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

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

Spaghettini is a very thin spaghetti. It is available from Italian grocery stores and most large supermarkets. Note

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

Substitutes You can use other flavoured sausages such as pork and apple. This dish is a great way to use up your leftover vegetables. Try using carrot, swede, fennel, pumpkin and kohlrabi instead of the kumara. Note

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

This tomato chilli jam is deliciously versatile ­use it as a condiment in sandwiches, to pep-up stir-fries or as a glaze for chicken, fish or lamb fillets or skewers. 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

Rhubarb comes in bunches and needs all leaves trimmed away and stalks washed before cooking. Any leftover rhubarb puree is delicious served with muesli or cereal for breakfast, or topped with a favourite crumble mixture. Note

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

To ground walnuts, blend or process until fine. Note

Danish salami is a smoked, delicately spiced salami; you can use another variety if you wish. 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

Preserved lemon can be bought in delis and some supermarkets. Remove and discard the flesh then wash and dry the rind before chopping. Note

Can use leftover roast pork or chinese barbecued pork. Note

You can use jelly beans or rainbow straps to decorate the fish. If using butter cream instead of the vanilla frosting, you will need one quantity of butter cream. Note

Edible glitter is available from cake decorating supply stores. Note

Lamb’s lettuce, also known as mâche or corn salad, is very popular in France. It has a mild, almost nutty flavour and dark green leaves. It is usually sold in 125g punnets, but the leaves probably weigh only about a quarter of that total. Note

The baking paper strips are used to help remove the cheesecake from the steamer once it’s been refrigerated overnight. Place the steamer upside down on a serving plate, gently pull on the paper strips and the cheesecake will ease away from the side of the steamer. Note

Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes before using to prevent the skewers burning during cooking. We used flathead fillets in this recipe, but you can use any firm white fish fillets you like. Tatsoi is a variety of buk choy, also known as rosette bok choy. It has dark, glossy, […]

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 […]

Fresh coconut can be shaved into long flakes using a vegetable peeler. Note

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 […]

Any poached fruit will work here, but use something with a more robust flavour, stone fruits are a good choice. Note

We used corn kernels from 2 large fresh corn cobs in this recipe, but you can use frozen (then thawed) kernels or well-drained canned kernels. Roast your own capsicum under the griller, or in the oven until the skin blisters and blackens, cover, cool, then remove skin before using. Or, buy roasted capsicum from a […]

Cake pops will keep for up to a week. Note

The pork neck can be marinated in the glaze the day before. The pork and potatoes can be roasted in an oven at 180°C/350°F. 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

Keep salad refrigerated; bring to room temperature before serving. Note

Starchy potatoes, such as sebago, are best to use. Reheat before topping with dip and almonds. Note

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

For the pickled ginger syrup in the dressing, use the syrup drained from the pickled ginger in the salad. The salmon skin gets wonderfully crunchy when cooked twice on the grill, as we do in this recipe, this provides added texture and flavour. Note

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

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

Ground lemon myrtle is available from specialist spice shops and some gourmet food stores. Lemon myrtle is a small tree that grows in sub-tropical and tropical rainforest areas of Queensland. Ground lemon myrtle is a ground mixture of the dried leaf and flower; it has a strong lemon flavour. If you can’t find it, use […]

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

Italian sausages are coarse pork sausages generally sold in plump links. They are usually flavoured with garlic and fennel seed or anise seed and come in two styles, hot (flavoured with thai red chilli) and sweet (without the added heat). They are available from speciality butchers and delicatessens. Note