Afternoon tea

Did you know brownies made with white chocolate are called blondies? Nici Wickes' recipe for these fudgy and dense treats are beautifully scented with strawberries. Heaven!

Recreate a glorious bakery specialty with this recipe for soft, sweet, doughy Chelsea buns! Glazed in sticky apricot jam and drizzled with pink-tinted icing, these buns are a sure-fire hit!

This wonderfully moist and deliciously sweet blackberry and apple cake recipe is fantastic served for morning or afternoon tea with loved ones. Be sure to enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee!

Crunchy, buttery and deliciously crispy, Nici Wickes' walnut wafers recipe is the ultimate sweet treat for friends and family to enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee

These delicate lemon curd cups are the perfect recipe for producing bite-sized treats to enjoy at your next tea party, baby shower, dinner party or other sweet social gathering

This delightful lemon thyme sponge cake recipe combines with curd cream to create a show stopping cake that's the perfect sweet touch for your next cake-worthy occasion

This recipe produces flaky layered scones with a delicate hint of mandarin and spice. The secret to ‘light’ scones is to work quickly and handle the dough as little as possible

This deliciously light and fluffy banana, oat and yoghurt bread recipe is perfect served for morning or afternoon tea, accompanied with a hot cup of tea or coffee

This fluffy Paleo pumpkin and walnut bread recipe creates a beautiful morning or afternoon snack that's great served spread with your favourite nut butter and sprinkled with fresh blueberries

Nici Wickes' moreish cashew nut brownie cookies are ready in less than 30 minutes and are fantastic tin-fillers (and make a great lunchbox treat for the kids)

Buttery, sweet and salty, Nici Wickes' decadent white chocolate and salted macadamia cookies are a breeze to whip up! This recipe won’t disappoint!

These delicious gluten-free peanut butter cookies are perfect for the whole family to enjoy for a mouth-watering morning or afternoon tea treat

This beautifully light and sweet gluten-free banana and passionfruit bread is perfect enjoyed for morning or afternoon tea with loved ones and a hot cup of tea or coffee

This deliciously sweet red grape jelly is perfect served over warm scones and enjoyed for morning or afternoon tea with a hot cup of tea, or served spread onto buttery crumpets for breakfast

Enjoy Nici Wickes' wonderfully light and scrumptious rhubarb muffins recipe for morning or afternoon tea, served with a hot cup of tea or coffee

These cranberry and coconut flapjacks are a deliciously versatile recipe - enjoy for a great lunchbox snack, or for morning or afternoon tea. We used cranberries, but feel free to use any dried fruit

This moist muesli fruit bread recipe is perfect served for morning or afternoon tea and enjoyed with a hot cup of tea or coffee

These wonderfully light, buttery olive and rosemary scones are fantastic recipe to have on hand. Serve warm with butter and enjoy with friends or family for a lovely afternoon tea

Starring herby eggs, watercress, mustard and mayo, these finger sandwiches will look right at home at your next swish occasion, without requiring any special effort

These little lemon and poppyseed cakes, with centres of cream cheese and lemon curd, are delightfully decadent and they stay fresh for days

If you're looking for the perfect partner for your next cup of tea, look no further than this spiced apple honey teacake. It even freezes well - making it a must for unexpected guests

This delicious recipe uses yoghurt and almond meal to create moist, fluffy cakes that are perfected with the orange, honey and cardamom syrup that's spooned over the top

Chopped pecans add a delicious nutty flavour to these traditional chocolate chip cookies

This classic butter cake, smothered in butter cream icing, will satisfy your sweet tooth. Best served with a cup of tea or coffee for a simple afternoon treat.

These little fruit mince pikelets are simply divine!

To vary these fudgy cookies, try mixing and matching white and dark chocolates with different berries or dried cherries or apricots.

A thick wedge of this zesty cake goes perfectly with a hot cup of tea.

Milk, dark and white chocolate combine in this delectable brownie recipe

An afternoon delight!

