Moderate

Store cake pops in an airtight container at a cool room temperature until ready to serve. Pipe eyes and mouths on the day of serving. They will keep for up to a week. Note

Tender roast lamb with a fragrant herb rub and burghul salad.

Soba noodles are long, flat thin Japanese buckwheat noodles from Asian food stores and major supermarkets. Note

You need 1 large (230g) overripe banana to get the amount of mashed banana required for this recipe. Note

Reserve some of the feathery fennel fronds to sprinkle over the soup at serving time. Note

Éclairs are best made on day of serving, but do not fill until ready to serve. Unfilled éclairs can be frozen. Note

Clarissa the cow is out in the paddock, eating the flowers and generally getting into all kinds of mischief. Note

Aïoli is garlic mayonnaise, available from the condiment aisle in most supermarkets. Note

Create the flavours and textures of a slow-cooked meal in under an hour by using your pressure cooker. This delicious chickpea and lentil soup can be ready in no time at all, perfect for a cool weeknight dinner.

We used desiree potatoes in this recipe. Season this dish carefully as the haddock and stock are already salty. Note

We used blue-eye trevalla cutlets in this recipe, but you can use any white fish cutlets. Vietnamese mint is not a mint, but a pungent and peppery narrow-leafed member of the buckwheat family. Also known as laksa leaf and cambodian mint. It is available from Asian greengrocers. Note

A light and summery dish of char-grilled scallops with a zesty corn salsa.

Pink petal dust can be purchased at specialty baking or cake-decorating shops. Note

You can turn this into an ‘eggless processor fruit cake’, if you like. Omit the eggs, and increase the golden syrup by 1 tablespoon to ⅓ cup (155g). The cake doesn’t keep quite as well without eggs, about 5 days, but will freeze for 3 months. Note

Place any leftover lime leaves in a resealable plastic bag and freeze for another use. Add three or four to a curry, scrunching the leaves first to release the flavour; toss thinly sliced leaves through a tropical fruit salad; or add sliced leaves to a jug of iced water for a refreshing citrus flavour. Mango […]

Who said sausage sausages have to be boring? These ones are packed full of strong flavour, and are presented beautifully - perfect for a picnic lunch with loved ones.

You can find artificial spider’s web at novelty shops. If you can’t find it, use fairy floss or cotton wool instead. Be sure to remove spider’s web or cotton wool and skewers before cutting and serving the cake. You will need approximately 3 x 100g bars of Toblerone for this cake. Note

Sometimes called Indian blood plum, the large plum used in this recipe has a distinctive dark red to purple fibrous flesh, is extremely juicy, pleasantly sweet, and is the plum most often found canned. Canned apricots or peaches can be substituted for the plums. A delicious time-and waist-saving recipe. Note

Dried lavender is available from selected delis and spice shops. If you prefer, you can use 1 teaspoon finely grated orange or lemon rind instead. Note

Some butchers sell a pork and veal mixture. If itis not available as a mixture, buy half the amount as pork mince and half the amount as veal mince. Passata is available from most supermarkets. If you can’t find it, use pureed canned tomatoes instead. You can freeze this dish in an airtight container for […]

Flavoured Milk Bottles can be found in packets of Allen’s Milk Bottle Mania; you will need about 3 x 170g packets. Note

To make lemon dressing; dry-fry cumin and coriander in small heated frying pan, stirring, until fragrant. Combine spice mixture in small jug with oil and juice. Note

The taste of this loose-crumbed pineapple and coconut cake will instantly transport you to the seventies when a piña colada was 'the' cocktail.

White icing is also known as fondant (it’s the traditional icing used on wedding cakes). It is available in packets from the supermarket and cake decorating shops. Note

You need about four trimmed rhubarb stalks for this recipe. Calcium is well absorbed from dairy products, but poorly absorbed from foods rich in oxalic acid, such as spinach and rhubarb. So stick to dairy foods as the main source of dietary calcium, but enjoy rhubarb as a tangy, vibrant, stewed fruit. Note

Equipment you will need for this recipe, 23cm x 34cm number 4 cake pan and a 25cm x 40cm rectangular cake board. You can decorate this cake with single or multi coloured lollies. Place lollies such as Smarties on butter cream close to presentation time to prevent the colours running. Note

You need two passionfruit for this recipe. Note

The chicken can be marinated a day ahead. Recipe best made close to serving. Note

Use hundreds and thousands as an alternative to the orange sprinkles. You can use cream-filled rollettes, if you prefer. If using butter cream instead of the vanilla frosting, you will need two quantities. White icing is also known as fondant (it’s the traditional icing used on wedding cakes). It is available in packets from the […]

Some butchers sell a pork and veal mixture, this is fine to use here,­ buy 625g. Note

Tart will keep in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to three days. Note

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

Lamb noisette is a round, rather thick, cut of meat taken from the loin. We used a basil pesto dip from the refrigerated section of supermarkets, but you can use any pesto you like. Some major supermarkets and greengrocers are now selling bunches of baby carrots of different colours. We used a bunch each of […]

Available at some nurseries, rose geranium is an aromatic member of the geranium family. Use the leaves to scent a madeira or butter cake, before baking, line cake pan with leaves. The tart shell is suitable to freeze. Note

You will need to make this recipe the day before. You will need about 8 passionfruit for this recipe. You can substitute canned passionfruit pulp, if you like, however to compensate for the sugar added during canning add a teaspoon or two of lime juice. This recipe can be made up to 1 week ahead, […]

Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks. Note

Chermoula spice mix (chermoula spice blend) is a North African spice blend that gives a spicy Moroccan flavour to food. It is a blend of cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic, onion, parsley, salt and pepper and is available from specialty spice shops and most major supermarkets. Note

You need one trimmed corn cob to get the amount of corn kernels required for this recipe; canned corn kernels or frozen corn kernels, if you prefer. Note

For an impresive starter or light lunch cut one sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry into four equal squares. Place the pastry squares on an oven tray, bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve the pastry squares topped with a dressed salad and a slice or two of pan-fried haloumi. […]

It’s best to make the broth the day before you eat the soup, so that it can chill long enough for the fat to solidify on top. Scoop it away and discard it for a clear broth. Recipe is not suitable to freeze. Note

One-year-olds may be too young to eat the cachous, but they’ll certainly love the cake. Tiny heart-, star-, moon- and other-shaped cutters are sometimes sold as aspic cutters. Note

Pinky bunny is a small cute cake, ­just enough for a small cute person’s birthday. You’ll have ½ cup of the cake mixture left over, enough for another mini loaf. Note

The sherbet is also delicious served on its own as a dessert. Do ahead: Make the sherbet up to 2 days ahead; cover and freeze until required. You will need to start this recipe the day before. Note