Afternoon tea

Pink grapefruit syrup turns these delectable little lemon cakes into something rather special.

The frangipane flower and this frangipane tart have absolutely nothing to do with each other, despite the name. Although both look absolutely stunning and will fill your house with the most delightful aroma.

With a crunchy oat, cornflake and coconut topping, this slice is the perfect morning pick-me-up.

Delight your family and friends with these miniature crumble pies, best served with a dollop of fresh cream.

Store in an airtight container for up to two days. Note

Leaving a 1cm (½ inch) border of sponge without cream will make the icing of the sides of the slice easier to do. The weight of the top layer of sponge will push the cream far enough. Note

These tasty macaroon-like bars are great for the lunchbox.

This spiced, slightly boozy fruit mince bread is just the ticket if you're looking for some raisin bread or toast with a bit of oomph. Serve it fresh or toasted with lashings of butter.

For bold icing colours, we used powdered food colourings, available from cake decorating shops and some health food stores. Mixing the powder with a small amount of hot water, before stirring into the icing, gives a better result; liquid colourings can be used for pale colours. Note

The following butters and creams make enough to serve with a dozen freshly baked muffins or scones. Note

You need to start the recipe the day before. Note

Plump with fruit, this traditional cake is wonderful served with a pot of hot tea.

Put the kettle on and enjoy a thick slice of this moist apple and apricot loaf.

These colourful cupcakes are perfect for a birthday party and will delight both the kids and adults.

Simple and elegant, these dainty little cupcakes are a delicious treat to share for dessert or a special afternoon tea.

This fruit cake is suitable for many allergy diets, as it does not contain wheaten flour, eggs, milk or butter; the only sugar is in the fruit.

This delicious and impressive looking mandarin upside-down cake is a little tricky to make but is oh so worth it. Better still it is gluten-free so everyone can enjoy it. Use a microplane to zest the fruit for best results.

Encased in crisp puff pastry, this beautiful berry sponge slice makes a delightful sweet treat with tea or coffee.

A spiced apple and prune filling is sandwiched between buttery shortcrust pastry in this easy, delicious slice.

You will need to grate about 3 carrots for this recipe. Use the grating blade of the processor if desired. Note

For a delicious morning tea, serve these fluffy banana choc-chip cakes warm with butter.

Rich coffee custard, glossy dark chocolate and a buttery biscuit base make these coffee custard tarts something a little bit special.

These cheesy savoury scones are delicious served warm with melting butter.

The cave is made up of three cakes, so while it may look fiddly and complicated, it isn’t. The kids’ll think you used magic to make it. Cooked cakes can be frozen for up to one month. Thaw at room temperature for about six hours. Cake can be iced and decorated one day ahead (except […]

This tart is simply delicious warm with cream or ice-cream, and perfect with tea or coffee.

A light touch is required to make these strawberry french macarons. Don't be tempted to use more strawberry puree than required or you will alter the texture of the batter. Trust us, the result is worth it.

Two is never terrible when it comes to this delightful birthday cake by the Australian Women's Weekly. Buttercream hides a multitude of sins, so don't worry about any little mistakes!

You will know that the caramel is ready to be removed from the heat when the mixture starts to come away from the base and side of the saucepan. Note

Filled with chopped apricots, peanuts and cornflakes for added crunch, this easy fridge slice is delicious served with coffee.

The combination of both white and dark chocolate mud cake and ganache make these decadent mini-cakes a truly wonderful indulgence. Or you could go large with our white chocolate and raspberry mud cake.

Enjoy your favourite pudding in spectacular cake form.

We like to use an underproof rum, but, if you like, use the stronger overproof variety. Note

Chocolate and caramel are a match made in afternoon treat heaven.

For a sweet and satisfying treat, try a slice of this moist cherry and orange loaf, delicious served with a dollop of yoghurt or cream.

Best served in small squares, these dark chocolate, fig and muscat brownies are rich, fruity and spiked with heady muscat.

If liked, sprinkle the top of the damper with some extra grated cheese before baking. Replace chives with a combination of other herbs like parsley and thyme, or use some Aussie flavourings such as lemon myrtle and dried bush tomato. Note

This recipe is gluten-free, wheat-free, yeast-free and dairy-free. Use a hot dry knife to cut the cake. storage Note

Ground almonds replace the flour in this recipe, making it rich and luscious. As a bonus it is an ideal dessert for dinner guests who have a gluten intolerence.