Mindy mermaid

This birthday cake is perfect for the little girl who dreams of having her very own pony

These delicate little French almond cakes are irresistible, plus they're also gluten-free

Growing up, we called them “tree tomatoes”, a reference to their colour and shape. A name change to tamarillo and this tart, fleshy autumn fruit remains one of my favourites to eat and cook with

These scones really pack a punch with rocket and a double dose of cheese – feta in the scones and cheddar on the top. Slathered in butter, a warm scone is true comfort food, right?

Megan May gives the classic sugary Shrewsbury biscuit a healthy makeover

A classic baked cheesecake with gorgeous hints of vanilla and lemon

A kiddies favourite that will leave anyone trying this new creative version of fish fingers in awe.

Bring out the inner child in everyone with a fairytale feast that’s full of fun!

This cake almost disguises the taste of the fruit, but feijoa lovers will still delight in the delicate flavour. Recipe by Jane Rangiwahia.

This is one of those lemon yoghurt cakes that has it all – punchy flavour from the passionfruit and lemon, an incredible texture, and it keeps well. Nici Wickes' lemon passionfruit cake is a winner

These sweet and fruity gluten-free cakes from Anneka Manning's cookbook 'Bake Class' combine tart raspberries and aromatic passionfruit – it’s where summer meets autumn.

You don't need to miss out on these gorgeous, fluffy sweet Easter treats just because of allergies or intolerances. These gluten free hot cross buns taste just as good as the original recipe (especially with butter)!

Serve up a family feast that’s so delicious, they won’t even notice how healthy it is!

This muffin recipe is a one-bowl wonder, easy to throw together and the cardamom is a beautiful whisper of flavour alongside the fruit. And who doesn’t like a freshly baked muffin first thing in the morning? My mum’s muffins are the best – though I might be a bit biased!

This is pure comfort food. Layers of spiced bun and apple baked with a vanilla custard makes for a moreish treat.

This fun construction-site themed birthday cake is great for young children who love getting messy and playing with trucks.

At first glance this looks like a classic fruit tart to be eaten by the slice. However, with this tart you have to deconstruct it in order to eat it. The nutty walnut shell is not only intended to hold the sweet globes of roasted fruit together; it’s meant to be smashed up, crumbled and piled. Slap on a dollop of clotted cream or tart crème fraîche and dig in.

This tart is fun to make and simply gorgeous to eat!

These sweetcorn and prawn fritters served with a lemony sour cream dressing taste sensational together.

Super-easy to prepare, these little almondy cakes can pretty much handle any seasonal fruit so feel free to be creative with what you have on hand. Recipes and styling by Fiona Hugues. Photography by Jani Shepherd. Gatherum Collectif.

This orange and almond cake is perfect for afternoon tea.

This is the most refreshingly delicious hot weather dessert you could ever have. Late season strawberries are a favourite as they are more intensely sweet than the tart early varieties, but they cost more, so my ever-economical mum combines them with cut oranges to make them go further.

Moist Chocolate cupcakes with a Strawberry Champagne Tim Tam nestled inside, topped off with a swirl of Strawberry champagne butter cream – Heavenly.

Tim Tam Strawberry Champagne biscuits form the base for this cool retro-styled slice that will turn afternoon tea into an event. Recipe by High Tea With Dragons.

Combining two of our favourite things, chocolate and hazelnuts, these incredible cookies are filled with an irresistibly creamy centre.

A classic biscuit that is loved by all, the humble chocolate chip cookie is beautiful enjoyed with a glass of milk or coffee. They're great to bake with little ones, too.

Someone I know intimately will not eat anchovies. However, they are a must in certain recipes, adding balance and saltiness like no other ingredient, so I’ve put extraordinary effort into concealing them in the past. On this particular occasion, though, I decided they were too important to hide and so laid them out in their little salted glory for all to see. Well, lo and behold, the person in question got home famished, stuffed in a piece of tart left over from this photoshoot and exclaimed it was one of the most delicious versions he’d tried in a long time. What? I’ve baked this tart a squillion times before, but apparently the proud little anchovies make all the difference.

Impress your friends and family!

Celebrate summer berries with these little and lovely gluten-free friands

This gorgeous recipe is from AEG Ambassador and one of Australia's top chefs, Mark Best. It's wonderfully moist, sweet and moreish. Enjoy a big slice with a dollop of your homemade honeycomb butter.

