Tahini has a curious effect when warmed as it turns sugar and syrup to a fudge-like consistency, as it does with halva. So in an oat flapjack it means you can reduce the butter and still have a firm fudge consistency once it’s baked.

100g unsalted butter
75g brown sugar
200g sweetened condensed milk
75g tahini
50g honey
100g chopped dried dates or figs
100g chopped walnuts
25g sesame seeds
rolled oats

Heat the butter, brown sugar and condensed milk until hot and the sugar dissolved then remove from the heat and stir in the tahini and honey. Stir in the dried fruit, nuts and sesame seeds then stir in enough rolled oats, about 175g – 225g until the mixture just holds its shape. The more oats you add, the firmer the baked will be. Line a 20 or 25cm square cake tin or similar with buttered foil and pack the flapjack mixture into the base well. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas 4 and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes until it’s just beginning to turn golden on top. Leave to cool and cut into squares when warm.

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from the Guardian

This summer’s prime sandwich is bbq pork belly and needs a good chewy light crust around it. This is it.

75g semolina or cornmeal, plus more to finish
25g unsalted butter
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant dry yeast
450g strong white flour, plus more for shaping
oil for kneading

Spoon the semolina into a mixing bowl, pour on 150ml boiling water, stir well and leave for 10 minutes. Mash the butter, honey, yoghurt and salt into the mixture with a fork then slowly work in 200ml warm water, breaking up any lumps with your fingers. Stir in the yeast and flour, work to a smooth soft dough and leave for 10 minutes. Give the dough three 10-sec kneads on an oiled surface over 30 minutes, then leave, covered, for an hour. Roll the dough to about 25cm x 35cm on a floured surface, lay on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper and leave covered for 20 minutes. Cut the dough into eight flat rectangular “rolls” and leave again covered until risen by half. Heat the oven to 240°C/fan 220°C/465°F/gas 9. Brush the tops with water, sprinkle evenly with semolina and score a crisscross on top with a butter knife. Bake for about 20 minutes until brown on top.

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AGA, the oven people, invited me to cook the canapés for a celebration evening a few weeks ago, and for dessert I wanted an “Eaton mess” of brandied cherries, an old black variety called Waterloo that I picked at Brogdale and bottled at home, served with whipped cream and miniature chocolate honey meringues. It’s a knock-out dessert perfect for a summer’s evening, and works equally well with fresh cherries stoned and marinated overnight in brandy.

200g dark chocolate
the whites from 4 medium eggs
175g caster sugar
50g honey
100g icing sugar
flaked almonds

Cover a baking tray with foil or non-stick baking paper, and heat the oven to 140°C/fan 120°C/285°F/gas 1. Melt the chocolate and leave to one side. Using an electric whisk beat the eggs whites until stiff then add the sugar, a third at a time, and whisk on high speed till smooth, glossy and very thick, so the meringue holds it’s shape. Beat in the honey till just combined then gently fold in the sifted icing sugar. Gently fold in the chocolate and stop when it’s still a little streaky. Place small spoonfuls on the tray, as they go flat if too big, scatter with almonds and bake for about two hours.

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from The Guardian

A magnificent tower of light saffron buttercake rich with clotted cream, then layered with lemon curd then finally topped with clotted cream frosting and more swirls of lemon. The perfect summer party cake.

for the cake:
75ml lemon juice
a large pinch saffron
100g unsalted butter, softened
50ml corn or sunflower oil
250g caster sugar
50g cornflour
4 large eggs, separated
150g clotted cream
275g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder

for the icing:
50g clotted cream
125g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
lemon curd, either a good brand or make your own (see below)

Line the base and sides of two 20cm round deep cake tins with non-stick baking paper. Heat the lemon juice in a pan, add the saffron and leave off the heat to infuse for 10 minutes.

Beat the butter, oil, sugar and cornflour until light and fluffy then beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, followed by the saffron liquid and clotted cream.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff then fold half through the butter mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder together and gently fold half through, then repeat with the remaining egg whites and flour.

