Pastry                                                    Filling

275g plain flour                                     100g soft butter

125g cold butter                                     100g caster sugar

2 tbsp icing sugar                                   100g ground almonds

pinch salt                                                3 tbsp plain flour

2 medium egg yolks                               1 medium egg

200g fresh or frozen raspberries

½ teasp almond extract

Oven temperature 180C/ fan 160C.  Grease a 12 hole cupcake tin.

Mix flour, butter, sugar, and salt in processor.  Add egg yolks and blitz until dough forms a ball. If dough is a bit dry, just add a tablespoon of cold water.  Cover in cling and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry and cut into 12 circles large making sure it goes up the sides of the cupcake holes.  Pop into fridge while you make the filling.

Mix butter and sugar together until soft and combined.  Then beat in the almonds and flour.  Crack in the egg and the almond extract.  Then beat until everything is combined.  Add to the pastry lined tin.  Spread evenly until smooth on top.

Arrange the raspberries in the almond filling.

Bake for 18 – 20 minutes.  Allow to cool on a wire rack. Lightly dust with icing sugar.

Pastry                                                    Filling

275g plain flour                                     100g soft butter

125g cold butter                                     100g caster sugar

2 tbsp icing sugar                                   100g ground almonds

pinch salt                                                3 tbsp plain flour

2 medium egg yolks                               1 medium egg

411g tin pear halves or 4 very ripe soft pears

½ teasp almond extract

Oven temperature 180C/ fan 160C.  10 x 34cm fluted loose bottom flan tin, or 23cm round tin.

Mix flour, butter, sugar, and salt in processor.  Add egg yolks and blitz until dough forms a ball. If dough is a bit dry, just add a tablespoon of cold water.  Cover in cling and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll out the pastry and put into flan tin making sure it goes up the sides.  Pop into fridge while you make the filling.

Mix butter and sugar together until soft and combined.  Then beat in the almonds and flour.  Crack in the egg and the almond extract.  Then beat until everything is combined.  Add to the pastry lined tin.  Spread evenly until smooth on top.

Drain the pears in a colander and then dry with kitchen paper.  Arrange pear halves cut side down in the almond filling.

Bake for 35 – 45 minutes.  Allow to cool on a wire rack. Lightly dust with icing sugar.

225g (8oz) white flour

350g (12oz) caster sugar

3 level teaspoons baking powder

1 level teaspoon salt

grated zest of 2 oranges

125ml (4fl oz) vegetable oil

7 egg yolks

50ml (2fl oz) orange juice, freshly squeezed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

7 egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar (Bextartar)

Orange Glaze

450 g (1lb) icing sugar

Grated zest of 2 oranges

Freshly squeezed orange juice

2 x 23cm Bundt tin or 4 x 10cm Bundt tins (a circle with a hold in the centre)

Preheat oven to 325 F or 160 C or Gas 3. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add in the sugar, oil, egg yolks, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract. Beat vigorously with a spoon or in a food mixer at medium speed until smooth.

Measure egg whites and cream of tartar into spotlessly clean and dry large mixing bowl. Beat until very stiff. Pour egg yolk mixture over the beaten egg whites, and whisk, use a wire whisk and fold together very carefully, take your time!

Pour into the UNGREASED  9 inch Bundt tins and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. When fully cooked invert over bottle until cold. When cold, loosen sides of cake with a knife or very small spatula and release clip or if it does not have a clip bang cake tin on edge of worktop until it frees itself keep hand under tin when banging as it can fall out suddenly!

To make the icing, put the sieved icing sugar into a bowl, add the orange zest and enough juice to make a softish icing. Careful not to make it too runny or it will run straight off the cake.

Put the cakes on cake rack and allow icing to drip onto plate underneath, then scrape up the icing and cover the gaps. Move to the serving plate before icing is set.

Ingredients:

• 4 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200g fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups  whipped cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180C/fan oven 160C.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw 6 (10cm) circles or 1 large circle (23cm) on paper. Turn paper over; secure with masking tape.

Beat egg whites, cornflour, and salt at high speed of a mixer until foamy. Slowly add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until thick and glossy. Add vanilla, beating well.

Divide egg white mixture evenly among the 6 drawn circles. Shape meringues into nests with 1-inch sides using the back of a spoon. Place meringues in oven. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 150C/fan oven 130C. Bake 1 hour. Turn oven off; cool meringues in closed oven at least 4 hours or until completely dry. (Meringues are done when the surface is dry and meringues can be removed from paper without sticking to fingers.) Carefully remove meringue nests from paper.

Assemble the pavlovas by topping with 1/4 cup whipped cream in each nest, then arrange fresh fruit on top.

The meringue shells can be kept frozen for up to two months. Remove them from freezer before you assemble the pavlovas, no reheating required.

yield: 30 whoopie pies

Ingredients:

for the pies:

• 3 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
• 3/4 Cup Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 2 tsp Instant Espresso Powder
• 1/2 Cup Hot Coffee
• 2 Cups firmly packed Light Brown Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Canola Oil
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Buttermilk, shaken

for the filling:

• 5 Large Egg Whites
• 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 2 Cups (4 sticks) Butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, cool but not cold
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream

Directions:

for the pies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or grease them with oil).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and espresso powder. Add the hot coffee and 1/2 cup hot water, and whisk until both powders are completely dissolved.

In a medium bowl, stir the brown sugar and oil together. Add this to the cocoa mixture and whisk until combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Make sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as you fold. Fill a piping bag with batter and pipe quarter-sized dollops 1-inch apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one whoopie comes out clean. Place whoopie’s onto wax paper to cool while you bake the remaining batches.

for the filling:

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and sugar together. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water but do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. Heat the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and the color is milky white, about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the egg mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium-high speed (start slowly at first) until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with the paddle attachment. Add the cubed butter and beat on medium-high speed (start slowly at first) until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If the buttercream looks like it is breaking, don’t worry, it will eventually come together.

Add the salt and Irish Cream and beat for 5 seconds to combine.

Pipe filling onto the flat sides of half of the whoopies and top with remaining half.