen me through good and bad times, bringing me inspiration, fun, comfort and vibes in equal measure. I had always wondered who made them as they seemed more fun, more colourful and just more delicious than almost any I have had. When I discovered Adriann was the person behind the pastry, it all made sense. Some people's food is so unmistakably theirs who else would make a rhubarb princess cake or a HUGE rosette apple galette. Adrainn that's who.
Anyone who can get as excited about a tayberry or a pink fleshed apple as Adrainn is my kind of person. I am just made up that Adriann is sharing his world with us this week, from the things he listens to and loves to a recipe for strawberry jam doughnuts that I am clearing a few hours to make this weekend.
Thank you for it all Adriann.
Anna xx
From Adriann:
Hi angels, my name is Adriann Ramirez and I’m a pastry chef based in London! I also go under the moniker @gay.nigella on Instagram. A more nuanced description of myself would include writer, recipe developer, poet, sometimes performance artist and all the time diva. I’ve been the head of pastry for 9 years, largely self taught, at Fink’s in North London. Working closely with my partners (and Fink’s founders), Mat Appleton and Jess Blackstone, we have shaped the identity of Fink’s together by designing spaces, curating menus and cooking really good food. They were most kind to let me get on with the sweet side of things, allowing me to do a lot of trial, and make a lot of errors before finding the sweet spot we find ourselves in today.
Before that, I spent time front of house at Tartine bakery and Violet Cakes, soaking up the energy and influence like a sponge.
Over the years, I have made seasonality at the forefront of my menu and ethos as a pastry chef. Working with amazing suppliers like Shrub, Natoora, Albion and Wildfarmed, I’ve been able to play around a lot making hyper-seasonal desserts like the classic hot pink Princess Cake using forced rhubarb from the iconic Tomlinson’s Rhubarb farm in Pudsey, Leeds, Nectavigne Slab pie using beautifully wine stained and tart blood nectarines from France, and Gariguette Strawberry Shortcakes made using Estate Dairy double cream and early season strawberries from France.
When you move with the seasons, you are able to keep things exciting for customers, my bakers and myself executing recipes from a blend of Americana and European influences that I’ve come to learn, recreate and love. I want to create a world in which the interplay of drama, seasonality, fun and provenance can all exist in pastry form. I want to enjoy what I’m baking and I want you to enjoy what you’re eating. I don’t cook to challenge, I cook to comfort. If it looks beautiful as a result, how fabulous that is.
At the end of May, I’ll be taking this obsession with fruit and turning my attention to full early summer, halcyon vibes with a true blue icon of ice cream, Kitty Travers of La Grotta Ices. WHITE HOT FOREVER, an evening of dreamy ice cream desserts and wine, will take place on May 24th, 2026 at Fink’s Salt and Sweet. Think seasonal fruit pies a la mode, banana splits, choc ices, ice cream sandwiches and sexy wines. Hope to see you there. xx
Things to buy:
TEKLA bedsheets - this is a totally unnecessary luxury that I now refuse to live without. I have pink sheets called Petal Pink and cream coloured ones in the shade of Winter White.
Sage green paring knife - I like to live in the delusion that I cook in a Dickensian, cottagecore fantasy. These knives are so chic, I have 4 pink ones, just in case I have company round for dinner. When sharp, they cut small stone fruit wonderfully.
Rose harissa - But for me, it has to be the Belazu brand. I just think it’s so beautifully balanced, a nice heat and a mellowness from the added rose petals. If added to scrambled eggs, it gives a similar flavour profile to Mexican chorizo.
Cherry lime Le Croix - I LIVE FOR LA CROIX. Sparkling water is a vice I cannot live without. But La Croix, which Fink’s imports from America, is particularly special. No sugar, no calories, full of impeccable vibes.
Things to read:
All Consuming by Ruby Tandoh - This book reinvigorated my love and curiosity for food culture. Ruby is a funny, thoughtful and well researched writer. She writes because she knows or is curious to know and I am always ready to hear what she says next. One of my favourite reads of the year.
