Mother's Day

Step outside your everyday repertoire with this salty and crumbly leek and feta tart.

Use a combination of ricotta and spreadable cream cheese. Note

Individual apple and raspberry crumbles are a tartly delicious winter dessert, best served with lashings of cream or ice-cream.

You can have a batch of these delicious scones on the table in around 20 minutes. Serve them warm with jam and cream for morning or afternoon tea.

Opposites attract in this cake with sour cream, white chocolate and apricot creating an explosion of flavour in your mouth.

More than just a ham, egg and cheese toastie, the classic croque madame is perfect dish for brunch or supper, with a little bit of France in every bite.

Amaretto, originally from Italy, is an almond-flavoured liqueur and can be purchased from liquor stores. If small panettone are unavailable, cut 7cm rounds from large panettone, brioche or fruit bread.

An easy, make-ahead dessert for six to eight people, biscotten torte (biscuit cake) is a luscious ending for a dinner or lunch party. Layers of biscuits are brushed with a rum-milk mixture and sandwiched together with a delicious almond cream.

Surprise your brunch guests with baked eggs, delicately flavoured with prosciutto and brie. Serve with steaming hot mugs of coffee or tea, together with lightly toasted sourdough.

Thrill your family and friends this weekend with stacks of these delectable buttermilk pancakes with raspberry butter. The buttermilk adds tenderness and lightness to the batter and results in deliciously soft texture.

Sometimes a dessert, sometimes a beverage, we can all agree that the deliciously rich and fluffy Italian zabaglione is a delight, whatever its form. A touch of marsala gives this version its kick.

Honeycomb is the structure made of beeswax that houses the honey; this edible chewy comb, saturated with honey, is absolutely delicious and available in health food stores and some supermarkets.

Packed with omega-3, protein and fibre this smoked salmon and poached egg on rye is a delicious and healthy breakfast or brunch. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the poaching water will help keep the eggs together.

Fresh warm scones with jam and double cream are one of the true delights in the afternoon tea repertoire. If you can get your hands on some proper clotted cream, all the better.

Surprise your loved ones this weekend with this delicious French toast and berry compote. Sprinkle with a dusting of icing sugar for that finishing touch. A perfect brunch.

Use a clear, carbonated lemonade for this recipe for a light-textured scone. You can replace the thickened cream with clotted cream or whipped thickened cream. Scones are best made on the day of serving. Note

Classic pavlova is usually topped with mixed berries and passionfruit pulp. We've opted for a mix of berries here, but if you prefer you can use kiwifruit, thinly sliced pineapple, pawpaw and passionfruit pulp.

This pretty marbled chocolate thins are easier to make than you'd expect, marbling the chocolate can be almost therapeutic once you get the hang of it. Avoid rapid cooling and don't put the sheets in the fridge to set, you want the chocolate to be set firm but not brittle when you're ready to use the cutters.

The frangipane flower and this frangipane tart have absolutely nothing to do with each other, despite the name. Although both look absolutely stunning and will fill your house with the most delightful aroma.

For crisp-skinned salmon, salt the skin before pan-frying or barbecuing, and cook skin-side down first. The salt helps draw any moisture out of the skin to make it crisp. Turn only once to complete cooking.

This delicious and impressive looking mandarin upside-down cake is a little tricky to make but is oh so worth it. Better still it is gluten-free so everyone can enjoy it. Use a microplane to zest the fruit for best results.

Just a few extra ingredients and about half an hour in the kitchen and you can turn regular chocolate ice-cream into a delicious and very sophisticated dessert.

Now here is a brunch with some power behind it. Packed full of protein, carbs, vitamins and fibre, it will set you up for the entire day. Enjoy with a steaming latte.

This tart is simply delicious warm with cream or ice-cream, and perfect with tea or coffee.

We used Grand Marnier in this recipe but you could use any citrus-flavoured liqueur you like. Serve warm with lashings of cream, custard or hard sauce.

These mini lemon meringue tartlets are everything you'd want in a tasty, sweet morsel. Crispy pastry, sweet yet tart creamy centre and gently toasted meringue on top.

Do not be intimidated by the soufflé! Think of it as a flavoured base into which beaten egg whites are folded. The heat of the oven expands the air in the egg white and contracts when cooled. So serve it immediately, hot from the oven.

Bring a little bit of Belgium to your kitchen with this classic dish. Serve with some crusty bread to soak up that delicious broth, and be generous with the finger bowls!

This spiced walnut cake with a brandy syrup is rich with the fragrance of cloves, cinnamon and orange.

Filled with hazelnut praline cream, this stunning sponge is perfect for a special occasion.

There was usually a tin of condensed milk in the fridge at home when I was growing up and my guilty pleasure was drinking it out of the can!

We've given a grapefruit flavour to the classic lemon meringue pie here, but you could experiment with any citrus fruit, or a combination of.

We all know that everybody likes parfait but with chunks of chocolate, nougat and a caramel sauce this is one parfait you'll be sure to love.

