Cashew carrot cake (eggless)
An eggless carrot cake made with condensed milk and oil, with chopped cashews, mixed peel and cinnamon. Moist and lightly spiced; serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped fresh cream.

Almond and melon sweets
Calissons are the sweet of Aix-en-Provence: a soft paste of ground almonds and candied melon pressed onto wafer paper, glazed with a thin white icing and cut into a pointed oval. Confectioners in the old town sell them in diamond-shaped boxes, they are handed out at weddings and christenings, and each September they are blessed in a church service in Aix. They also belong among the thirteen desserts of Christmas. Candied melon can be hard to find outside Provence; candied orange peel and dried apricot give a close result. The icing uses raw egg white, dried in a low oven, so use pasteurised egg white if you are serving anyone pregnant or vulnerable. Chef's tip: dip the knife in hot water and wipe it between every cut, so the icing stays sharp-edged.
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An eggless carrot cake made with condensed milk and oil, with chopped cashews, mixed peel and cinnamon. Moist and lightly spiced; serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped fresh cream.
Flaky little crescents made from a rich yeasted dough, cut into wedges, spread with cinnamon sugar and rolled up from the wide end. Serve them with coffee or tea; they are best on the day they are baked.
Wholesome, lightly sweet biscuits with wheat bran flakes, wholewheat flour and chopped dates, warmed with nutmeg. A good mid-morning snack.
Quick no-bake squares of crushed digestive or marie biscuits, chopped cashews and almonds, bound with butter, golden syrup and drinking chocolate. Ready in two hours with no oven.
Soft golden butter cookies, brushed with warm plum jam after baking and dipped in desiccated coconut. Bright, simple and loved by children.
Big, crunchy cookies made with jumbo porridge oats and desiccated coconut, then rolled in more oats and coconut before baking. Wholesome and filling, perfect for lunchboxes.
A no-bake white chocolate slice full of crunchy rice crisps, currants, mixed peel and toasted almonds. Children love helping to make it.
An eggless coffee sponge made with condensed milk, split and soaked in a cocoa, coffee and brandy glaze, then filled and covered with vanilla whipped cream, flaked almonds and grated chocolate. A grand party cake; use brandy essence instead of brandy for an alcohol-free version.
The book's basic eggless sponge, made with condensed milk and melted butter in one bowl. Sandwich it with jam and top with coconut, ice it any way you like, or use it for the Pinacolada cake. For a coconut cake, add 100 g desiccated coconut to the mixture.
Chewy-crisp cookies made with crunchy peanut butter, honey and condensed milk, with rice crisps for crunch and roasted peanuts on top. No creaming needed: everything is melted together.
A rich coffee and cocoa ring cake made moist with ground almonds and sour cream, spread with a coffee butter icing and toasted flaked almonds. Contains egg.
Chewy, golden oat bars bound with butter and golden syrup and studded with walnuts, sultanas and chunks of chocolate. They are cut in the tin and keep well in an air-tight container, so they are handy for lunchboxes.
A chewy, buttery flapjack of oats and coconut with a layer of chopped dried apricots in the middle. Press it firmly so the slices hold together, and leave them to cool in the tray before lifting out.
A chocolate pastry base topped with a chewy brown-sugar, coconut and mixed nut layer, then drizzled with dark chocolate and cut into squares. Rich and satisfying with a cup of coffee.
No-bake squares of crushed cornflakes, rice crisps and coconut held together with peanut butter and golden-syrup toffee. Quick to make and great for parties.
Wholemeal pastry sweetened only with honey, sandwiching a thick filling of dates, lemon and mixed nuts. Glazed with milk and sprinkled with sugar, it is like a home-made fig roll in slice form.
Wholesome oval biscuits made with wholewheat flour, wheat bran, crushed cornflakes and a mix of seeds, then coated in more sesame and linseed. Crunchy and only lightly sweet, with unrefined sugar.
Crunchy energy bars of oats, rice krispies, bran flakes, pecans, raisins and apricots, baked and then topped with swirled dark and white chocolate. Great for a lunchbox or after sport.
A quick baked oat bar with coconut and a touch of cocoa and golden syrup, pressed thin and cut while warm. Crisp, buttery and very easy.
