Moderate

This recipe also makes 12 standard muffins (⅓-cup/80ml capacity holes). Bake cakes for 20 minutes. Note

Salad is best prepared on the day of serving. The potatoes can be served warm or cold. Note

Standing the custards in a dish filled with ice cubes keeps the custards from melting while the sugar is caramelising under the grill. Of course, if you have a cooking blowtorch, use that instead. Note

Watch their eyes light up for this happy, smiling flower. White icing is also known as fondant (it’s the traditional icing used on wedding cakes). It is available in packets from the supermarket and cake decorating shops. Note

You will need to buy one bunch of spinach (300g) to make this recipe. Note

You can also make this pastry using a food processor. Process flour, icing sugar, ginger and butter until crumbly. Add egg yolk and enough of the water to make ingredients just come together. Knead gently on floured surface until smooth. You need 1 small papaya (650g) for this recipe. Note

It is fine to use just the one 300ml carton of cream for this recipe. To make chocolate shapes: melt 50g (1½ ounces) dark chocolate; place into a resealable plastic bag. Cut a tiny snip off onecorner, and pipe small shapes onto baking paper. Leave shapes to set at room temperature. Note

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

Leftover risotto makes great risotto cakes; simply shape cold risotto into patties, then pan-fry until browned lightly on both sides. Note

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

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.

You can use ½ cup dry sherry with ½ cup water instead of the chinese cooking wine. This dish is suitable to freeze at the end of step 1. Note

Use regular mince, not lean, for a more juicy result. This starter is quite hearty and you may only require a lighter main such as a soup or salad. This would serve 4 as a main meal. Note

To use preserved lemon, remove and discard the pulp, squeeze the juice from the rind, then rinse the rind well; chop the rind finely. If preferred, substitute 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon rind at each stage for the preserved lemon. Note

You can substitute cooked crab meat for the prawns in this salad. Note

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 […]

A small, spicy sausage ­ eaten throughout North Africa and Spain ­ merguez is traditionally made with lamb meat and is easily identified by its chilli-red colour. Merguez can be found in many butchers, delicatessens and sausage specialty stores, but any spicy sausage can be used in this recipe. Note

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

Possums without eyes can be made up to two days ahead. Pipe eyes on the day of serving. Note

Ready-made rich chocolate fudge frosting is available in packets from the supermarket and cake decorating shops. 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

Equipment needed: 9cm heart cutter, 20cm 18-gauge floral wire, wire cutters, 35cm round wooden cake board, 20cm round wooden cake board, 15cm round wooden cake board, smoothing tools, 6 wooden cake skewers, and a paper piping bag. The hearts can be made weeks ahead; store in an airtight container. Position them on the day of […]

Brown rice vinegar, made from brown rice, has been called the eastern version of apple cider vinegar, although its mild flavour has a subtle sweetness and about half the sharpness. It is available from Asian grocery stores and some health-food stores Note

Substitute red curry paste for green curry paste if you prefer. Note

Fajita seasoning spice mix adds an authentic Mexican flavour to foods; it is a blend of herbs and spices, and may include cumin, chilli, garlic, capsicum, oregano, coriander and onion. Use a mild chilli seasoning, if you prefer. Beef eye fillet can be expensive, buy beef strips or stir-fry beef to make this a cheap […]

You can use gravy beef for this recipe, if you prefer. Note

Fill meringues just before serving. Note

These are just as good served at room temperature as they are served hot, and they make perfect finger-food for a cocktail party or for inclusion on a large selection of mezze dishes. 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

If you cannot find banana chillies, use capsicums instead. Note

You can use frozen soya beans, available from Asian groceries, in this recipe if fresh are hard to find. You could also use the same quantity of fresh broad beans or 2 cups of frozen broad beans instead. 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

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

Equipment 30cm (12-inch) round cake board small new artists’ paint brush The biohazard tape was ordered online from the US. Printing the words `biohazard’ onto yellow tape with a permanent marker adds a visual effect which is just as good, and less expensive. test kitchen tips Use any lollies you like, but make sure they […]

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

Confit, from the French verb ‘confire’ meaning to preserve, means both a food item that has been slow-cooked in fat to cover, and also the cooking technique. Confit foods are exquisitely soft and delicately flavoured, so the technique is sometimes used, as in this recipe, simply to achieve this luxurious effect. 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 […]

Sardines are available already butterflied from most fishmongers. Note

EQUIPMENT 25cm x 35cm (10-inch x 14-inch) rectangular cake board 5cm (2-inch) heart cutter 3cm (1¼-inch) heart cutter Use any shaped cutter for this cake, try snowflakes or stars. You can use letter cutters and write the name of the child on the cake. Use coloured sprinkles that suit the occasion of your party. If […]

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

Cook steaks to seal until moisture begins to pool on top surface (about 2 minutes). Turn only once. Cook on second side until cooked to taste. 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

Freeze beef for about an hour­ this will make it easier to slice. To obtain ginger juice, squeeze grated fresh ginger into a sieve set over a bowl. A piece of ginger measuring about 10cm in length will yield 2 tablespoons of grated ginger; this amount of grated ginger should in turn yield the 2 […]

You can double or treble this aïoli recipe, if you like, but don’t throw the egg whites away. Freeze them until you have enough to make a pavlova or friands. If the aïoli you’ve made separates, place a yolk in another bowl and whisk the separated aïoli into it. The added yolk will re-emulsify the […]

We used wahoo fish for this recipe, but you could use any white fish such as whiting, bream, sole, flounder, dory, perch, snapper or ling. Note

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

Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes before using to prevent them from scorching during cooking. Note

Don’t drain the spinach until it’s completely dry, the excess water steams and wilts the spinach during cooking, without having to add extra oil or butter. 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