Affogato is a popular Italian dessert that often combines coffee with ice-cream and often, a splash of booze. We've used Irish cream here, but you could substitute your favourite liqueur.

There is something oh so 70s about these familiar baby pink and white, sweet coconutty treats. They were as sure to please back then as they are now.

Serve up these simple, fluffy ricotta pancakes with sliced fresh fruit and a drizzle of syrup for a delightful brunch for your loved ones this weekend.

These greek-style omelettes are healthy and full of flavour. For a fluffy omelette, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form; serve with crispy bacon for a complete breakfast or brunch.

Moist, dense and dripping with syrup, this chocolate orange polenta cake is a very grown-up way to recapture a childhood love for jaffa cakes.

These mango cremes are quick and easy to make and you can pop them in the fridge early in the day, ready for dessert later in the evening. You could serve them with berries for an extra splash of colour, if you like.

The lobster meat in the tail is the sweetest and most delicately flavoured. Enjoy this decadent salad.

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

Try substituting hazelnut meal for the almonds, and use vanilla instead of almond essence. Note

Nothing says decadence quite like a platter of fresh oysters. Drizzle them with these three fresh, fragrant and delicious Asian inspired dressings and watch them disappear.

These honeycomb cream cupcakes are a proper indulgence, a moist, spiced cupcake topped with whipped cream and shattered Violet Crumble bars.

These chocolate ginger mud cakes with their gorgeous gum nut decorations are easier to make than you'd think. Perfect when the occasion calls for a bit of stylish Australiana.

Fig and chocolate studded cupcakes spread with chocolate ganache and topped with fresh figs and toffee crowns make a pretty spectacular treat.

There are few platters more impressive than those piled high with fresh, local seafood. Finish off the jewels of the sea with delicious dipping sauces; serve with chilled white wine, or go all the way with a bottle of bubbles.

This is, quite possibly, the best omelette ever. It's like a breakfast burrito, gift wrapped in fluffy, eggy goodness. Serve with a tomato basil salad.

Sweet and rich hazelnut and espresso friands make a delicate and exquisite afternoon tea treat.

Perfect for a special afternoon tea, this moist chocolate sponge is filled with whipped cream and topped with coffee icing.

Jelly buttons are liquorice flavoured jellies with a crunchy coating. They are also known as jelly spogs. Note

Serve with ice-cream instead of yogurt for a quick dessert. If possible, choose freestone peaches (or nectarines) rather than the clingstone variety. You can use any seasonal fruit for this recipe.

Take an eaton mess, replace the pav with macaroons and add some custard and you have this deliciously layered raspberry dessert in mere moments.

The molten part of this chocolate pudding is created by not cooking this dish all the way through, but just enough to create a piping hot 'molten' like centre, that combines beautifully with the good quality vanilla ice cream or cream that you'll spoon on top!

These berry frangipane tarts are perfect for a simple afternoon tea celebration. Serve them with a small dish of clotted cream for that little something extra.

Can’t decide on cake or meringue? Why not both! It starts with a cake base, topped with meringue and sandwiched with mascarpone cream.

Sweet, rich and wonderfully decadent, this beautiful chocolate slice is easy to make and perfect enjoyed with a cup of coffee for a relaxing morning or afternoon treat.

A classic teacake, the kind you hope to find on the cake stall at a school fete or church bazaar. Raspberry swirl cake is simple to make, looks impressive and tastes wonderful.

This dish is as simple as gathering all the ingredients together and throwing them in the wok for a few minutes to cook. Add more or less chilli to this dish according to taste.

Chewy, rich and gorgeously lush, these fudgy chocolate, cherry and coconut cookies are perfect served with a strong cup of coffee.

If you're in the mood for something deeply indulgent, you can't go past this moist flourless chocolate and hazelnut cake. As a bonus, it is gluten-free, wheat-free and yeast-free.

The three types of nuts used here are tossed with the spice mixture then toasted, a process that infuses the cake with their combined flavours. The secret to a successful teacake lies in the beating of the sugar, egg and butter ­ the mixture must be very light in colour and full of air.

A genuine Australian classic, pumpkin scones are best scoffed warm and spread with lashings of butter.

Fresh, plump figs stuffed with nuts and cheese and then baked. Finish this gorgeous walnut and ricotta stuffed figs recipe with a drizzle of warm caramel sauce for a luscious dessert.

A clear lunch-box winner, packed with fruit and fibre, these banana, craisin and macadamia muffins are utterly delicious.

Spinach and eggs are a fabulous combination, the earthiness of the spinach lifts the delicate flavour of scrambled eggs to new heights.

Crunchy golden coconut, pecans and brown sugar make a divine topping for this luscious pineapple cake. It's lovely served still warm with a drizzle of cream.

Coconutty crumble is the perfect topping for the rich fruit filling of this date and lemon slice, a true tea-time classic.

Sweet and tart, fruity and creamy, this dessert is a taste sensation that will impress any guest.

There's nothing like the flavour of home-made jams and preserves. This strawberry conserve recipe uses lemon pips to help with setting, and lemon juice to add piquancy. Delicious.