Afternoon tea

Youngsters will squeal with delight at the sight of these cute little pigs. You could easily make a piglet for each small guest to take home. Instead of tinting your own sugar, you can use the packets of coloured sugar crystals found in packets of Monster 5s or Fairy 5s, available from supermarkets. Note

You will need to buy a 265g packet of small lollipops for this recipe. You should never smile at a crocodile, or be taken in by her welcoming grin, but Clara looks friendly enough — maybe! Note

If liked, microwave pumpkin in a little water until tender and drain well. Note

Limoncello is an Italian lemon-flavoured liqueur made from the peel only of fragrant lemons, which is steeped in clear alcohol then diluted with sugar and water. Store unfilled macarons in an airtight container for about a week. Fill macarons just before serving. Note

You can use lemon, lime or blood orange marmalade or your favourite jam instead. Note

A cheese slicer makes curls about 2.5cm long; if you don’t have one, use a vegetable peeler, it will make smaller curls. We used a white chocolate mud cake in this recipe, and made a coffee-flavoured ganache to complement it and the chocolates, however, a dark chocolate mud cake would also look wonderful filled with […]

This is another one of those charming cakes that look so great, but is really quite easy and simple to make. Note

Peaches & Cream are found in Allen’s Party Mix. You’ll have about 1 cup of the cake mixture left over; use to make extra cupcakes for the party. Note

The butterflies can be made months ahead; store in an airtight container at room temperature. Tylose powder is a hardening agent, it helps the butterflies maintain their wings in an upward position. Cascading butterflies of just about any colour will look splendid on a tiered cake like this. Keep the colour of the cakes pale, […]

Fruit medley is a combination of chopped dried fruit containing apricots, apples, sultanas etc. Any fruit of your choice can be substituted. Note

Cake is best decorated on day required. Note

This adorable princess birthday cake is perfect for kids who love all things pretty and pink.

Buy greek or lebanese baklava from specialty shops, delicatessens or some coffee shops. Note

Keeping time: 4 days. Note

You need a 7cm (2¾-inch) and a 5cm (2-inch) starshaped cutter. It’s best to use food colouring pastes rather than liquids. Roll, cut and bake one portion of dough at a time. While those biscuits are cooking , roll and cut the next batch, ready for the oven. Note

Semolina is available from health-food stores and supermarkets. It can be replaced with 1 cup plain (all-purpose) flour. Lime, orange or mandarin juice and grated rind can be substituted for the lemon. Note

This cake is at its best eaten on the same day as baking. Keeping time: 1 day. Note

Silver leaf, available from cake decorating stores, is delicate and fiddly to handle but worth the effort. Note

This recipe also makes 6 texas muffins (¾-cup/180ml), bake about 25 minutes. Note

You’ll have about 1½ cups of the cake mixture left over to make more cakes for your party. Note

These nuts are so moreish it will be hard to hand them over; to prevent such a dilemma, double the quantity and the problem is solved! Note

This gorgeous layered cake is the perfect balance of sweet and nutty. It's the perfect celebratory cake to serve at Christmas time.

Delicious and chewy chocolate Turkish delights with the sweet scent of rosewater and the crunch of sliced almonds.

This recipe also makes 6 texas muffins (¾-cup/180ml); bake about 35 minutes. Note

Old-fashioned cast gem irons are available from specialty cookware shops or second-hand shops. Note

Mad about marmalade? Then, this muffin is for you. Marmalades come in a range of flavours sweet through to bitter and everything in between. Try a bitter marmalade first, it teams so well with the almonds and the sweetness of the syrup. Note

Cake can be baked and cut into shape one day ahead; keep, covered, in refrigerator if weather is hot. Finish cake on day of serving, as per recipe. The remaining purple jelly can be used to make extra jelly cups. Young explorers will love this cake. The swamp is filled with murky (but delicious) jelly, […]

36 lollypop or paddle pop sticks are needed for this recipe. Push the sticks of the popcakes into the top of a cardboard egg carton to dry. Light or dark fruit cake is suitable, use whichever is preferred. Note

