tropical delights

Lime and coconut layer cake






225g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened
250g (9oz) caster sugar
4 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
¼tsp baking powder
75g (3oz) desiccated coconut
finely grated zest and juice 
3 limes

for the filling 

100g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
250g (9oz) cream cheese
3tbsp creamed coconut (leave somewhere cool so the oil separates to the top; remove and use the cream underneath)
½tsp vanilla extract
400g (14oz) icing sugar, sifted
zest and juice 1 lime

to decorate

200g (7oz) fresh coconut chunks, finely sliced
zest 1 lime

(use organic ingredients) 


Heat the oven to 170C, 150C fan, 325F, gas 3. To make the cakes, using an electric mixer, whisk the butter and sugar until light, pale and creamy. Now, very gradually, beat in the eggs, mixing well after each addition.

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture, add the desiccated coconut and fold in gently until thoroughly incorporated. If it seems too thick, add a few tbsp milk. Now fold in the lime zest and juice.

Divide the mixture evenly among the 3 tins, level it out with a palette knife and bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until springy and cooked through.
Allow the cakes to cool slightly before removing from the tins and taking off the baking parchment, then leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Toast the coconut slices: arrange in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and toast in a hot oven for 10 minutes, or until golden. Keep an eye on them, as they will burn quickly.
To make the filling, beat the butter, cream cheese, creamed coconut and vanilla until smooth, then gradually beat in the icing sugar until well incorporated. Then beat in the lime zest and juice.

To assemble the cake, spread some of the frosting on top of the base layer of the cake then top with the next layer and repeat the process with all layers. Cover the whole cake with the remainder of the mix and smooth with a palette knife. Gently press the toasted coconut shavings on the sides of the cake, and finish with a sprinkling 
of lime zest on top.

Pineapple upside-down cake

330g butter, softened
330g caster sugar
1 small pineapple (peeled, cored and cut in to 2cm rings)
4 large eggs
200g self-raising flour
2tsp baking powder
50g ground hazelnuts

(use organic ingredients)

Take 6 individual round tart tins about 6x3-4cm deep. Melt 80g of the butter and mix together with 80g caster sugar in a small bowl. Brush half of this mixture over the sides and base of the tin
Heat the remaining melted butter mixture in a frying pan until it begins to bubble. Add the pineapple slices and cook over a medium to high heat, turning every so often, until they begin to colour. Remove from the heat

Place a pineapple ring and teaspoon of cooking liquid in each mould, reserving any excess
Preheat the oven to 175C/gas mark 4. Put the remaining butter and sugar, the eggs, self-raising flour, baking powder and hazelnuts in a food processor and mix together for a minute or so until smooth
Pour the mixture evenly into the tins and cook for 30-40 minutes, until golden. Leave to cool a little, run a knife around the edge of each tin and turn out onto warmed serving plates

Spoon over any excess cooking liquid and serve either hot or warm with thick cream or creme fraiche

Passion fruit cheesecake slices 

For the crust:

250g (9oz) digestive biscuits, finely crushed
125g (4 ½ oz) butter, melted

For the filling:

175g (6oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
250g (9oz) ricotta cheese, at room temperature
125g (4 ½ oz) caster sugar
3 eggs
1 level tbsp cornflour
1 lime, zest finely grated and juice reserved
150ml (1/4 pt) sour cream
175ml (6fl oz) passionfruit pulp, approx 5 large passionfruit
Icing sugar to decorate

(use organic ingredients) 

Heat oven to 150C, 130C fan, 300F, gas 2. Place the biscuits and butter in a bowl, mix well then press into the base of the prepared tin. Chill whilst you make the filling.

Place the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, eggs, cornflour and lime zest in a large mixing bowl and beat well until smooth, add the sour cream and beat again. Add the lime juice to the passionfruit pulp and stir into the cream cheese mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour over the biscuit base and bake for 25-30 minutes or until set around the outside with a slight wobble in the centre. Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar for about 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and when cold chill for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.

To serve, dust with icing sugar, cut into rectangles and serve. The cheesecake will keep for 3 days, covered in the fridge.

