Baking

Variation; for an orange blossom and mint tea syrup cake, omit the french earl grey tea in the cake and instead add 1 tablespoon orange blossom water with the lemon juice in step 3. Omit the earl grey syrup and instead make ‘orange blossom and mint tea syrup’. Serve the cake drizzled with syrup. Note

For this recipe we used small (15cm diameter) packaged pizza bases for this recipe. Note

Equipment Deep 15cm (6-inch) round cake pan Deep 23cm (9¼-inch) square cake pan 15cm (6-inch) round prepared cake board 30cm (12-inch) square prepared cake board 2 medium piping bags fitted with medium plain tubes Tracing wheel 3 bamboo skewers Use any leftover butter cake mix to make cupcakes. The decorated cake can be completed two […]

A quick and easy Italian-style pizza with roast garlic and crispy potato.

You can also use coliban or sebago potatoes for this recipe. Note

Ratatouille can be made a day ahead; store, covered, in the refrigerator. It is great on its own, or served with pasta. In a Provencale dialect, touiller means to stir and crush, thus the name ratatouille perfectly describes this rich vegetable stew. Note

To segment the lemon, use a small sharp knife to cut the top and bottom from lemon. Cut off the rind with the white pith, following the curve of the fruit. Holding the lemon over a bowl, cut down both sides of the white membrane to release each segment. If you don’t have an ovenproof […]

The pies can be made a day ahead. Before serving, reheat in a 160°C oven for 10 minutes or until warm. Note

Sun-dried tomato pesto can also be used. Note

This recipe would also be delicious using cauliflower instead of broccoli, or a mixture of both. Note

The pasta cases can be made, cooled and removed from the pans one day before the party. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The bolognese sauce can be made two days ahead; keep it covered in the fridge. Assemble the baskets up to 3 hours before the party. Note

The cake and persimmons can be made a day ahead. Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature; store persimmons in an airtight container in the fridge. Note

This moist cake can be eaten warm or cold. Note

storage Friands will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days, or in the freezer (without frosting) for 2 months. Note

A bright and colourful roasted cherry tomatoes, broccolini and pepitas salad from Australian Women's Weekly.

To fold the parcel, bring the long sides together to meet in the middle, fold over about 1cm folding all the way down. Fold in both the ends to completely enclose. Note

You will need about 1 ½ bunches of rhubarb for this recipe. While the cake is baking, turn it every 20 minutes for even browning. Subsitutes; chia seeds are one of the highest occurring plant sources for omega-3 and are available from supermarkets. If you prefer, you can omit them from the recipe or use […]

It’s important to not grease the tube pan, the cake mixture needs to cling to the pan as it rises during the baking process. Tube pans are large smooth-sided ring pans with small “feet” to support the inverted pan while the cake cools. If the cake doesn’t drop from the pan when it becomes cold, […]

This recipe would also work really well with apple. serving idea Note

Bake one cake at a time, unless you have access to two savarin pans. Have the sprinkles close by for decorating, as this icing sets rapidly after it has been warmed. If you’re not happy with the icing, leave it to set completely, then snap or lift off any ugly pieces on the cake or […]

Delicate and beautiful sweet violet cakes for sharing with family and friends.

These spicy roasted chickens are great for sharing with friends and family.

We used chicken breast mince in this recipe. Note

It is important to steam, not boil, the pumpkin and kumara, to prevent vegetables becoming watery. Chop vegetables the same size so they cook evenly. Note

You need two pomegranates to give a total of 1 cup of seeds. To remove the seeds, cut the pomegranate in half, hit the outside hard with a large spoon. Most of the seeds will fall out of a ripe pomegranate. Or, dig the seeds out of the fruit with a teaspoon. If you use […]

If you don’t have a candy thermometer, boil the syrup until it’s thick with heavy bubbles. Remove from heat, let bubbles subside, then reassess the thickness of the syrup. Note

A 30cm glass stand was used for this cake, but a prepared 30cm round board can be used instead. Fruit can be varied, depending on season and availability. Note

We used large (25cm diameter) packaged pizza bases for this recipe. Fontina is an Italian cows-milk cheese that has a smooth but firm texture and a mild, nutty flavour. Mozzarella can be substituted for the fontina. Note

A rich and sweet Turkish pastry held together with dark chocolate, pistachios, walnuts and honey syrup.

Crispy and flavour-packed roasted garlic, lemon and oregano chicken and potato wedges.