Small, soft eggless vanilla cupcakes in paper cases, topped with sugar sprinkles: just right for little hands and children's parties. The same mixture also bakes as one large basic cake in a 25 cm round tin.
Crunchy, wholesome biscuits made with crushed Weetabix (wheat biscuit cereal), coconut and mixed nuts, rich with fresh cream and rolled in more cereal and pistachio. If the dough is too firm, add 1–2 tbsp milk.
Nankhatai are crumbly Indian shortbread biscuits made with ghee, butter, semolina and a little gram flour, scented with cardamom and nutmeg. Each one gets a yellow dot in the centre. A must for Diwali.
Plain, crisp, old-fashioned biscuits flavoured with custard powder, the kind that fill a big tin. Shape them as thin ovals with a fork, or roll and cut rounds and prick holes in them. For a change, swap the custard powder for 5 tsp ground ginger and 1½ tsp ground cardamom, or use wholemeal wheat flour instead of plain flour.
Marble squares are a soft barfi of roasted mawa (khoya), toasted thin vermicelli, coconut and crushed nuts, sweetened with castor sugar and flavoured with cardamom and saffron. They're chewy, nutty and fragrant. Makes about 35 squares; serve them at festivals or with tea.
Katlo pak is a traditional Gujarati winter sweet, eaten for strength and warmth: wheat flour and oats roasted in ghee with fried edible gum, coconut, nuts and a warming blend of katlo, dill, aniseed, fenugreek, ginger and spices, set with a dark jaggery 'pie'. It's crumbly, rich and spicy-sweet. Makes about 50 pieces; eat one a day in the cold months.
Kesaria ghari are pretty fluted sweets: a soft coating of paneer and mawa (khoya) cooked with sugar and milk wraps a golden filling of coconut and milk powder in saffron syrup. They're milky, delicate and fragrant with cardamom. Press them in a patterned mould and decorate with flaked nuts; the recipe makes 14.
Madhureem are elegant festive sweets: a smooth, green pistachio coating cooked in syrup wraps a filling of roasted mawa (khoya) and chopped nuts in saffron and cardamom syrup. Each is pressed and topped with edible silver leaf (varakh). Makes 15–20 — a beautiful sweet for weddings and Diwali.
Malai sandwich is a Bengali-style sweet of soft paneer squares poached in rose syrup, soaked overnight, then split and filled with warm, sweetened mawa (khoya). They're spongy, juicy and creamy. Serve them chilled in small paper cases; the recipe makes 20.
Kesar paneer kali are oval sweets of soft home-made paneer coloured with saffron, poached in light rose syrup and soaked overnight, then split and filled with cherries and pistachio. They're spongy, juicy and delicately floral. Serve them chilled; the book's photo shows them topped with a swirl of whipped cream too.
Kesar mani is a rich, crumbly Gujarati sweet of gram flour roasted in ghee with popped edible gum, then mixed with milk powder, coconut, ground nuts, cinnamon, cardamom and saffron. It's nutty, fragrant and warming, a favourite in the winter months. Makes 25–30 pieces.
An easy baked sweet of grated mawa (khoya) and fresh coconut mixed with warm milk, nuts, saffron, cardamom and nutmeg, baked until set and fragrant. It's soft, rich and milky, somewhere between a halwa and a pudding. Serve it hot, decorated with nuts and cardamom.
A quick, rich sweet of dates melted down in butter, then mixed with milk chocolate, chopped nuts, coconut and rice krispies and pressed into a tray. It's chewy, chocolatey and crisp. Makes about 30 diamonds; keep them in the fridge and serve cold.
The basic eggless vanilla cake cut into three layers, soaked in pineapple syrup and layered with pineapple pieces, fresh coconut and whipped cream, like the cocktail. Make it the day before: it needs to chill overnight. Leave out the Malibu (coconut rum) for children.
Shrikhand is a classic Gujarati dessert of yogurt hung until thick and creamy, then sweetened and flavoured with saffron, cardamom and ground nuts. It's cool, tangy-sweet and silky. Serve it chilled with hot puris, or on its own as a dessert; add fresh fruit for fruit shrikhand.