Mango and ricotta souffle with passion fruit sauce

3 passion fruit
500ml bottle freshly squeezed orange juice
softened butter , for greasing
85g caster sugar , plus 1 tsp for coating
zest 1 orange
250g tub ricotta
100g fromage frais
1 tbsp cornflour , plus 1 tsp for the sauce
2 free-range egg yolks
1 large, ripe mango , flesh cut into 1cm pieces
3 egg whites
1 tbsp Orange Curaçao or Cointreau
icing sugar , for dusting

(use organic ingredients)

Halve the passion fruit and scoop out the pulp into a saucepan. Add the orange juice and boil until reduced by half. Strain into a jug, to give about 250ml, rubbing through with a spoon. Discard the pips. Cool.
Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 6. Butter the sides and base of 8 x 150ml ramekin dishes evenly, then coat with 1 tbsp of sugar.

In a large bowl, whisk together half of the caster sugar, the orange zest, ricotta, fromage frais, 1 tbsp cornflour and the egg yolks. Fold in the mango flesh and 6 tbsp of the reduced juice.

Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then whisk in the remaining sugar. Fold this into the ricotta mix and spoon into the prepared dishes, levelling the top. Set the dishes in a large, deep roasting tin and pour round boiling water to come halfway up the dishes. Cover the whole roasting tin with foil and seal the edges loosely. Bake for 50 mins until the soufflés have risen and set.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Blend the 1 tsp cornflour with a little cold water. Bring the remaining juice to the boil in a small saucepan, mix some into the cornflour, then pour back into the pan with the Curaçao or Cointreau. Heat, stirring until thickened. Set aside to cool. 

Dust each dessert lightly with icing sugar and drizzle with a little sauce. Serve remaining sauce separately.

Passion fruit and coconut panna cotta

12 ripe and wrinkly passion fruits
300ml pot double cream
160ml pack coconut cream
140g caster sugar
juice ½ lemon
12g sachet powdered gelatine
2 tbsp icing sugar

(use organic ingredients)

Halve 6 of the passion fruit and scoop out the pulp into a saucepan. Add the cream, coconut cream, caster sugar and lemon juice, heat everything together, then gently boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. When the cream is just simmering, scoop out about 100ml into a small bowl and scatter over the gelatine. Stir until dissolved, stir back into the saucepan, then take off the heat. Press through a sieve into a jug, then pour the mixture into 4 individual mini pudding basins. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hrs until completely set.

Meanwhile, halve and scoop the rest of the passion fruit through a sieve into a bowl. Mix to sweeten with the icing sugar, add 1 tbsp of the seeds from the sieve back into the sauce, then stir to mix. Can be made up to 2 days in advance and chilled.

To serve, briefly dip the panna cotta moulds into hot water until they just loosen at the sides, then invert onto serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the plates and serve.

Pineapple ravioli 

1 ripe pineapple
100g golden caster sugar
2 vanilla pods
a small bunch mint
2 tbsp crème fraîche
2 tbsp mascarpone
1 mango , finely diced
2 punnets raspberries
8 strawberries , diced
large handful blueberries
2 passion fruit , halved

(use organic ingredients)

Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple, starting at the top as if you are segmenting an orange, slice downwards following the curve of the fruit to take the skin off. Turn the fruit slightly, follow the first slice with the next and repeat this going all the way around. You want to end up with a rounded shape so that when you slice through the pineapple, your slices are round rather than looking like 50p's. Don't worry about all the eyes at this stage, the majority will come off but any others will disintergrate when the stock is poured on. If you cut them out at this stage, the pineapple will be harder to slice and keep intact. You also need to leave the core in for the same reason, again the stock will cook this and make it tender.

Slice the pineapple as thinly as you can, you'll need a knife with a long blade which doesn't go to a point, a ham knife is perfect if you have one. Don't worry about any ragged edges, you won't see them in the finished dish. Lay the slices flat in a deep tray, overlapping them slightly.

Next make the sugar syrup. You want this to be 1/3 sugar and 2/3 water; so not too strong. Put the sugar with 200ml water into a saucepan. Run the back of a knife along one of the vanilla pods to rumble all the seeds up a bit and then split the pod and scrape the seeds into the pan, add the pod as well. Bring slowly to the boil. Take the pan off the heat and add most of the mint, stalks as well. Pour over the pineapple slices and marinate for up to 3 days in the fridge, the longer you leave it, the more fragrant it will get.