To ground walnuts, blend or process until fine. Note

Sausage rolls can be made and frozen in advance. Allow an extra 10 minutes when baking from frozen. Middle-Eastern spice blend is available from supermarkets. Substitute with 1 tablespoon each ground cumin and coriander mixed with 1/2 teaspoon each ground turmeric and cardamom. Note

Salmon can be wrapped in baking paper several hours ahead; bake close to serving. Note

This tart is best made on the day of serving. Note

frittata can be cooked on top of the stove, in a medium lightly oiled slightlysided 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

An Italian lemon-flavoured liqueur, limoncello was originally made from the juice and peel of lemons grown along the coast of Amalfi. You can substitute it in this recipe, if you wish, with any lemon-flavoured liqueur or with an orange-flavoured one such as Cointreau. You need approximately five lemons for this recipe. Note

We used 42 green jelly beans to outline the head of the octopus. Stand cake mixture at room temperature while you bake the cakes in batches. You will have 1 cup of cake mixture left over, enough for another 24 mini cakes. You could add these to the cake to make longer tentacles. Note

Bacon option; place a halved cooked bacon rasher on top of heated beans and continue layering as above. Note

Tender lamb forequarter stuffed full of exquisite Mediterranean flavours.

Edible glitter is available from cake decorating supply stores. Note

It is easier to spread the sauce on the pasta squares while they are flat on a board. Note

Early season imperial mandarins have a lovely aromatic rind, however, as they have a loose skin, a microplane grater is the best tool to use. You could substitute lemon or orange rind. Note

Dark Melts and butter can be melted together over hot water or in a microwave oven on HIGH (100%) for about 1 minute. This recipe makes 17 chocolate spider bodies, however, the decorations are for the seven spiders on the cake. Serve the extras as an accompaniment or, if you have extra Melts and Nestlé […]

If you don’t have a piping bag and icing tube, you can use a small strong plastic bag instead. Spoon the icing into a corner of the bag, twist the bag to close it. Snip the corner from the bag, then use it to pipe the icing. Note

Traditionally, a coin would be inserted into the mixture before baking so that the person who found it would have good luck for the coming year. If you want to do this, wrap the coin in foil first (and perhaps warn your guests). Note

You will need a star cutter 3.5cm, and a 36cm x 48cm prepared cake board. Freeze the star-shaped cakes for about an hour, this will minimise the cake crumbs mixing with the butter cream. A circle of magic wands on a round board is a great center piece for a party table. Don’t be too […]

To make a quick cocktail sauce, add a couple of teaspoons of tomato sauce and chilli sauce or Tabasco to the mayonnaise. Note

Cake pops will keep for up to a week. Note

You can buy packaged pizza bases in two sizes: the large ones we’ve used here measure 25cm across; smaller ones measure 15cm across and come packaged in pairs with a total weight of 225g. Use six of the small ones to make individual pizzettas. Note

You need about 3 large overripe bananas (690g) for the amount of mashed banana in this recipe. Note

This Asian-style dish creates the perfect lunch box for busy days.

We’ve used shredded coconut in our picture, but feel free to mix and match using shredded, desiccated or flaked. If you use flaked coconut, be sure to blend or process it until it’s chopped coarsely; this helps it to stick to the icing. Note

Meet Geraldine the giraffe, a fun and delicious cake that is great for kid's birthday parties.

This traditional Spanish frittata combines salty chorizo and fresh veggies to create a flavour-packed dinner dish the whole family will love.

sicilian creams are best assembled close to serving. Any liqueur can be used to flavour these biscuits, e.g. Galliano, Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Amaretto. Note

Don’t overbeat the frosting or the texture will be grainy. Note

Equipment you will need to make the cake guitar; 8cm x 25cm bar cake pan, deep 20cm square cake pan, deep 22cm square cake pan and a 40cm x 80cm rectangular cake board. No one will want to pick this guitar up and smash it…it’s much too tasty for that. Note

Pastizzi are a traditional Maltese food. These flakey pastry pockets are traditionally filled with either fresh ricotta or mushy peas, but nowadays, the variety of fillings are endless and can be sweet or savoury. Fillings are usually distinguished by the unique shape, ricotta-filled pastizzi are diamond shaped, pea-filled pastizzi are a rounded semi-circle. It is […]

Cooking the pizza in a covered barbecue gives it a wonderful smoky flavour similar to a wood-fired oven. If not using covered barbeque, pizza can be cooked in the oven. Place toppings on dough and bake until browned and crisp. There is no need to turn the dough over using this method. Note

Summertime… and the livin’ is easy. Use blue jelly crystals if you think the green makes this pool look like it needs a good clean! Remove any toothpicks before cutting and serving the cake. Note

You can peel the potatoes in advance and leave them in a bowl of cold water so they don’t go brown. Once they are sliced, assemble the dish immediately. Don’t stand the sliced potatoes in cold water or you will wash away their natural starch, which thickens the sauce. Note

You will need to buy four 22g packets of Life Savers for this cake. Be sure to remove toothpicks, cotton wool and skewer from cake before cutting and serving. Note

You will need to buy a 200g jelly beans packet and a 35g tumini M&M’s for the decorations. Colin should beeaten before he under goes a metamorphosis and changes into a giant butterfly. This cake is just the right size for small hands and its bright colours will keep little ones amused. Note