Baking

This basic fruit mix is enough to make a pudding (boiled or steamed) large enough to serve 10 people, a regular-sized cake and a dozen mince pies. Note

Crispy golden Moroccan pastry filled with spiced eggplant and ricotta and served with a colourful tomato salad.

Frittata can be cooked on top of the stove, in a medium lightly oiled slightly sided frying pan; cook on low heat, uncovered, until almost set, then brown frittata under a preheated grill. Frittata can be served hot or cold Note

Delicious little cupcakes that are the perfect treat to celebrate graduation day!

A delicious French-style roast leg of lamb in a tomato stew with rosemary and white beans.

You will need about six passionfruit for this recipe. Remaining passionfruit curd is delicious spread on scones or used as a filling for pavlovas. These tarts are best made on the day of serving. Note

Corella pears have only a short season, if they’re not available use thinly sliced apple, red-skinned look best instead. Note

As the name suggests, pound cakes originally consisted of a pound each of sugar, butter, flour and eggs, which made them very large cakes.

Do ahead The tart and dressing can be made a day ahead. Refrigerate in separate airtight containers. Don’t be concerned if the cooked tart has small cracks in the top these will be covered by the salad. Note

It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday, and the party crowd's already here. They said can you play a memory...and this cake is just what you need! From The Australian Women's Weekly's famous 'Children's Birthday Cake Book' cookbook, you're sure to feel nostalgic when you see this one from your childhood.

Use frozen spinach, which has been cooked and cooled, for this recipe. Note

A quick, simple and delicious Mexican-style pizza; great for busy midweek evenings.

Cake pans vary in depth, so if you have a little cake mixture left over, use it to make cupcakes. Use bought sugar flowers of your choice, available from supermarkets and cake decorating suppliers. Remove and discard skewers before cutting bottom tier. White icing is also known as fondant (it’s the traditional icing used on […]

Kumara slices can be baked several hours ahead. Keep covered. Assemble salad and add dressing just before serving. Note

The hardest part of making this cake is getting the colours right. Use good quality colourings and you’ll have no trouble. It’s been around since 300 BC… but it wasn’t until 1952 that the first checkers programme was used by a computer. Note

Strawberries are jam-packed with the good health-promoting vitamins A and C. Note

You could top the petit fours with fresh raspberries instead of the icing flowers. Petit fours are best made on the day of serving. Note

Fill meringues just before serving. Note

One muffin is to be served per person for breakfast. The remaining muffins can be frozen or eaten as a snack. You could make two large muffins for breakfast and the remaining mixture can be made into snack-sized mini muffins. The ricotta mixture serves 2 people; make a fresh batch before serving the remaining muffins. […]

This recipe makes a lot of little one-bite shortbreads. If you like, make 50 shortbreads and freeze the remaining log, wrapped in baking paper then plastic wrap, for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before slicing and baking. You will need to halve the butter cream frosting if only baking 50 shortbreads. […]

A hit with every coconut lover, this slice just improves with age. It can also be made as tartlets. Note

Makes 10-12 maple snaps. Maple snaps can be cooked one day in advance and stored in a cool dry place in an airtight container. Ice-cream can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer in an airtight container for 2 weeks. Note

A delicious salad full of crispy roast kumara and crunchy and balanced with fresh pear and cranberries.

Scrumptious little pizza snacks with cherry bocconcini cheese and cabanossi.

A deliciously dark chocolate biscuit base with soft, mocha mousse come together in this decadent rich slice.

