Cakes and Sweet Pastries

Well, this is not your everyday pudding and started as an experiment to see how versatile sugar beet was and if it's possible to make homemade sugar. Sugar beet has a bitter aftertaste which is removed during commercial manufacturing where hydrated lime is used in the refining process. The lemon and cinnamon in this recipe completley masks any bitterness. This recipe uses basic cookery techniques but will take a little time to work through. More of a fun exercise and worth a try if you can get your hands on some sugar beet. Not a dinner party dessert though!

From my Second Chalice Recipe book, written and published by myself in order to share favourite recipes with my restaurant customers in 1987. This is a quick and easy malt loaf made without yeast. It's made with honey, has no added sugar and is also fat free. Use any dried fruit in place of the dates. Serve sliced with butter.

A classic choux pastry ring, named after the famous French Paris to Brest cycle race and created by Chef Pierre Giffard in 1910. Traditionally one large wheel shape choux ring is filled with a praline mousseline although I prefer making individual choux rings. If you prefer a less buttery and quicker to make filling, just add the blitzed praline to whipped double cream and use this to fill the pastries. The praline can be made with either almonds or hazelnuts.

This recipe makes a 6 cm deep 30cm/12inch square cake (or 32.5cm/13inch round cake). I've given the measurements for a deeper 8cm cake too. For the very best results line the tin with at least two layers of greasproof paper. Also line the outside of the tin with an old newspaper tied with some string. This prevents the edges of the cake from burning or becoming overcooked. Do not try and remove the cake from the tin until it is completely cold and leave the greaseproof paper on it.  To store the cake, wrap in foil and store in a cool place. Making a rich fruit cake at least 3 months in advance will allow the flavours to develop and the cake become moist.

Moreish and quick to make, these delicious little ricotta doughnuts are perfect with a morning coffee or served as a dessert, with a dipping sauce of fresh fruit puree or chocolate. (Cooked and sieved sweetened blackcurrants are my favourite.) There is no need to use a deep fat fryer to cook the doughnuts if you don't have one. Shallow oil, about 2/3cm in the bottom of a heavy based frying pan works very well. You will just need to turn them more often.

Shortcrust pastry is very versatile and can be used for all types of savoury and sweet pies. Using lard gives a lovely crisp pastry and is also very economical at around a quarter of the price of butter.  Don't overwork the dough. Light, cold fingers are supposed to make the best short crust pastry.

This is a fat free recipe for those looking for a dairy free cake. The dried fruit is soaked in tea to make it juicy and plump.Try making it with different types of dried fruit such as apricots, dates or figs and also different teas. Earl Grey or Lapsang Souchong both work well. The cake keeps very well in a tin for a week.

A sweet pastry (pate sucree) used to line sweet flan cases for desserts. Roll as thin as you can! Some Chefs swear by rolling the pastry between two sheets of clingfilm to get it as thin as possible.