To make the filling, put the crème fraîche and mascarpone in bowl and scrape in the seeds from the second vanilla pod. Mix together, this cream makes a good binding agent for the fruit. You don't need any sugar, the sour edge from the crème fraîche acts as a good foil for the fruit and sugar syrup. Fold in the fruit and passion fruit pulp but leave aside 6 raspberries to decorate each plate. Finely shred a few mint leaves and fold these in. The fruit will bleed into the filling and stain it which will add a nice bit of colour.

To make the ravioli, very gently lay 2 slices of pineapple (you don't need to drain them well, just lift them gently out of the stock) on each plate, overlapping them. Add a heaped dessertspoon of mixture into the centre and then lay 3 more slices of pineapple on top, overlapping them so they cover the filling. Use your fingers to gently press the slices into shape. Dot each plate with raspberries and add a sprig of mint. Glaze the ravioli with some of the sugar syrup just before serving.

Passion fruit and honeycomb parfait with fresh raspberries 

for the honeycomb:

225g (8oz) granulated sugar
2tbsp distilled white wine vinegar
1½tbsp clear honey
½tbsp liquid glucose
1tsp bicarbonate of soda

for the parfait:

2 large free-range egg yolks
35g (1¼oz) golden caster sugar
pulp 4 large passion fruit
200ml (7fl oz) double cream, lightly whipped
fresh raspberries, to serve

(use organic ingredients) 

Make the honeycombe. Place the sugar, vinegar, honey and glucose in a very large, deep pan with 300ml (½pt) cold water. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved, turn up heat, add the thermometer and boil until it reads 140 C, 275 F (the hard crack stage).

Just before this (after about 20 minutes), mix the bicarbonate of soda together with 2tsp water. When the toffee is at the right temperature, remove from the heat, tip in the bicarbonate mix and stir quickly. It will froth violently, which is why it's necessary to use as deep a pan as possible.

Immediately tip the mixture into the oiled tin and leave to cool completely. Do not knock the tin, as it could make the mix sink. Once the honeycombe is completely cool, invert the tin onto a board, give it a whack and tip it out. Place 100g (4oz) of the honeycombe in a bag and bash with a rolling pin. You can break the rest into large chunks for snacking!

To make the parfait, place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl over a pan of steaming water and whisk with an electric whisk for 5 minutes until thick and pale. Stir in the passion fruit, then fold in the lightly whipped cream and 85g (3½oz) of the crushed honeycombe until combined, being careful not to knock the air out. Divide the mixture between moulds. Freeze overnight.

Pina colada cake with coconut frosting

185g (6½oz) unsalted butter, softened
185g (6½oz) golden caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
432g tin sliced pineapple, drained and roughly puréed
100g (4oz) desiccated coconut
185g (6½oz) self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder

for the frosting:
200g (7oz) unsalted butter, softened
150g (5oz) creamed coconut (the block, not the cream), grated
150g (5oz) full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese
3tbsp Malibu or 2tbsp golden rum
200g (7oz) icing sugar, sifted
juice 2 limes
50g (2oz) toasted desiccated coconut, and dried pineapple rings (available from health food stores), to decorate

(use organic ingredients)

Heat the oven to 170 C, 150 C fan, 325 F, gas 3. Whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the eggs, beating well after each addition, then fold in the puréed pineapple, coconut, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Transfer to the prepared cake tin, and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. You may need to cover the top of the cake with tin foil after about 40 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven, cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Slice carefully into 3 layers once completely cooled.

To make the frosting, place all the ingredients in a food processor, and blend briefly until smooth. Transfer to the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up. Spread the bottom layer of the cake with 2 to 3tbsp frosting, repeat with the next layer too, then use the remaining icing to cover the sides and top of the cake.

