Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chocolate and maple banana cake

  • Zosia on December 27, 2018

    Moist and delicious cake with a good balance of banana and chocolate flavours. The tangy ganache complemented it well but I'm not convinced the caramel was necessary. In place of self-raising flour, I used cake&pastry flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Bake time was 90 minutes (20 more than the recipe states). Easily served 16.

  • KarinaFrancis on December 06, 2020

    Holy smoke this was good!! The brown butter and cocoa powder stop it from being cloying or overly sweet, but the real star is the ganache, so good! Note on quantities - the recipe states 24cm tin, I used a 23cm tin and had enough batter leftover for 10 cupcakes. I also had to up the quantity of ganache using 300g chocolate and a 250g container of sour cream

• Salted dark chocolate layer cake with milk chocolate ganache

  • isabelle_eyp92g on April 14, 2026

    The milk chocolate felt a little too sweet. Next time exchange for dark chocolate.

• White chocolate and amaretti bundt cake

  • Zosia on January 08, 2019

    Delicious! It didn't taste like white chocolate but it tasted different, more complex than a typical vanilla butter cake and the crumb was quite velvety, a contribution of the chocolate I think. The amaretti cookies didn't become marbled throughout, just stayed put where I had sprinkled them so next time I will add the batter in thirds with 2 layers of cookie crumbs for a more even distribution. It sliced easily and served 16.

  • Astrid5555 on March 09, 2019

    I just love DH’s dump-everything-into-one-bowl-and-mix approach! Her cakes are so quick to make and still taste delicious. This one is no exception, a really great cake! As Zosia mentioned, the white chocolate taste is very subtle but still contributes to the complexity of the cake. Luckily I tried to swirl the amaretti cookie crumbs into the batter and discovered a lot of air pockets in the batter/cookie crumb mixture, so be careful to remove those.

• Fig and dark chocolate teardrop truffles

  • Jane on March 01, 2019

    I made these for an Oscars party so decorated with edible gold stars rather than gold leaf. They looked pretty though are more of a cookie than a traditional ganache style of truffle. The cookies and figs need to be processed to very fine crumb otherwise teardrop/fig shapes are not smooth surfaced. Not sure I’ll repeat these though others seemed to like them.

• Salted chocolate brownie cookies

  • raybun on February 11, 2019

    Incredible! Fudgy centres, crisp exterior. Smoked Maldon sea salt sprinkled on top gave these 5 stars.

  • sosayi on February 02, 2020

    We also loved these. Really rich and fudgy, easy to make, and the salt is lovely to finish. I’d make them again anytime.

• Peanut butter brownies

  • Zosia on January 09, 2021

    Very rich and chocolatey with clear peanut butter flavour. Even though I baked them in a larger pan (9'x13"), the brownies still needed the full baking time and were quite fudgy once they were done (internal temp of 196F). I added 1/2 tsp salt to the batter. Family enjoyed them.

• Glazed chocolate bundt cake

  • lou_weez on August 29, 2020

    Super easy and delicious. A hit with all the family.

• Salted peanut butter and choc-chip skillet cookies

  • Zosia on October 04, 2020

    Excellent last-minute dessert that requires just a bowl and a spoon to make. Lacking tiny skillets, I baked this as 1 cookie in a 30cm cast iron skillet which was done in 30 minutes. The recipe doesn't call for greasing the pans but I did with homemade "cake release". I also used half whole wheat flour and added .5 tsp salt to the dough. The cookie was thick, slightly cake-like and quite soft and crumbly. It was delicious! With ice cream, it served 12.

• Chocolate mousse cake

  • lou_weez on April 20, 2019

    This was a decadent dessert, not too chocolatey sweet. I couldn't believe how good it looked when I took it out of the tin and though it used quite a few bowls, it was easy enough to make.

• Chocolate meringue cake

  • Astrid5555 on November 11, 2018

    Somewhat unclear instructions. I would have had to bake the first layer much longer than the 25-30 minutes stated in the recipe before adding the meringue layer. Thus I had to overbake the cake to get the meringue layer somewhat crispy. Still ok but not great, will not make again.