Nutty halwa is a jewel-bright, chewy halwa in the Bombay (Karachi) halwa style: starch washed out of a wheat dough is cooked with syrup for well over an hour, with ghee added spoon by spoon until it shines, then studded with almonds, pistachios and cashews. It's glossy, chewy and fragrant with cardamom and saffron. Makes about 42 pieces; serve it warm.
Siro (sheera) is the Gujarati version of sooji halwa: semolina roasted in ghee until light brown, then cooked with hot saffron milk and sugar until the ghee separates. It's soft, rich and fragrant with cardamom and nuts. Serve it hot, as a festive sweet, for prasad, or as a comforting treat.
A lighter way to make lapsi: fine cracked wheat (bhaidku) is roasted in a little oil, mixed with jaggery water and steamed until soft and fluffy instead of cooked in lots of ghee. It's gently sweet and grainy, with a toasty flavour. Serve it hot with warm ghee poured over at the table.
A rich nut barfi of pistachios, cashews and almonds bound with saffron milk syrup, pressed into a tray and topped with a layer of dark chocolate. It's dense, nutty and chocolatey, and cuts into neat fingers. Makes about 80, ideal for Diwali boxes.
Mulayum pak is a soft, rich Gujarati sweet of gram flour rubbed with ghee and milk (dhraba), roasted golden with puffed edible gum (gund) and plenty of nuts, then set with a saffron milk syrup. It's fragrant with cardamom, nutmeg and mace and melts in the mouth. Makes about 42 squares; serve at Diwali or keep in a tin for guests.
A simple, wholesome Gujarati sweet: doughnut-shaped dumplings of coarse and fine wheat flour with gram flour are steamed, then ground into soft crumbs. Each person mixes in hot ghee and powdered sugar to their own taste. Serve warm as a filling winter treat.
A dark, moist eggless chocolate sponge, split and moistened with orange juice, filled and covered with whipped fresh cream, and finished with halved strawberries and grated chocolate. A show-stopping birthday cake.
A rich, creamy vermicelli pudding: thin vermicelli roasted until golden, then simmered in milk until it reduces by half and flavoured with saffron and cardamom. Vanilla ice cream stirred in at the end makes it extra smooth and cool. Serve chilled after a festive meal, scattered with almond and pistachio flakes.
A soft, fudgy halwa of fresh coconut and cashews cooked in sweetened milk with cardamom and a little ghee, rolled out thin and topped with almond and pistachio flakes. It's creamy, nutty and melt-in-the-mouth. Makes about 30 squares for festivals or a gift box.
Soft, milky pendas made from mawa (khoya) and crumbled paneer cooked down in sweetened milk, flavoured with saffron, cardamom and a little nutmeg. The mixture is pressed into small moulds to give pretty shapes. Makes 15; serve as a festive sweet or offering.
Pandadi are delicate layered pastries: thin rounds of butter dough stacked with custard powder, rolled, sliced and fried so the layers puff and flake. Once drained they're dusted with icing sugar, ground nuts, cardamom and saffron and scattered with rose petals. Makes about 40–45; a special-occasion sweet that keeps well in a tin.
An eggless chocolate fudge icing made with butter, milk, cocoa and drinking chocolate. Coat the cake while the icing is still warm; it thickens as it cools and can also be piped.
These pendas (pedas) take minutes in the microwave: milk powder, cream, sugar and ground almonds cook together into a soft fudge flavoured with cardamom and saffron, then are shaped into rounds. They're milky, nutty and melt in the mouth. Makes about 35 — press them into small moulds for pretty shapes.
Sweetened whipped cream with vanilla for coating cakes and piping decorations. An electric beater can be used, but for an inexperienced cook a hand whisk is safer: over-beating curdles the cream.
Barfi churmoo is a rich Gujarati sweet: a firm dough of coarse wheat flour and gram flour is fried in ghee, ground to an even crumb, then bound with roasted mawa (khoya), hot ghee and saffron syrup and set in a tray. It's crumbly, fragrant with cardamom and nutmeg and topped with nuts. Makes about 40 pieces, perfect for Diwali boxes and weddings.