Passion fruit and mango meringue roulade 

5 large egg whites
150g (5oz) caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
25g (1oz) icing sugar, to dust
400ml (14fl oz) double cream
175g (6oz) mango, chopped
4 passion fruits, seeds scooped out
10g (¼oz) desiccated coconut, to garnish

(use organic ingredients)

Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/300F/Gas 2. Line a 30cm x 20cm (11¾in x 8in) swiss roll tin with greaseproof paper.

Using an electric whisk whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the caster sugar until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Whisk in the cornflour.

Spread out the meringue evenly in the prepared Swiss roll tin and then transfer to the oven to bake for 1 hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

Lay a sheet of greaseproof paper on the work surface and sprinkle with the icing sugar. Carefully turn out the meringue onto the paper and peel away the sheet attached to its base. Carefully flip back over.

Using the electric whisk whip the cream to soft peaks then spread over the meringue, leaving 1cm border round the edge. Scatter over the mango and passion fruit then spoon over the passion fruit pulp.

With one of the short ends of the meringue closest to you use the greaseproof paper to carefully roll up into a roulade. Dust with icing sugar and scatter with the desiccated coconut to serve.

fruit delights

Chestnut cake with purple berries 




4 large free-range eggs
4 tablespoons organic chestnut flour
150g organic  unsalted butter, melted
180g organic honey, melted, or light runny honey, plus extra for glazing
Pinch of salt
150g organic blueberries
150g organic blackberries
Unrefined icing sugar, for dusting (optional)


Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and flour a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, flour, butter, honey and salt with an electric hand mixer until combined. It’s a very runny mixture, but trust me here. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly in the tin before turning the cake out onto a wire rack. When it is completely cool, brush the top of the cake with honey, sprinkle with the berries and dust with icing sugar. Serve as it is or with cream or crème fraiche.








Cardamom, rose and rhubarb cake 



250g organic softened butter or soft margarine
250g organic caster sugar mixed with 1 tsp freshly ground cardamom
4 large organic eggs
250gorganic  self-raising flour
Edible rose or geranium petals, to decorate


For the rose filling 

300ml organic  double cream
3 drops of rose essence
50g organic icing sugar, sifted
200g  organic  rhubarb jam

For the glacé icing:

150g organic icing sugar warm water, to mix


Preheat the oven to 190ºC/fan 170ºC/gas mark 5. Grease and line the two sandwich tins

Beat the butter and sugar using a wooden spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, and adding a tablespoon of the flour with the final egg to help prevent curdling. Sift in the remaining flour and fold in with a large metal spoon until thoroughly combined

Divide the mixture between the cake tins, spreading it evenly. Bake in the oven for 20–25 minutes, until firm to the touch. Turn the sponges out on to a wire rack to cool completely
When the cakes are cool, make the filling. Whip the cream with the rose essence and icing sugar until thick. Spread the jam over the base of one sponge, then cover with the whipped cream and place the other sponge on top

Make the glacé icing by sifting the icing sugar into a bowl and then gradually add about 1–1½ tablespoons of warm water until you have a runny mixture. Pour the icing over the cake and leave to set before decorating with flowers or petals







Chocolate and raspberry cake 




for the base

300g (10oz) organic Hobnobs, finely crushed
60g (2¼oz) organic unsalted butter, melted


for the filling

400ml (14fl oz)  organic double cream
250g (9oz) organic dark chocolate, melted
300g (10oz) organic raspberries, plus extra, to decorate


To make the base, place the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined. Press into the base of the prepared tin and chill for 1 hour.

To make the filling, gently heat the cream in a heavy-based saucepan, remove from the heat and add the melted chocolate, mixing well to bring it together.

Crush the raspberries over the biscuit base, cover with the chocolate and cream mix, and leave to set overnight or for a couple of hours. To serve, remove from the tin and decorate the top with fresh raspberries. The pie will keep in the fridge for 2 days.






