Sugar

Edible gift tag cookies are an adorable way to personalise your presents this Christmas - but perhaps wait until Christmas Day to attach them to your gifts.

We used a blackboard as a serving plate for this fun spaceship cake. Get the party goers to create their own universe using chalk.

Mint Slice is a biscuit with a light, crisp chocolate biscuit base, a thick layer of mint cream and a smooth coating of dark chocolate. Note

Makes enough for 1.5kg American-style pork spareribs. Ribs can be marinated in the sauce for three hours or overnight; use the marinade to baste ribs during cooking. Sauce also goes well with grilled pork cutlets or as a marinade for chicken wings. Note

With layers of sponge, cheesecake filling, berries and custard, this delicious trifle is sure to impress.

A trick to cutting turkish delight is to place it in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up, then cut it with an oiled knife, making sure to oil the knife regularly. You need a 6cm (2½-inch) fluted square cutter, or alternatively use a 7cm (2¾ inch) fluted round cutter. Note

These miniature wedding cakes would make a lovely gift to hand around to friends at a bridal shower or engagement party.

These mousse-like layers have a light, delectable texture and are full of creamy flavours.

To keep the glossy finish to the frosting, the cake needs to be frosted up to an hour before the party. The frosting soon dries out to resemble cooked meringue. Note

In China, dragons traditionally symbolise good luck, which, along with this dragon, is a pretty nice gift to give as a birthday present.

Topped and tailed with caramelised apple, these delightful tea cakes can be served up for morning or afternoon tea, and would be a different and welcome addition to the school lunchbox.

equipment 31cm x 34cm teddy bear cake pan 38cm x 47cm covered cake board Allen’s Peaches & Cream and Strawberries & Cream can be found in Allen’s Party Mix. Note

Stuffed with chopped pecans and drizzled in a butterscotch sauce, these buttery apples make a heavenly dessert.

Give your regular yo-yos a citrusy, nutty twist with these orange and hazelnut flavoured morsels. Perfect to enjoy with your morning or afternoon cuppa with friends.

Jalousie is best made on the day of serving. Serve with whipped cream if you like.

This pudding perfectly balances the tartness of the rhubarb with the sweet, creaminess of white chocolate. Delicious!

You need a 200g packet of Skittles for Zappo. Oval cake pans can be bought from cake decorating suppliers, or make a cake in a baking dish and cut the oval shape from it – easy and cheaper. Remember to remove the toothpicks out of the reach of children. Note

It is important to slice the limes as thinly as possible because the rind tends to be tougher than any other citrus fruit. Note

Adorned with marshmallows and smarties, this colourful bouquet of cupcakes is sure to be a hit.

Delicious and divinely pretty, these Turkish delight cupcakes are an exquisite treat to make for an afternoon tea party or any other elegant celebration.

The combination of sweet toffee with crunchy roasted is brilliant in these fun desserts. Your kids will love sucking on these peanut brittle pops for an after school or weekend treat.

A mouth-watering chocolate pavlova with raspberries that's sure to impress.

The slightly astringent flavour of quince is the perfect foil to the sweet creaminess of cheesecake, especially when doused in fresh lemon juice. This quince and vanilla cheesecake has our favourite granita biscuit base. Yum.

The real pleasure in this lime meringue pie lies in the airy heap of soft meringue, crisped golden in places. And in the piquant lime curd and biscuity base. Also, in scoffing a big slice of it.

Smooth, sweet and glossy, here is a recipe for royal icing that you can use on your cakes, cupcakes and desserts.

The perfect balance of sweet and tart, this delicious candied orange peel recipe can be included in desserts, cakes and savoury dishes like tagines.

Basic cup cakes make a great project when you're looking to bake with the kids on a wet afternoon.

These traditional Parisian delicacies are named after a palm tree because, when baked, they resemble palm fronds. Palmiers were probably invented as a way to make use of puff pastry scraps; quick and easy, they're great for afternoon tea.

There's something about warm cake that can turn even the most anti-sweet toothed reaching for the fork. These warm ginger and date muffins with caramel sauce are worth writing home about.

Recipe best made on day of serving. Note

Start your day on a zingy note with this marmalade that uses ginger to liven up your breakfast table.

Beef in Chinese recipes is generally cut into very fine slices. Put the beef into the freezer for 30 minutes to make slicing easy. Note

Bring a bit of Italy into your home with this gorgeous take on a traditional cake.

Equipment: two 12-hole (1-tablespoon/20ml) mini muffin tins two 8cm x 26cm (3¼-inch x 10½-inch) bar cake pans 30cm x 47cm (12-inch x 18¾-inch) rectangular prepared cake board piping bag fitted with 2mm (⅛-inch) plain nozzle Leave one bar cake whole, cut the other into two pieces, as shown. Note

A twist on a French classic, l'oeufs à la neige, our soft meringues are topped with blackberry fool.