The simplest icing: icing sugar warmed with a little boiling water and coloured as you like. Pour it over fairy cakes and small sponges and leave it to set to a glossy finish.
A no-cook barfi that children love: chopped dried fruit, nuts, crushed biscuits, cornflakes and rice krispies, with mixed peel, cherries and chocolate, all bound with butter and golden syrup and pressed into a tray. It's chewy, crunchy and full of colour. Makes about 42 squares, great for lunch boxes and party trays.
A rich butter cake flavoured with cinnamon and packed with almonds, cashews, walnuts and macadamias, then covered with melted chocolate and nut flakes. Serve with sweetened fresh cream. Contains egg.
An upside-down cake: poached apple slices, cinnamon, chocolate sauce and macadamia nuts go in the bottom of the tin, a vanilla sponge is baked on top, and the cake is turned out to show the apples. Serve warm with custard sauce. Contains egg.
A simple, eggless fruit cake made with condensed milk, packed with mixed nuts, dried fruit and cherries and warmed with ginger and cinnamon. The book says it can be used as a wedding cake.
A light butter icing for all basic sponge cakes, flavoured with the essence of your choice. Add a little milk for a softer icing for piping, or use cocoa instead of the cornflour to make chocolate butter icing.
An eggless Christmas cake: sultanas, raisins, currants, cherries and peel are soaked overnight in apple juice, then baked with nuts, pumpkin seeds, lemon rind, ginger, cinnamon and a splash of brandy or rum. Start the day before.
Lapsi is a festive Gujarati sweet of coarse cracked wheat (bhaidku) roasted in ghee, then cooked soft with jaggery water, fennel and saffron until the ghee shines through. It's grainy, buttery and gently sweet, finished with nuts, sultanas, nutmeg and cardamom. Serve it hot, on its own or as part of a festive thali.
A crunchy no-bake chocolate slice: crushed rich tea biscuits, cornflakes, rice krispies and shredded wheat, nuts and coconut are bound with cocoa, margarine and golden syrup, then covered with melted chocolate. It's sweet, crisp and chocolatey, like a homemade cereal bar. Makes about 50 fingers, ideal for parties and lunch boxes.
Sukhdi (gol papdi) is one of the simplest Gujarati sweets: wheat flour roasted in ghee until pink and fragrant, then mixed with jaggery and aniseed and set in a tray. It's soft, crumbly and caramel-sweet, with a gentle liquorice note from the aniseed. Makes about 25 squares and keeps well for travelling.
A royal kheer that combines roasted vermicelli and short-grain rice in thickened milk enriched with mawa (khoya, dried milk solids), ground almonds and pistachios. Saffron and cardamom perfume it, and crisp cubes of fresh apple are stirred in at the end. Serve chilled, topped with almond and pistachio flakes.
A moist eggless cake made with semolina, coconut and yogurt, baked with slivered almonds on the bottom and top and moistened with orange juice. Serve with coconut ice cream or custard sauce.
Badam pak is a rich almond sweet: coarsely ground almonds and mawa (khoya) roasted in ghee, mixed with puffed edible gum and cardamom, then bound in a saffron sugar syrup and pressed into a tray. It's nutty, chewy and fragrant. Makes about 35 squares; the book also gives a soft 'hot badam pak' to serve warm.
These gulab jambu are made with milk powder, grated carrot and a creamy semolina mixture, fried slowly until golden and soaked overnight in syrup so they're soft and juicy all the way through. The carrot gives them a lovely colour and gentle sweetness. Serve them halved, decorated with nuts and rose petals, with fresh cream.
A homely eggless cake made with crushed Weetabix (wheat biscuit cereal), chopped apple, cashews and cinnamon, bound with condensed milk. Serve warm with ice cream.
A classic buttery loaf cake dotted with glacé cherries and sultanas, perfect sliced at tea time. Toss the fruit in a little flour so it stays spread through the cake. Contains egg.
A quick almond sweet made in minutes in the microwave: semolina toasted in butter, mixed with coarsely ground almonds, saffron and sweetened condensed milk, then set in a tray. It's soft, nutty and fragrant with cardamom. Makes 20 squares, ideal when guests are on the way.