Fig tartlets with orange mascaprone 



For the orange mascarpone

100g/31/2oz organic mascarpone
finely grated zest of 1/2 small organic orange
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp organic milk

For the fig tartlets

butter, for greasing
1∕3 ready-rolled puff pastry sheet
2 tbsp organic apricot jam
2–3 ripe organic figs, very thinly sliced
1 organic egg yolk
1 tbsp organic milk
icing sugar, for dusting


Beat together all the orange mascarpone ingredients until you have a smooth cream. (You can prepare the mascarpone up to 24 hours in advance and keep it in the fridge)

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6 and lightly grease a large baking sheet with butter.
Cut the pas

try into 2 heart shapes or circles about 10cm/4in in diameter using a sharp knife. Put onto the prepared baking sheet, and score a small border of about 1cm/1/2in around the edge of each one and prick the centre a couple of times with a fork.

Put 1 tbsp of the apricot jam in the centre of each piece of pastry. Arrange the figs in a circle on top of each piece of pastry. (The tartlets can be made a good few hours ahead of cooking and kept covered with cling film in the fridge at this stage.) Mix together the egg yolk and milk to make an egg wash. Brush over the top of the figs and the pastry edges with the egg wash and then dust each one fairly generously with icing sugar. Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden around the edges.

Dust the tartlets with icing sugar and serve hot, warm or cool with a good spoonful of the orange mascarpone






Chia, date and walnut slice 



150g rolled organic porridge oats
90g organic walnut halves
35g organic shredded coconut
45g white or black organic chia seeds
1tsp ground organic cinnamon
1tbsp unsweetened organic cocoa powder, sifted
2tsps natural vanilla extract
425g pitted dried organic dates, chopped
Pure icing sugar, to serve


Put the oats, walnuts, coconut, chia seeds, cinnamon, cocoa and vanilla in a food processor and process until all the ingredients are finely chopped

With the motor running, start adding the dates a few pieces at a time, processing until all the dates have been added and the mixture is starting to come together. Use clean hands to bring it together completely, adding 1-2tsps of cold water if necessary

Press the mixture evenly into a round 20cm (8 inch) cake tin, smoothing the surface firmly with the back of a metal spoon. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve
Dust with icing sugar and cut in to thin wedges before serving





Gooseberry and elder-flower ice cream 



950g (2lb 2oz) organic gooseberries, topped and tailed

6tbsp (90ml) organic elderflower cordial

finely grated zest 1 organic lemon

600ml (1pt) organic double cream

8 organic Amaretti biscuits, lightly crushed


In a heavy-based saucepan, gently simmer the gooseberries in the elderflower cordial and lemon zest until very soft and pulpy. Remove from the heat, push the fruit through a sieve and leave to cool thoroughly.


Lightly whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and fold through the gooseberry and elderflower purée. Pour into a large plastic container and freeze for several hours or overnight. Scoop into chilled glasses and scatter over the crushed amaretti biscuits.

for a good start

Raw fig cheesecake 




Crust

1/2 cups raw organic cashews
1/2 cup raw organic walnuts
1/2 cup raw organic pecans1/2 cup raw organic almonds
20 dried organic mission figs
8-10 dried organic calimyrna figs

Filling

6 tbsp raw organic nut milk (or water)2 tbsp organic red beet juice
1-2 tbsp organic lemon juice
1 vanilla bean (organic/fair trade), split and scraped
1/4 cup chopped organic raw nuts
4-6 fresh organic black figs

Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with water; let soak overnight, or for at least 4 hours (the longer you soak them, the better – especially if you don’t have a high powered blender). Line the bottom of a round 6″ spring form pan with parchment paper; set aside. In a food processor fitted with the S blade, blend the walnuts, pecans and almonds into a coarse meal. Add the dried mission figs and pulse until combined. Press mixture into the prepared pan then cover with plastic and freeze until ready to use.

Once the cashews have soaked, discard the soaking water and add the cashews to the container of a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix. Add the dried calimyrna figs, nut milk, beet juice, lemon juice and vanilla bean; blend until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. If you have a Vitamix, you’ll want to use the tamper. If you don’t have a Vitamix, you’ll likely have to give the mixture a good stir every minute or so. Once blended, pour the cashew mixture over the crust and freeze overnight, or until solid.

When ready to serve, allow the tart to thaw for 15 minutes, then top with chopped nuts and fresh figs.