Just like the name suggests, these drop cookies are flavoured with peanut butter and have a sweet jammy centre

Drizzled with a lime icing, these little gluten-free cookies hit the spot come afternoon tea time.

Nothing beats fresh homemade cookies. Except homemade cookies with the hidden surprise of an Oreo in the centre. You're welcome!

Light-as-a-feather mango mousse topped with ribbons of mango and lime zest, served in slices with chilli caramel.

I make all sorts of banana loaves and cakes but this one is especially terrific. Somehow it is both robust and super-soft and fluffy. It also slices easily and stays fresh for days – not that it’ll last that long!

Punnets of deep red strawberries stacked high and deep outside fruit shops and dairies epitomise the Kiwi summer. But by the tail end of the strawberry season, as the fruit quality wanes, I’m left looking for ways to keep this less flavoursome berry exciting. Here’s my new trick: a short session in a hot oven and strawberries morph into fragrant domes bursting with flavour. These roasted berries are sublime over ice cream but even better topping a flaky pastry base smeared with zesty cannoli cream. End-of-berry-season blues sorted. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

Jani and I spend hours on our photoshoots and inevitably share childhood food stories as memories are triggered by different ingredients. One recent discovery is our shared love of Strawberry Toppa ice blocks – that delicious Kiwi invention of the 1950s. The rather rustic icy treats on these pages are our version of the sublime relationship between strawberries and cream – with a cheeky, grown-up twist. Photographs by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues; Gatherum Collectif.

This spectacular dessert makes an enchanting addition to the Christmas table. Make a day in advance for a stress free Christmas.

The Christmas cake of the moment! Why not try this red velvet bundt cake, so easy to make and yet so delicious!

This lightly spiced cheesecake becomes a showstopper when topped with dark chocolate glaze and poached pears.

In the words of my dear mother, “Panforte is a wonderful alternative to Christmas cake and Christmas minces. Not that I’m suggesting you don’t have the Christmas cake and minces on hand too, for when friends drop round for Christmas greetings, but it makes a nice change.”

Lemon curd & coconut log brought to you by New Zealand Woman's Weekly.

This slice is wickedly moreish, so don’t blame me if you can’t stop at one piece! The creaminess of the mascarpone studded with tart fresh raspberries makes this a truly decadent treat.

White chocolate fans rejoice! This delicious White Christmas slice is filled with chewy cherries, apricots and coconut. Quick and easy just refrigerate till firm, then serve.

These jam wreath cookies get into the fun festive spirit of Christmas. Keep wreaths in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.

This one might be a little bit outside the box, but I love to play with savoury and sweet. You could use this basic method to experiment with all sorts of different flavour combinations. - Al Brown

Heavenly High Tea - Who said indulgent socials can't be healthy? These raw, vegan, gluten-free recipes from Maz Valcorza's whole food cafe Sadhana Kitchen are as nutritious as they are moreish - Fig and date scones with blueberry chia jam and coconut cream. Photography by Rodney Macuja/bauersyndication.com.au

Mum’s made this cake for many years since her dear Aussie friend Lynne shared it with her. It is always a success, thus their friendship remains intact! Photography by Todd Eyre

Similar to an old-fashioned gingerbread, this cake improves with age so it makes a lovely gift for friends to take to the bach or to simply enjoy at home all summer long. Photography by Todd Eyre

Macerating the strawberries enhances their flavour, so this is a handy recipe for when the fruit looks better than it tastes. The filling is light and creamy with a hum of ginger, and the tart is easy to make ahead.

This easy rocky road is a gorgeous edible gift idea for Christmas. Photography by Melanie Jenkins.

Party season has started! These tasty morsels will tempt the taste buds of your guests and ensure you retain your legendary entertaining status. Photography by Todd Eyre.

A rich chocolatey slice great for a gift or as a lunch-box filler. Photography by Jani Shepherd.

Containing only four ingredients, this cake is light but decadent, perfect for summertime. Photography by Jani Shepherd/Gatherum Collectif.