The Goal is to Eat by Panayiota Soutis - Pani is whip smart and is the truest example of what it means to have your finger on the pulse. Her substack is a great study on what is happening in the London food scene. Taste, while subjective, is irrefutable. Pani’s got taste. I was also recently a guest on her new talk show, watch here!
La Grotta Ices by Kitty Travers - A beautiful study on seasonality and flavour pairings by way of ice cream. The photography is simple, imbued with the essence of 1950’s Italian ice cream adverts. The recipes, easy to follow and delicious.
The White Album by Joan Didion - Joan is one of my favourite writers of all time, writing about American and California culture with such delicacy and truthfulness that is both romantic and sobering. The essay The White Album, on the witnessing of the Manson Murders Trial of 1969 is electrifying. I reread it every year.
HOT TEARS THROUGH VELVET RAGE by Adriann Ramirez - Shameless self plug. I wrote this collection of poetry in 2020/2021 and it was published in November 2021 and if you like poems about romance, sex, queerness and fruit, this is for you!
Things to listen to:
Anything by Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell! When the summer draws in, Ultraviolence when the weather hits 30C and Ride when you’re feeling like you need to hit the open road and kiss a biker named Buck.
Addison by Addison Rae - No misses. No skips. Just pure pop brilliance by a pop star who understands the beauty of high/low.
Joi3 et Triste - I made this playlist in February when I took a last minute trip to Paris by myself and I listened to it on a loop. It healed me and I hope it will you.
Violent Bent Backwards Over the Grass - Ok, so this is also by Lana Del Rey, but it’s her poetry book which is read by her and produced by Jack Antonoff. It’s weird and beautiful and utterly inspired. I always listen to it when I get writer’s block. Listen to The Land of 1000 Fires.
Adriann’s Strawberry + brown butter custard doughnuts
For the brioche
500g strong bread flour
50g caster sugar
225g eggs
160g whole milk
8g active dry yeast
7g table salt
250g unsalted butter, cold
For the custard
250g whole milk
62g caster sugar
20g cornflour
60g egg yolk
1 vanilla pod, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
100g butter
Heavy pinch of sea salt
1 jar of your favourite strawberry jam, homemade even better!
Melt the butter for your custard over a medium heat consistently stirring until your butter begins to brown. Take it off the heat and continue stirring to mix the melted butter ensuring not to burn the butter. Leave to cool.
In a standing mixer, whisk together sieved flour and sugar. Add milk and eggs. Move to using the dough hook and mix on a medium speed. Mix for 10 minutes and then add the salt.
In 50g portions, add the cold butter until it is fairly incorporated. When all of the butter is added, mix at a medium speed for 13-15 minutes until the dough is glossy and passes the window pane test. Proof in greased container at room temp for at least 45 min or until doubled in size. Refrigerate overnight before using.
While the dough is chilling, make the custard. Stir the milk, half of the sugar (31g), the vanilla until just steaming. In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolk, half of the other sugar, and the cornflour together until light in colour. When the milk is steaming, slowly pour into your egg mixture whilst stirring so not to curdle your egg mix. Add the fully combined mixture back into your pan and put back on a low heat. Stir until the custard is bubbling. Cook for a further minute, to cook the cornflour out. Take off the heat and add in your brown butter.
Place in a container with clingfilm over it to prevent a skin from forming. Chill for a few hours, or overnight.
When the dough is fully chilled, portion the dough into 100g portions, and roll into balls. Place onto a greased tray and cover with clingfilm and proof for another 1 hour at room temp, or until doubled in size.
Fill a deep pan, cast iron or stainless steel, with a neutral oil and bring to 160C-180C, using a thermometer. Fry your doughnuts for 5 minutes on each side using a timer. Place the finished doughnuts on paper towel to collect the excess oil. After a few minutes, dredge your doughnuts in icing sugar or caster sugar.
While they’re cooling, beat your custard with a spatula to make it easier to fill your doughnuts with. Create a hole in your doughnuts with a small paring knife or scissors. And fill your doughnuts with a half jam and half brown butter custard.
Eat fresh and enjoy divas x
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