Stand the yeast mixture in a warm place to allow it to become frothy. It’s important that the spot you choose is warm, not hot. If it’s too hot you’ll kill the yeast. Note

The cake mix is enough to make 12 cakes so you can decorate the remaining 6 cakes into other animals of your own choosing. Note

EQUIPMENT Oven trays 6cm heart cutter paper piping bag 30cm square or round cake board The gingerbread house can be assembled 3 days ahead. Bake gingerbread a day before it’s required and store in an airtight container. Secure the roof panels to the birdhouse with royal icing; hold in place until set. Secure the walls […]

Thanks to hothouse growing, rhubarb is available all year, so you can indulge in a hot pie or crumble as well as any number of luscious desserts matching rhubarb with berries and cream or mascarpone whenever you like. Be sure to discard every bit of the vegetable’s leaf and use only the thinnest stalks (the […]

Keeping time: 2 days. Note

Recipe can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Note

Fill macaroons just before serving. If the marmalade is too chunky or thick to spread, warm it, strain it, and leave it to cool before using. Note

You will need about 1 bunch of rhubarb for this recipe. Note

Recipe is best prepared as required. Note

Personalise the messages scrawled all over this clever cake, which looks just like an inner-city wall for the cake. Note

These scones are at their very best made just before serving. Eat them hot, straight out of the oven. Note

You can substitute chopped, drained canned peaches or apricots for the pineapple in this recipe. We used Just Right breakfast cereal in this recipe but you can use any flaked and dried fruit cereal, even a muesli or granola-like product. We used Malibu liqueur but you can use your favourite brand. Note

Crab meat can be bought already cooked from some fishmongers. Alternatively buy cooked crabs (about 600g) and remove the flesh from the shells and claws – enough to weigh 200g. Well-drained canned crab meat could be used in this recipe. Note

We used sebago potatoes in this recipe. Note

ORANGE FROSTING Beat cream cheese and butter in a small bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar; stir in rind. You can use a zesting tool to make the thin strips of orange rind. Note

And this little piggy went all the way to the top of your favourite cakes list! From The Australian Women's Weekly's famous 'Children's Birthday Cake Book', it's the perfect party pick.

You can use 8 x 6cm-square (3.5cm-deep) ready-made lamingtons, if preferred. Note

Quirky little sausage and pastry treats that are great for children's parties.

Celebrate Chinese New Year with a special message for your friends and family. Cut 12 paper strips measuring 1.5cm x 8cm (¾-inch x 3¼-inch); write a message on each strip. Do this before starting to make the cookies. If the cookie cools and hardens too quickly before you have time to shape it, return it, […]

You need an 80cm length of 50mm diameter PVC pipe, cut into 10cm lengths; ask the hardware store to do this for you, or use a hacksaw. This recipe will also fit into six 10cm round springform tins or a 24cm springform tin. Note

The secret for making perfect roast potatoes? Use olive oil instead of other oils or butter because it tolerates high oven temperatures better and gives a delicious taste to the potatoes.

Equipment; 20cm x 30cm rectangular cake pan; 30cm x 40cm rectangular cake board. Note

A slab of American-style pork spareribs will consist of between 7 and 10 ribs each. After the meat is cooked, separate the ribs with a knife then eat them in your hands. Note

These delicious and crunchy little garlic and chive croûtons will spruce up any leafy salad.

A delicious filo pastry pie that will fill the bellies of your entire family (and more!)

Simple mocha cookies bring to joy of chocolate and coffee from pantry to plate in under 30 minutes.

There are usually 22 sheets of pastry in a 375g (12-ounce) packet of fillo pastry. Dried lavender flowers are available from spice shops and online. Note

A rich, slowcooked French casserole with lamb, white beans, streaky bacon and crushed tomatoes.

If the birthday person is mad about cats, this enigmatic creation will be… purrfection Note

Eastern and Western cuisines collide in this delicious baked dish of curried pumpkin and lentil crêpes.

Known variously throughout the Middle East and North Africa as basboosa, namoura or harisi, this sweet slice is saturated with a citrusy sugar syrup which gives it a lovely individual flavour. Note

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Note

siena cake is a perfect accompaniment for after-dinner coffee. Cut into thin wedges or slices about 1cm thick,then into small pieces Note

M'hanncha, a Moroccan almond pastry, means `the snake' and this coiled sweet pastry treat certainly represents that.

An easy way to make sure your toffee is cooked to the correct stage and will set hard, is to use a sugar thermometer. Toffee should reach 149°C (“hard crack” stage) on the thermometer. Red delicious are the best apples to use for this recipe. Note