This delightful gnome cake by the Australian Women's Weekly is easier than it looks! All you need is some packet mix, a variety of sweets, some food colouring, and a little creativity! Have fun!

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. Keep the icing that’s not being handled, wrapped tightly in plastic. If logs don’t stick together during rolling, brush sides of logs with a little water. The tent […]

To make orange madeleines, add 1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind when beating the egg mixture. Omit the water and replace with 1 tablespoon orange juice. Note

Be sure to remove skewers before cutting and serving cake. This cake is not difficult ­it is, however, time consuming. Note

If using butter cream instead of vanilla frosting, you will need half a quantity of butter cream. We used a selection of small jelly beans, rainbow choc chips and M&M’s for the treasure. You will need 3 x 4-pack (460g) double chocolate chip muffins for this cake. Note

If using butter cream instead of the vanilla frosting, you will need one quantity of butter cream. Note

Try this cake with other fillings such as apple or pear. The cake is best made on the day of serving. Note

Rosewater pistachio crêpes

If you have a sugar (candy) thermometer, use it for these recipes. These nuts are so moreish it will be hard to hand them over; to prevent such a dilemma, double the quantity and the problem is solved! Note

Remember this rockin' cake from The Australian Women's Weekly's famous 'Children's Birthday Cake Book' cookbook? It's sure to be a favourite among the kids, even after all these years.

To decorate allow for another 200 grams (6½ ounces) fresh raspberries Note

This goes well with prawns, chicken and pork. Note

Speculaas are a Dutch Christmas biscuit traditionally made in wooden moulds. If you have them, dust with cornflour or flour; press dough mixture into moulds then draw a knife across the surface to scrape off excess. Turn mould over and slap hard to loosen biscuits onto oven trays. Dust mould with flour between each biscuit. […]

Spicy date pudding with butterscotch sauce

Use a melon baller to scoop watermelon into bite-sized balls, if desired, for a more decorative look. Note

This king of the jungle cake will be a hit with young explorers at a jungle-themed safari. If the weather is wet or humid, chop the Violet Crumble bars and position them on the cake just before the party, as the damp air will make them sticky. You’ll have about 1 cup of cake mixture […]

Packaged cupcakes usually come iced, however, you can ice over the top with the frosting or remove the icing. Place the muffins in matching paper cases, if you like. Note

Remember to remove the skewers from the drawbridge before cutting the cake. Note

EQUIPMENT: 12 lengths 18-gauge floral wire Long-nosed pliers Flower glue Styrofoam Block vinyl mat 3cm (1-inch), round cutter 4cm (1½-inch), round cutter 5.5cm (2¾-inch) round cutter Flower mat Ball tool Fine artist’s paint brush Small non-stick rolling pin 12-hole round-based, shallow (1 tablespoon/20ml) patty pan Stamens 1.5cm (¾-inch) 4-petal blossom cutter Florist’s tape 45cm (18-inch) […]

Christmas cutters are available from all good kitchenware shops or cake decorating shops. Note

You can use ready-made air-popped popcorn instead of making your own; you will need about 8 cups. While this looks cute enough for a baby’s first birthday, it’s best not to use the popcorn ­instead, pipe some of the frosting over the sheep to make its woolly coat. Note

Treat your little princess to the sweetest birthday cake around this year.

Allen’s Teeth and Milk Bottles can be found in packets of Allen’s Teeth `n’ Stuff and Allen’s Retro Party Mix. Note

Use a gluten-free packet cake mix for this recipe, if you like. Just make sure the ingredients for the butter cream and the decorations are also gluten-free. Number 4 cake pans can be hired from cake decorating suppliers. Note

We used blue and green Life Savers, mini M&M’s, Skittles and baby jelly beans, but you can use any lollies you like. Note

Violet Crumbles can be substituted with Crunchie bars or any other chocolate-coated honeycomb. Note

Warning, warning… the kids will be back for more of this cute robot cake. Get your little robotics engineer to help with the decorating. Note

The cake mix is enough to make 12 patty cakes, so decorate the other six patty cakes with your own favourite critters & crawlers. Note

Sprinkled with sugar and drizzled with lemon, this basic pancake recipe is a classic for a reason.

You need about 3 large passionfruit for this recipe. Note

Grapefruit probably got their name because they grow in clusters like grapes. Pink or ruby grapefruit have coral-pink flesh and shell- pink skin, and are sweeter and juicier than the yellow-skinned variety. Grenadine is a deep-red syrup based on pomegranate juice and used to both colour and sweeten desserts and drinks. Some versions of grenadine […]

Tying various herbs and spices in a piece of muslin, securing with kitchen string, makes them easier to remove when the chutney is ready to be spooned into jars. Note

You could also make this cake in a deep 18cm round cake pan. This cake is best made on day of serving. Note

Use any remaining cake mixture to make some extra cupcakes for the party. The cake can be completed at least two days ahead. 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

Build it and they will come…and eat it with gusto. The toy tools are readily available from most toy stores. 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