Notes about Recipes in this book

• Cream cheese dough

  • Astrid5555 on August 18, 2020

    Looked a little curdled before adding the flour, quite sticky to work with. Best to be rolled out between two sheets of parchment paper. Delicious crust!

• Brown butter, roasted apricot and almond tart

  • Lafro on January 27, 2024

    This didn't work out as well as I had hoped. I struggled a bit with the pastry but tarts are my nemesis so can't really blame the recipe for that. The flavours were tasty however the cardamom was a bit overwhelming. Will try again one day.

• Baked chocolate mousse tart with spiced date caramel and peanut crust

  • ChelseaP on May 21, 2021

    This was so decadent! You have to make quite a few components but I found it relaxing and you get mini chefs treats if you taste as you go. The spiced date caramel is incredible and the finished tart kept well for days in the fridge.

• Chocolate Bavarian pie

  • pomona on March 20, 2020

    This is just like a Sara Lee chocolate Bavarian only better. It was so good it vanished off the plate at work. A++ will make again.

  • lou_weez on March 27, 2020

    This was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be and the results were delicious.

  • Melyinoz on May 30, 2021

    It was easy to make this gluten free as there is so little flour in the recipe. The creme fraiche adds a nice counterpoint to the base and filling that I don’t remember the Sara Lee original having. I’m going to share this with my neighbours and I think they will be very happy indeed.

  • MsMonsoon on June 12, 2021

    I was a bit intimidated by this recipe but it was quite easy and done in a few separate steps. Creamy layer of chocolate custard and a tangy, unsweetened creme fraiche topping on a crumbly chocolate cookie crust. Natalie Paull’s instructions are so clear, descriptive, and encouraging, too. The book photo shows this without the “chocolate rubble” on top, which looks pretty and streamline, but the gravely bits of chocolate help protect the top, especially if you need to cover it with plastic wrap before or after serving.

• Rhubarb custard crumble pies

  • Lafro on January 27, 2024

    Delicious! I made these with apple rather than rhubarb as it was out of season. I struggled a bit with the pastry shell which made it look a bit 'rustic' but it didn't impact on how tasty they were. Would make again.

• Apple with cinnamon streusel [custard crumble pies]

  • Astrid5555 on January 18, 2021

    Excellent, can be prepared in advance and comes together quite quickly on the day of. Great cinnamon/apple flavors with a nice crunch from the streusel. Will make again!

• Pillowy peach and polenta pie

  • Astrid5555 on August 27, 2021

    A family winner, which, if it is not a chocolate cake, actually happens very rarely. Will make this again and again, so good, especially with the crunch from the polenta in the tart dough. One watchout though, my tart crust stuck to the tart ring, so next time I will definitely butter my tart ring for an easier release.

• Blood plum galette

  • Astrid5555 on August 18, 2020

    Really delicious and so quick to make! Needs less than an hour from start to finish. Roll out the dough between to sheets of parchment, otherwise no chance to transfer the finished galette on to the baking sheet. Will go into regular plum rotation!

  • rosyannposy on June 23, 2021

    Really nice and easy. Used apricots, plums and raspberries. Will definitely make again.

• Blueberry coconut shagg layer cake

  • Astrid5555 on June 14, 2020

    Beautiful to look at, did not add the sweetened coconut flakes to the top and sides of the cake. I might have used the wrong coconut milk (did not check the percentage of coconut extract to water as described) and ended up with a quite dense cake with a fat ratio that felt wrong. Also too sweet for my taste, would have loved to have a higher fruit to buttercream ratio. However, no one at our socially distanced father’s day get-together complained about it. Since this is a four layer cake one small slice goes a long way.

• Passionfruit cloud chiffon cake

  • Lafro on July 16, 2024

    Definitely light as a cloud. The flavours were even more delicious a few days after baking.

• The cheesecake (that you will love the most)

  • Lafro on January 27, 2024

    So delicious! Adding the lemon to taste just makes it. Have served with the strawberry jewels or fresh fruit and it works either way.

• Red velvet layer cake

  • lou_weez on July 09, 2020

    I used half yogurt/milk combo in place of the buttermilk in this recipe. Cakes took longer to cook than the stated 20-25min. I ended up turning the heat to 180 and that did the trick. This was such a lovely cake and everyone really loved it. Not a sweet cake, just right in its balance of flavors. The white chocolate cream cheese frosting is amazing!

• All-purpose sponge cake

  • Lafro on January 27, 2024

    A great step by step guide to making a sponge. Turned out perfectly fluffy and delicious.

• Cocoa meringue roulade with mascarpone and toffeed figs

  • delaneymes on January 11, 2024

    A simple and impressive dessert, I used fresh cherries stirred through maraschino for the filling, it was so good.

• Pistachio and lemon curd layer cake

  • Astrid5555 on March 20, 2022

    Perfect pistachio flavoured cake, filled with lemon curd only to cut through the sweetness of the lemon Swiss meringue buttercream which I used to frost the outside of the cake.

• Heat and whip meringues

  • pomona on March 20, 2020

    Pretty great way to use up the egg whites from the chocolate Bavarian tart.

  • Nossovitzky on January 01, 2026

    Made a pavlova using this recipe, with raw caster sugar and dark brown sugar since that's what I had. Worth it!

• Apple compote

  • Astrid5555 on January 18, 2021

    Made for the crumble pie without thickener. Great cinnamon/apple flavor, can’t wait to use the leftovers as topping for my porridge tomorrow morning.

• Buttery date caramel

  • ChelseaP on May 21, 2021

    YUM.

• Four-hour spiced quinces

  • TinkerTaylor on May 23, 2026

    Yum! Only ended up with one quince as the others were mouldy inside ?? but still worked out well and cooked for over 3 hours. I would recommend halving syrup if using less quince though! Quinces remained nicely tart but well balanced with the sugar syrup

• Chocolate crème fraîche mousse

  • lou_weez on July 22, 2021

    Ridiculously good!! Smooth, light and not overly sweet. This is what chocolate mousse should be.

  • EmilyR on September 21, 2024

    My daughter (10) and her friend worked on this with me and it was a fun dessert for a crowd of 10. I doubled the recipe, because I didn't have a good gauge on how many servings it would make and it says it freezes well. We had plenty of little cups that were a nice 2oz portion with plenty for seconds and leftovers. Light, airy, and chocolatey.