Baking

Light, fluffy and wonderfully cheesy, this beautiful French souffle is packed full of beautiful gruyere and fresh watercress. Enjoy this dish with a light side salad for a divine weekend meal.

This crispy lamb and potato pie channels traditional Indian tikka spices to create a deliciously warming family-sized pie. Serve with fresh greens for a tasty and nutritious dinner.

This Greek-style spinach and feta tart is packed full of flavour. Made with a homemade rice base, this savoury tart is wonderfully filling.

The combination of creamy, rich blue cheese and oven roasted kumara sits perfectly atop this golden, fluffy homemade focaccia base. Perfect sliced and shared as a gourmet starter.

Traditionally served at Christmas time, this sweet, fruity cake is packed full of green and red glace cherries and crunchy nuts to produce a flavour and texture sensation.

Chocolate and zucchini are an unlikely team, but this combination really does work a treat. A clever way to get the kids to eat vegetables without them knowing they're eating vegetables!

What could be better than the Holy Trinity of savoury food: butter, garlic and cheese? Add in some mushroom and you'll find that just one is simply not enough.

The flavours of the Mediterranean will tantalise your guests' taste buds at your next cocktail party or family celebration.

These cheesecakes are a delicious mix of the salty taste of prosciutto and the sweetness of fresh figs. Serve anytime!

A timeless recipe, blueberry muffins can be enjoyed any time of the day. Serve your muffins warm or cold with a thick spread of butter.

The fluffy and creamy cheese and salmon filling in this savoury family pie works perfectly with the crumbly, golden crust. Serve with a fresh side salad for a tasty and nutritious dinner dish.

These visually stunning filo parcels are packed with uplifting goodness, ready to share.

We've made small versions of the traditional British beef and Guinness pie. Packed full of a hearty, flavoursome meaty sauce, these golden, flaky pies are beautiful served hot, topped with a dollop of tomato sauce.

This tasty savoury pull-apart bread is perfect served on the side of a warm soup or light salad. Stuffed full of creamy feta and hearty sun-dried tomato pesto, this delicious pastry is plaited to look as visually appealing as it is flavoursome.

Whether it’s a special birthday, family event or simply a mid-winter catch-up, sometimes we just need an excuse for a dinner party. So break out the silverware... this menu is sure to please.

Recreate this classic Greek savoury pastry dish for your family. Traditionally stuffed with creamy feta, ricotta and spinach, this vegetarian bake will have you coming back for a second slice!

These chewy apricot cookies are wonderful drizzled with a sweet lemon icing.

We can never get enough chocolate chip cookies! Try this classic recipe from the Collectors' Edition of the Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits.

This gourmet savoury tart is quick to make and packed full of tasty, high quality ingredients. Fresh portobello mushrooms and creamy blue cheese work wonderfully together sitting amongst a golden, crumbly pastry.

It'll only take you 10 minutes to prepare these starters before popping them in the oven. With salty feta and sweet caramelised onions on top these tarts are a fantastic savoury snack.

This is a simple, rustic cake, lightly spicy with a nice nutty bite. You can serve your sultana spice cake warm with cream or ice cream, but it’s also a good picnic or lunchbox kind of cake.

Thanks to the abundance of ingredients that were unfamiliar just a few years ago, the cook now has more options than ever when it comes to delighting the family with new flavours.

You can use red, white or brown onions in this recipe. Note

A pot of coffee or tea and a plate of home baking can give an otherwise drab afternoon a bit of a rise.

Proving is essential for yeast to grow and give bread its characteristic texture. Note

If preferred, form dough into a round “cottage loaf” shape and place on a greased baking tray. Makes 1 loaf Note

Makes 1 loaf This bread, adapted from a recipe by Jim Lahey of New York’s famous Sullivan Street Bakery, calls for very little yeast, a soft, slack dough, a long rising time and baking in a covered preheated pot. For a crisper crust, reduce the length of time the pot is covered to 20 minutes, […]

MAKES 15 PREP AND COOK TIME 45 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION AND COOLING TIME)

Savory Shortcrust Pastry

This is a winner in our house, as it combines two of the boys’ favourites – pies and nachos! It serves six with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa and extra corn chips.

Tuna, cauliflower and cheese pie

This sweetened bread studded with colourful dyed hard boiled eggs makes a gorgeous centrepiece for an Orthodox Easter Sunday feast.

Amaretti and sage are nicely sweet and spicy together, but don’t forget the squeeze of lemon over the top after you’ve spooned the pumpkin into the pastries – it really lifts the flavour. For a smoky hot bite, dust with smoked paprika.

Low fat, low saturated fat, kid friendly Note

From plaiting bread to decorating cupcakes, there’s fun for young and old with Sophie Gray’s easy kitchen creations

Use milk or white chocolate instead of dark chocolate. Note

We've added an extra layer of deliciousness to the humble Italian lasagne with this hearty pie. Finished with a cheesy topping, it's packed full of flavour to create the ultimate family comfort food.