Divide the mixture between the tins and bake at 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas 4 for 35 minutes.

For the icing
Beat the clotted cream, icing sugar and vanilla with 2 – 3 tbsp boiling water until thick and smooth. Horizontally slice each cake in two, then fill and stack with lemon curd. Alternately swirl spoonfuls of the icing over the top of the cake with small teaspoonfuls of lemon curd.

Easy lemon curd

5 large egg yolks
1 large egg
finely grated zest of 3 lemons
125ml lemon juice
150g caster sugar
225g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Have ready a large sieve placed over a clean mixing bowl. Then in a saucepan whisk the yolks, whole egg, lemon zest and juice with the sugar until evenly combined then add the cubes of butter. Bring to the first plop of a boil, stirring all the time across the base of the pan to check it isn’t sticking. Quickly spoon the mixture into sieve, and press through with the wooden spoon to remove the zest, then cover and leave until cold before using.

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Great with sweet chilli dipping sauce.

2 aubergine, not the huge ones
250g cottage cheese
1 tbsp chopped dill or marjoram
2 chopped spring onions
salt and pepper
300g plain flour, plus more for rolling
1 tsp salt
25ml olive oil
the leaves from a small bunch flat-leaf parsley
100g cold butter, cut into 1cm cubes
125ml cold water
beaten egg

Prick and bake the aubergines on a tray for an hour at 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas 4. Scrape out the flesh, spoon into a sieve over a bowl with 1/2 tsp salt and drain an hour. Stir in the cheese and dill, and leave to drain again. Make the dough: place the flour and a tsp salt in a bowl, rub in the olive oil, toss in the parsley and cold butter. Add the cold water, coax into a rough dough then chill 30 min. Using extra flour roll to about 40cm by 15cm, fold in by thirds, repeat the roll and fold, then wrap and chill 30 min. Repeat the double roll and fold steps twice more at 30 min intervals. Roll the dough about 1/4 – 1/2 cm thick and cut into 12. Season the filling, discard the liquid, and spoon a little on each pastry square. Seal like pasties, place on a paper-lined tray, brush with egg and bake at 210°C/fan 190°C/410°F/gas 6 1/2 for 30 minutes.

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You can never have too many grissini in life. These babies could single-handedly boost restaurant cocktail sales. Or, made at home, start the party quicker.

about 300g plain flour
2 tsp fine salt
75g unsalted butter
2 tsp dry instant yeast
75g soft cheese, like chèvre or gorgonzola
150ml warm milk
if you like herbs, 3 tbsp finely chopped, any sort

Place the flour and salt in a bowl, rub in the butter and toss through the yeast. Break the cheese into smallish pieces and mix this with the milk and herbs, if using. Pour this in with the flour and mix to a soft sticky dough. Leave the bowl covered for an hour then lightly knead the dough on an oiled or floured worktop for 10 – 15 seconds, no more. Put the dough in the bowl, cover and leave another hour. Heat the oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/320°F/gas 2 1/2. Without using flour roll the dough to about 1cm, and cut strips from it with a knife. This way you don’t stress the dough too much as you roll it out with your hands into pencil-like sticks. Lay them on a tray lined with non-stick paper and bake 35 – 40 minutes until golden and crisp.

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A variation on the Greek pastry galaktoboureko, flavoured with slivers of apricot and rosewater.