  • meggan on December 29, 2020

    I have had some problems with the cook times in Donna Hay books. I did think this was good but it is true that the timing of the first part of the cake was off. I actually was able to undercook it quite a bit and then carefully add the meringue so it wasn't too bad.

• Caramel popcorn, salted almond and malt cookies

  • Sparkles75 on August 17, 2022

    I made these a couple of years ago but was left underwhelmed. It was an intriguing sounding cookie but the popcorn goes a weird texture. It was also a case of too much going on for me. Sometimes that works but here not so much

• Coffee and brown sugar tray cake

  • Zosia on December 31, 2018

    This is a pretty standard buttery vanilla coffee cake that replaces the streusel with instant coffee (which helps cut the sweetness) and cinnamon-brown sugar. I did like the mixing method that used only 1 bowl and a whisk but I do think it resulted in a denser cake. One I would repeat if short on time. I omitted the butter drizzle.

• Caramel and cardamom kisses

  • raybun on February 28, 2019

    I didn’t have the patty pan required so used a madeleine tin which was shallow enough. Then slathered them with the caramel & some pistachios. Made it work without buying a new pan!

• Mocha meringue cake

  • Astrid5555 on December 10, 2018

    The star here is the mocha mousse. This is an incredibly rich but extremly delicious mousse which you want to (and will) eat on its own. The meringue adds a nice crunch, but once cut shatters into many little pieces and you end up with meringue mess plus mousse. Nevertheless this cake got rave reviews from my party guests. Will definitely repeat!

• Sticky date meringue cake

  • sjwill82 on April 06, 2021

    Used walnuts instead of pistachio nuts. Looks impressive, tastes impressive. Would make again.

• Ginger molasses cookies

  • semaphoredm on April 12, 2024

    perhaps use moulds to keep them thicker? Or cook them at a higher temperature? They spread out a lot, unlike the photos.

• Granola and maple bourbon raisin cookies

  • sjwill82 on January 18, 2021

    Kitchen smelled heavenly making these! In order to manage to form these cookies into balls I had to add 100g+ extra flour as my mixture was too runny. Perhaps I did not cook down my maple and bourbon mixture enough?? I also chilled the dough before forming. Really tasty cookies with chewy center and crispy outside and would make again

• Bourbon sugar and pretzel truffles

  • Astrid5555 on December 10, 2018

    Wow, these truffles are an incredible boozy, salty and chocolatey combination rolled in home-made Bourbon sugar. Made half a recipe which produced 45 teaspoon sized truffles. Will definitely make again.

• Mixed spice and raspberry slice

  • raybun on February 11, 2019

    I made these into muffins, baked for 20 minutes. Tasted delicious.

• Ricotta hotcakes with spiced sugar

  • Zosia on June 09, 2019

    Super light and fluffy and delicious. They are on the small side but they're fragile so it's best to keep them that way. My yield was 14.

• Orange and cinnamon syrup cake

  • JanetNL on November 30, 2025

    This is a lovely cake, light, not heavy at all. The whole orange really gives it a lot of flavour.

• Blueberry and thyme tart

  • Zosia on May 11, 2019

    Delicious. The filling combination of blueberries, lemon and thyme was lovely and the crust, which was crisp and flaky, was nicely flavoured as well. My blueberries were very sweet so I used only 1 tbsp sugar in the filling.

• Nectarine and semolina cake

  • Zosia on August 20, 2020

    I found a small amount of semolina flour in my freezer and put it to very good use in this lovely vanilla cake. It was tender with a very fine, dense crumb - a delicious showcase for seasonal fruit. The finishing glaze added an attractive sheen to the baked fruit. I included the zest of the orange that donated its juice in the batter along with 1/2 tsp salt.

• Upside-down maple and pear muffins

  • Zosia on January 04, 2019

    I liked the idea of these; the light spice flavour was nice but I found them too sweet thanks to the maple syrup and the texture was oddly gummy. I made 9 muffins in a regular tin (I used an extra half pear for the additional slices) with a bake time of 18 minutes.