An eggless, dark and spicy fruit loaf flavoured with cocoa, cinnamon and black treacle, with mixed nuts and dried fruit. It is brushed with brandy while warm and dusted with icing sugar. Serve in slices with fresh cream. Leave out the sherry and brandy for an alcohol-free loaf.
Adadiya pak is a classic Gujarati winter sweet: coarse black gram (urad) flour is rubbed with milk, roasted slowly in ghee until brown and sweet-smelling, then mixed with popped edible gum, almonds, pistachios, sugar and plenty of ginger, mace and cardamom. It's rich, crumbly and warming, eaten a piece a day through the cold months. Makes about 30 squares.
A rich, glossy chocolate frosting made with melted cooking chocolate, butter and an egg, then thickened with icing sugar. Use it to fill or cover cakes, swirling it on with a palette knife. Contains egg.
Coconut pinwheels are a pretty no-cook sweet: a soft dough of desiccated coconut, milk powder and icing sugar is split, half coloured, rolled together into a swirl and sliced. They're sweet, coconutty and great fun for children to help make. Makes about 60 slices, perfect for party platters.
A shiny chocolate coating of melted cooking chocolate and a spoonful of ghee. Melt it gently over hot water or in the microwave; never let any water touch it. Once dry it gives the cake a lovely shine.
Dhosa ladoo is a traditional Gujarati ladoo: a thick wheat and gram flour dough is baked twice until dry, ground to a coarse crumb, then bound with melted jaggery and warm ghee and pressed into balls. They're crumbly, rich and warm with nutmeg, with poppy seeds on top. Makes about 35, and they keep well for festivals.
Kaju katli is one of the best-loved Indian sweets: finely ground cashews bound with a sugar and milk syrup, rolled thin, scattered with nuts and cut into diamonds. It's smooth, dense and delicately sweet with saffron and cardamom. Makes about 40 diamonds; perfect for Diwali boxes and gifts.
A frozen, Christmas-style pudding: a mould lined with vanilla ice cream and filled with chocolate ice cream rippled with rum-soaked dried fruit and nuts, then turned out and served in wedges with cinnamon whipped cream. It contains rum or brandy, and the book sets the fruit with gelatine, which is not vegetarian; the last steps give an agar-agar and an alcohol-free swap. Start it two days ahead.
A quick baked pudding of apples softened with condensed milk and cinnamon, layered over a buttery ginger-biscuit, nut and coconut base and topped with brown sugar. It's sweet, warmly spiced and crunchy underneath. Serve it warm on its own or with ice cream.
A crisp almond pastry case filled with a smooth chocolate mousse that's set with agar-agar instead of eggs or gelatine, so it's fully vegetarian. Light whipped cream is folded through and the tart is finished with chocolate curls. Serve chilled.
A simple frozen dessert of fresh strawberries blended with orange juice and frozen in a mould. It's tangy, fruity and fat free, perfect after a heavy meal on a hot day. Serve it straight from the freezer with sliced strawberries.
An eggless take on tiramisu: soft home-baked sponge fingers soaked in a Baileys and coffee cream, covered with whipped cream and cream cheese, and finished with grated white and dark chocolate and strawberries. It contains alcohol (Baileys Irish cream liqueur); see the last step for an alcohol-free swap. Make it a few hours ahead so it can chill and set.
A homely baked pudding of julienned cooking apples tossed with breadcrumbs and cinnamon, topped with a buttery almond mixture and baked until golden. The apples turn soft and tangy under a crisp, nutty crust. Serve it warm with ice cream or custard sauce.
A light, set lemon cheesecake: home-made cottage cheese beaten with sugar, lemon and egg yolks, set with gelatine and lightened with whisked egg whites and cream, on a ginger biscuit base. It's fresh, tangy and fluffy. Note that it uses raw eggs and gelatine, which isn't vegetarian; see the last step for an agar-agar swap. Not suitable for pregnant women, young children or the elderly because of the raw egg.
The book's basic no-churn ice cream: whipped cream and whisked frozen evaporated milk, sweetened and flavoured with vanilla, then frozen. It's smooth, light and needs no machine. Serve it with chocolate sauce and roasted chopped nuts, or try one of the variations.
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