Pistachio and rose water cake




150g (5oz) organic pistachios
225g (8oz) organic butter, softened
225g (8oz) organic caster sugar
3 large, free-range eggsorganic juice 1 lemon
4tsp rose water
1tsp baking powder
125g (4½oz) organic self-raising flour


For the cake, heat the oven to 150 C, 130 C fan, 300 F, gas 2. Lightly toast the pistachios in the oven until golden, allow to cool slightly, then blitz in a food processor. Remove, reserving 2tsp, then add the butter and sugar, whizz, then add the eggs one at a time while the motor is running, then the lemon juice and rose water.

Add the baking powder, flour, pistachios and a pinch of salt, and pulse until combined. The mix should be soft dropping consistency, so if it's too stiff, add a drop of milk or water.

Transfer the mix to the tin, level the top and bake in the centre of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes and cover with foil if the cake is getting too coloured. Once cooked, cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack






Rhubarb and ginger cheesecake




For the base

150g (5oz) Duchy Original Stem Ginger Biscuits or ginger nuts, finely crushed
60g (2½oz) organic butter, melted

for the filling

100g (4oz) organic caster sugar
2 pieces stem organic ginger, finely chopped, and 1tbsp stem ginger syrup from the jar
400g (14oz) organic rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2.5cm (1in) lengths
300g (10oz) organic cream cheese, at room temperature
2 organic eggs and 1 egg yolk
1tbsp cornflour
finely grated zest 1 organic lemon
150ml (¼pt)organic soured cream



Put half the caster sugar, the stem ginger syrup and 1tbsp water in a wide shallow pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the rhubarb and poach gently for 10 minutes or until it's just cooked when tested with the point of a knife - don't allow it to go mushy. Place a sieve over a bowl and drain the rhubarb, reserving the juice.

Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan, 350F, gas 4. Place the remaining caster sugar in a mixing bowl with the cream cheese, eggs, egg yolk, cornflour, lemon zest and soured cream. Beat until the mixture is thick and smooth. Scatter the stem ginger over the biscuit base and then cover the base evenly with the drained rhubarb. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top and smooth the surface. Give the tin a couple of sharp taps on the worktop to remove any air pockets. Place on a baking sheet and cook on the oven's middle shelf for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 150C, 130C fan, 300F, gas 2 and cook for a further 25 to 30 minutes. The outside of the cheesecake should be firm and the centre should still be wobbly. Remove from the oven, run a round-bladed knife round the inside of the tin and leave to cool, then chill in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.

While the cheesecake is cooking, place the reserved rhubarb juices in a small pan and cook over a gentle heat, reducing them to a thick syrup. Leave to cool. To serve, remove the cheesecake from the tin, slice and spoon some syrup over each slice.









Almond croissant






250ml water
125g organic superfine/caster sugar

30ml dark rum

20g almond cream (25g unsalted organic butter, 30g organic caster sugar, 1 organic egg, 40g ground organic almonds, 5g plain organic flour, tsp dark rum)

675g day-old croissants

20g sliced organic almond, unroasted

In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar over a medium heat and bring to the boil . Remove pan from the heat and stir in the rum. Set aside at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 170℃ . Take the croissants (or chocolate croissants) and cut in half with a serrated knife, starting from the front part until almost through to the back, then open out the croissant. Brush generously with the syrup until the pastry is soft to touch. Place 1-2 tablespoons of almond cream in the middle of the croissant, spread out, then close the croissant. Place a fine line of almond creamon top of the croissant - about 10g on each - then place some sliced almonds on top. Set on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake croissants for 15 minutes or until the almond cream and almonds are golden. Serve immediately.








Coconut lilac tapioca







½ cup large pearl tapioca

2 (14oz) cans unsweetened organic coconut milk

3 cups whole organic milk

½ cup organic sugar

1 cup lilac blossoms

About 36 fresh/candied lilacs


Soak the tapioca in coconut milk for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to make sure you end up with individual bouncy nuggets rather than a solid lump of tapioca

Combine milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a fast simmer. Stir in tapioca with coconut milk and bring to a boil

Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 1 hour, or until tapioca turns translucent and soft. Let pudding cool before stirring in lilac blossoms. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 1 week. Serve topped with lilac blackberry syrup and fresh or candied lilacs, if desired.