• Yoghurt and passionfruit syrup cake

  • Zosia on December 28, 2018

    Lovely, fine-crumbed vanilla pound cake with a sharp passionfruit glaze to liven it up. I replaced the self-rising flour with 260g cake&pastry flour, 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

• White chocolate and rhubarb jam drops

  • Zosia on May 09, 2019

    These spread quite a bit and weren't as dainty as I expected but they tasted fantastic with the tart jam a delicious contrast to the sweet cookie. I changed the order of things and shaped the dough before refrigerating, adding the jam just before baking......perhaps that played a role in the excessive spread or perhaps it was result of Canadian vs Australian ingredients.

• Salted honey and apple tarte Tatin

  • raybun on February 11, 2019

    I kept the apples (Granny Smiths) whole, as opposed to slice, and I’m glad I did as they would probably have disintegrated otherwise. Used smoked Maldon sea salt and a flavourful honey- delicious!

• Chocolate, banana and malt tarte Tatin

  • raybun on February 11, 2019

    I couldn’t find malt extract (used 1/4cup maple syrup) or beer nuts (made my own, thanks Google). Absolutely delicious!

• Pineapple and ginger upside-down cake

  • BasicStock on March 12, 2019

    This came out looking quite impressive. There is a video on Donna's website on how to arrange the pineapple in the bottom of the pan. Maybe our pineapples are smaller, but I needed a whole pineapple, not a half as indicated by the recipe. The cake is really moist and light, and the ginger flavour really complements the pineapple. I might have over-reduced the syrup, as I would have liked to have more to pour over the cake when I served it. Might try making some more syrup with some pineapple juice, sugar and ginger root. Will definitely make this cake again.

• Blackberry and elderflower pie

  • darcie_b on September 09, 2021

    The berries and elderflower cordial meld together harmoniously, but the pistachio was lost amidst those two strong flavors. Finicky family loved it and have requested a repeat.

• Upside-down chocolate, hazelnut and pear cake

  • lou_weez on April 02, 2020

    This was sooo good. Not too chocolate-y or sweet. I used almond meal instead of hazelnut.

• Spiced apple cake

  • Pinkrupee on January 08, 2022

    This didn't turn out well for me - the cake was a bit doughy and broke up very easily. I was not sure what size pan to use as it specifies a 20cm/2 litre skillet. 20cm is the size of my omelette pan which only takes 1l, so I went with my 30cm/2l skillet, but maybe this isn't right either?

• Rhubarb and almond hand pies

  • Astrid5555 on May 05, 2022

    Perfect recipe for using up some leftover puff pastry I found in the freezer. Quick and very easy to make!

• Raspberry and cream angel food cake

  • Astrid5555 on May 24, 2020

    Had some leftover egg whites and mascarpone cheese and some strawberries past their prime. So I made half a recipe in a 15cm angel tin and turned it into a strawberry and cream cake. Instead of the jam I macerated my strawberries with a little bit of sugar and folded them into the mascarpone & cream filling. Since it was only the four of us I did not bother with the Italien meringue, left the sides unfrosted and used the same cream filling for topping the cake as well. Nice little spring time cake!

• Banana and coconut three-milk cake

  • lou_weez on November 04, 2018

    A great alternative to the stock-standard banana cake.

• Rhubarb and yoghurt loaf cake

  • Zosia on May 06, 2019

    Buckwheat, coconut, brown sugar and olive oil made for an interesting tasting and delicious cake. The orange rind - there's quite a lot of it - and rhubarb balanced the heartiness of the other ingredients. I found it hard to determine when it was done with just a skewer because of the moistness under the rhubarb and finally used an instant read thermometer. I took it out of the oven when the internal temperature reached about 205F, after 85 minutes of baking. I only needed about 2/3 of the rhubarb for the top of the loaf and I piled the rest of it on. Next time I would chop up the extra and mix it into the batter. We really enjoyed this soft, moist cake and I would make it again. I substituted dark brown sugar for rapadura and used weight measurements.

• Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

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