This dense, moist almond carrot cake has a delicious lemon cream cheese frosting. If you prefer, you can use orange juice and zest in place of lemon in both the cake and frosting.

It's time to jazz up the classic fruit cake to be enjoyed at any time for any season or occasion.

Plump prawns, crisp lettuce, mayonnaise, lemon and chilli make these mini prawn cocktail rolls an absolute winner in the party food stakes.

This steamed fruit pudding is gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free.

An updated version of the Armenian nutmeg cake, this cake uses different spices and is more like a slice having a cake-like topping. Any nuts, such as almonds, pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, can be substituted for the pistachios. Butter should be chopped while still refrigerator-cold. Using a medium- to large-sized food processor or large blender […]

Punch phora literally means 'five spices' and is a spice blend of cumin, brown mustard, fenugreek, nigella and fennel commonly used in Eastern India and Bangladesh.

Wonderfully moist from the sweet orange syrup, thos beautiful cake is lovely enjoyed warm or cool with a mug of your favourite cuppa.

The fruit needs to stand overnight before starting the recipe. You can swap the dark rum with brandy or sweet sherry, if you like. This cake is overflowing with cherries and currants rather than the typical variety of mixed fruit. Note

Enjoy this buttery classic in slice form.

This cake is a good one for budding pilots, flight attendants or for those who just want to travel the world.

Served warm with a slather of butter, this golden loaf is perfect for the cooler months of the year.

This golden slice makes a delicious, homely dessert served with ice-cream.

This zingy lime and coconut slice is just what you need to awaken the tastebuds.

We used blue sugared almonds, available from confectionery and speciality nut shops, but you can use any colour you like. Note

To save waste you could use the different coloured fondant sections from the licorice allsorts and decorate each cake with a different colour. Note

Make your child's birthday special with this amazing butter cake covered in yellow buttercream and blue stars.

These mini lemon meringue tartlets are everything you'd want in a tasty, sweet morsel. Crispy pastry, sweet yet tart creamy centre and gently toasted meringue on top.

You can make glacé icing without butter (or oil) but, a tiny amount of butter will add gloss to the icing and make it easy to cut neatly ­without butter, glacé icing tends to shatter when you cut it. Note

These little orange and white chocolate petit fours are bite-sized serves of bliss, perfect after dinner treats with strong coffee.

Keeping time: 3 days. Note

You cannot beat one of these classic Italian cookies served alongside a cup of coffee.

These crunchy Italian biscuits are irresistible with a cup of strong espresso.

Make the most of the cooler weather with this decadent, creamy apple cheesecake.

Drizzled with orange syrup and topped with Greek yoghurt and fresh grapes, this cake is both delicious and stunning.

This is a traditional cake from north-eastern France; you find similar cakes in Germany, Austria and eastern Europe (the names vary slightly: Kugelhopf, Gugelhupf ). You will need an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook for this recipe as the dough is too soft to knead by hand.

Serve these delightful tea loaves warm with spiced honey cream and hot cups of tea.

These crispy, sophisticated pastry treats are delicious with hot espresso.

Everyone loves a jam tart, especially with a little dollop of whipped cream on top. For something slightly different, try filling some of the cases with marmalade rather than jam.

deep 20cm (8-inch) square cake pan 25cm (10-inch) square prepared cake board small piping bag fitted with small plain tube You might need to buy two 100g (3-ounce) packets Mallow Bakes. Use sharp scissors to cut Mallow Bakes in half. This cake can be made a day ahead Note

Put the kettle on and treat yourself to one of these fluffy, spiced apple muffins.

Store friands in an airtight container for up to three days. We used freeform paper cases made by pushing a 12cm square of paper (we used paper about the same thickness as printer paper) into ungreased pan holes, followed by a 12cm square of baking paper. variation peach and coconut friands Omit the glacé pineapple […]

This fun and pretty cake is extremely easy to make and tastes absolutely divine. The kid's will love the look and taste of their doughnut stack birthday cake.

strike a patriotic note with one of these berry imaginative creations for the cake (the quantities given for cake, cream and berries are enough to make one flag.) Note