To make your own buttermilk: add 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup milk. Stand for 5 minutes. Note

You’ll need a 25cm (diameter) round plate or cake board. Turn flowers into butterflies by adding musk sticks and licorice antennae. Note

Serve bread warm or cold with soups and casseroles. Note

You can replace the parmesan with grated cheddar cheese. To freeze: Wrap loaf in plastic food wrap, then freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature. Note

Use puff pastry instead of butter puff. To deep-fry, add oil to 8cm deep. Note

Snip dried fruit into small pieces with kitchen scissors. Note

You’ll need to grate 1 small carrot. Swap carrot for zucchini. Note

Make ahead: Make cookie dough up to 1 week ahead. Roll into balls; store in an airtight container, then refrigerate. To add extra fibre to the dish, use half wholemeal self-raising flour and half white self-raising flour to make dough. If you would like to omit eggs, substitute 1/4 cup apple puree. Note

3 medium mashed bananas equals 1 1/2 cups. Note

Make sure butter is well creamed before adding sugar. This incorporates air and makes for a lighter cake. Use unsalted butter at room temperature, if preferred. For a richer cake, use 185 grams unsalted butter, 3 eggs and reduce milk to 1/4 cup. Continue as directed. Note

This easy butterfly cake recipe is perfect for making with the kids. This recipe is simple - just slice the tops off each cake, fill with buttercream and dust with icing sugar.

Other canned fruit of choice may be used, such as peaches or cherries. Note

You can use any bought char-grilled vegetables for this recipe instead of the sun-dried tomatoes – drain them well on some paper towel. Buttermilk can be used instead of milk. Note

Use a hot, sharp knife to cut slice into squares. Note

You could also use fresh or frozen mango in this recipe. This cake can be served with thick cream or ice-cream. Note

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

Boiled sultana cake

For easy incorporation, you could try using Devondale Dairy Soft instead of butter. Sprinkle the top of the damper with extra grated cheese before baking. Replace chives with a combination of other herbs such as parsley and thyme. Note

This is our go-to basic muffin recipe that works every time! Add whatever ingredients you like to mix up the flavour combinations. These baked treats are perfect for a morning or afternoon tea snack.

You will need about 4 carrots for this cake. To make cupcakes, use 12 paper patty cases and bake 15-20 minutes. Note

This can also be made with tuna, chopped semi sun-dried tomatoes, chopped olives and crumbled feta. Note

This is a New Zealand Woman’s Weekly classic that never dates – who doesn’t love chocolate and raisins in a cookie?

For chocolate meringues, replace food colouring with 60g melted dark chocolate. Cool slightly and drizzle over meringue mixture before spooning out onto trays. Note

The classic ANZAC biscuit is the most famous of New Zealand’s own biscuits, named after the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who fought in World War I. A classic cookie and a must-try!

If you want to add something extra to this mixture, stir half a cup of toasted nuts - such as peanuts, almonds or walnuts - into the mixture before baking or replace the chocolate chips with white chocolate bits for a change. Photography by David Hahn/ bauersyndication.com.au

Biscotti will keep in an airtight container for at least a month. Note

If you don’t have round cakes, you could use two 12-hole (1/3-cup) muffin trays instead. Line holes with paper cases. Note

You need 2 cups of grated vegetables – retain skins to add fibre. Note

You can flavour and colour your marshmallow, or ice with chocolate icing.

These deceptively delicious little slice-and bake-biscuits are incredibly easy to make and with just one bite, you'll be hooked. They're buttery, sweet and melt-in-the-mouth and unlike most commercially made butter biscuits, are easy on the wallet.

Making your first Swiss roll is a rite of passage for keen bakers, and if you haven't given it a go yet this chocolate log recipe is a great way to try. Covered in chocolate ganache, even if you don't roll straight, the end result will taste amazing.

Fresh baked bread is one of life’s unbeatable soul foods. To make it even more exciting, add some sweet figs and crunchy walnuts. It makes a great breakfast, snack or even gift.

Our pistachio bread, or biscotti, would make a thoughtful gift for friends or family. For a different spiced version, omit the cardamom and use ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg instead.

You could use any Christmas cookie cutter to make these biscuits, but angels and snowflakes work the best.

Sweet and nutty baklava, a rich and sweet pastry from the Ottoman Empire.

Transpose the leaf pattern onto cardboard, then use the cardboard leaf as a guide when cutting the leaf shapes from icing. The leaves can be made up to 3 days ahead; store in an airtight container. Using the leaf pattern, cut five lily leaves from the icing then drape over a rolling pin to dry. […]

PREPARE Remove the husk (unless you intend to cook on a barbecue or grill plate) by stripping it back from the top down, bringing as much of the silk as possible with it. Remove kernels by making a deep cut halfway down the cob with a large sharp knife, then snapping it in two to […]

Use toothpicks to position paper pattern on cakes, ready to cut out. Assemble cake on prepared board ready for icing. Note

A ballet spectacular that will leave any prima ballerina stage-struck. Note

Serve puff pops within 6 hours of making. When dipping the puff pops in toffee, tilt the pan of toffee to one side, so it’s deep enough to completely coat the pops. Dip one end of each stick in toffee too, this will ensure the pops don’t fall off the sticks. Note

Perfect beef and onion party pies for sharing with friends and family.

Coffee is the perfect partner for cake, so it stands to reason that a cake containing coffee is going to be good. This loaf is topped with a simple but delicious coffee icing and sprinkled with walnuts for a fantastic crunch.

Be sure to remove toothpicks from cake before cutting and serving. Note

Do not thaw the frozen raspberries as their colour will bleed into the cake. These cakes are best made on the day of serving. Note