400ml milk, any sort
1 large egg
25g semolina
1 heaped tsp cornflour
175g caster sugar
125g dried apricots, cut into slivers
75g butter
200g filo pastry, thawed
flaked almonds
juice of 1/2 lemon
seeds from 3 cardamom pods
1 – 2 tbsp rosewater

In a saucepan whisk the milk, egg, semolina, cornflour and 25g sugar. Bring to the boil, simmer for a mixture then stir in the apricots, spoon onto a dinner plate and leave to cool. Heat the butter in a saucepan until the sizzling slows and it begins to slightly brown then pour into a bowl. Take a sheet of filo and brush lightly with butter, lay another sheet on top, brush again with butter then cut into 12cm wide strips. Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling at the end of one strip, fold edges in to part cover the filling, and roll like a spring roll. Place seam-side down on a tray lined with buttered foil and repeat with the rest. Brush with more butter, scatter with almonds and bake at 190°C/fan 170°C/375°F/gas 5 for 25-30 minutes till golden. Boil 75ml water with 150g sugar, lemon juice, and cardamom seeds for a minute then leave till warm. Stir in the rosewater and pour over the rolls. Serve at room temperature.

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Using Italian 00 flour gives you a much more tender crust than regular bread flour. Strong white flour can be used, but you’ll need to add a dash more water and it won’t have that same mellow texture when you bite into it.

big pinch or two of saffron
350g Italian 00 flour, plus more for rolling
25g unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 small heads of fennel, sliced thinly
1 or 2 small tins anchovies in oil, drained
pitted green olives
sugar, lemon, garlic

Put the saffron in a jug and cover with about 50ml boiling water. Leave for 10 minutes for the colour to bleed then add warm water to make 200ml. rub the flour and 25g butter together in a mixing bowl, add the yeast, salt and saffron water and mix to a soft dough. Cover the bowl and leave two hours, no need to knead. Place the fennel, one tsp each salt and sugar, juice of a lemon, two chopped cloves garlic and 250ml water in a saucepan, bung the lid on and boil for about 20 minutes. Remove lid then simmer gently about 20 minutes until dry, then cool. Roll dough to cover a flour-dusted tray about 20cm x 30cm then leave 30 min to rise. Cover with fennel, criss-cross with anchovies, dot with olives and bake at 240°C/fan 220°C/465°F/gas 9 for 20-25 minutes.

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By mixing a bold berry preserve into a simple icing, this dark chocolate cake gets a complex and impressive finish.

100g unsalted butter, cold is fine
125g dark chocolate
50g golden syrup
50ml natural yoghurt
175g light soft brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs
250g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
50g cocoa
a jar of berry preserve, like blackcurrant or raspberry
150g icing sugar

Cover the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with non-stick baking paper or foil, and heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas 4. Melt the butter, 125g chocolate and golden syrup gently. Remove from the heat, beat in turn the yoghurt, sugar, vanilla and eggs until smooth. Measure the flours, baking powder, soda and cocoa into another bowl, and toss to combine. Then sift this into the chocolate butter mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour into the tin and bake for 50 minutes. To ice, melt 75g chocolate and beat in 75g preserve. Add the icing sugar and beat with enough water to make a thick creamy icing. Spit the cake, fill generously with more preserve then reassemble and spread the icing over the top.

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from The Guardian

The sharp peppery kick of fresh ginger root is a stupendous pairing with coffee. Do add finely chopped glace ginger or dried apricots to make it fruitier, if you like.

175g unsalted butter
75ml milk
1 tbsp ground coffee, not instant
2cm piece root ginger, finely grated
2 large eggs
225g caster sugar
100ml sunflower oil
100g chopped pistachios
275g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
200g cream cheese
finely grated zest of one lemon and 2 tsp juice
175g icing sugar

Line the base and sides of a 22cm square deep tray bake or cake tin with non-stick paper, and heat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas 4. Melt 50g butter then remove from the heat, stir in the milk, coffee and ginger and leave 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs and sugar until foamy and pale then beat in the oil and coffee mixture. Stir in 75g pistachios then fold in the flour and baking powder. Spoon into the tin and bake for about 30 – 35 minutes or until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Leave to cool then beat the remaining 125g butter until smooth and light then beat in the cream cheese, zest and juice. Stir in the icing sugar then beat well until smooth and light. Spread thickly over the top of the cold cake and decorate with the remaining pistachios.

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