Any small jubes or jelly sweets can be used. Use lightly oiled scissors to cut the jubes. Note

Keeping time: 4 days. Note

Demerara or raw sugar can be used instead of coffee crystals. All of these sugars add a crunchy texture to the muffins. This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free. Note

You will need about two bunches of rhubarb for this recipe. To spread the second layer of cake batter over the crumble, without mixing the two, dollop the batter into each corner first, then gently spread the batter toward the centre. Note

It’s important to use regular honey in the matzo cake, not the easy-to-pour liquefied version Note

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

A fun and delicious gingerbread man that is great for kid's parties.

For this recipe you need 1 large pomegranate (375g). Note

Sugar flowers of many shapes, sizes and colours can be bought from most supermarkets and cake decorating shops. Note

You’ll be prouder than a peacock when you present this cake at the party. The design is mainly in the placement of the lollies. Note

Allen’s Racing Cars and Pineapples can be found in Allen’s Teeth `n’ Stuff, Retro Party Mix and Classic Party Mix. Note

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. You can draw the inner ear, mouth, eye and iris patterns onto cardboard and use these templates to cut the shapes from icing. Be sure to remove toothpicks […]

Even though small guests may not be eating the cakes they’ll love the look of a duckling-topped cake. Make sure the ducks are completely dry and firm. The drying time will depend on the weather; if it’s wet or humid, it could take overnight. The ducklings will take less time to dry than the mother […]

If using frozen berries, use them unthawed, this will minimise “bleeding” of the colour into the mixture. Muffins can be frozen either individually wrapped in foil or together in a sealed container for up to 3 months. To thaw frozen muffins, either place muffins on an oven tray covered with foil, or wrap individual muffins […]

You will need about 3 large overripe bananas for this recipe; mash 2 of them for enough mashed banana. Note

This playful, and friendly, looking monster will keep the little ones amused with its bright, cheery colours and smiling face. Note

Kids love funny faces so Merv is bound to create peals of merriment Note

Make sure the rose petals are chemical-free. Organic petals can be found at specialist cake decorating shops and some delicatessens. If fresh organic rose petals are unavailable, sprinkle cake with chopped rosewater-flavoured turkish delight. Rosewater will vary in strength between brands. Start with a small amount and adjust to taste. If using rosewater essence, start […]

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Not suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

If vanilla bean paste is hard to find, you can use 3 teaspoons vanilla extract instead. Note

If you don’t like heavy fruit cake, this light fruit cake may just hit the spot. Note

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 Tiny heart cutters are sometimes sold as `aspic cutters’. We’ve scattered Allen’s Sour Rush Jelly Beans, Allen’s Milk Bottle Mania and Nestlé Melts White Cooking Compound around the […]

You can use any flavoured jelly you wish. Note

To decorate the cake in the same colours as pictured here, you need 32 of each colour. We used rainbow Mentos mints, which come in packs of three. The purple and green colours can be used in lolly bags. Decorate the cake however you like using all the colours, rather than the ones used here. […]

Equipment: Deep 30cm-round cake pan 2 x 20cm x 30cm lamington pans 2 bamboo skewers 3cm, 4cm, 6cm and 9cm-round cutters 40cm x 1m prepared cake board Decorations 3 rainbow sour straps, cut yellow strips from strap Note

Equipment: 2 x 12-hole (2-tablespoons/40ml) deep flat-based patty pans 24 standard paper cases (brown) 40cm-square prepared cake board decorations white and black decorating gel The recipe makes 24 cakes, however, we’ve only used 17 in our picture. Encourage the guests to bring their instruments, if possible, to a musically-themed party. A white board would make […]

Postre chajá was created by the owner of a family restaurant in Uruguay. He called his mergingue-based dessert ‘chajá’ after an indigenous bird of the same name, whose abundant white plumage reminded him of the meringue. For even cake layers, weigh the cake batter and put exactly half into each cake pan. Cake can be […]

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