Glacé icing
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.

Black beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kulfi is India's dense, creamy frozen dessert, made by boiling milk down to half and enriching it with mawa (khoya, dried milk solids), condensed milk, saffron, cardamom and ground nuts. It freezes slowly into a firm, rich ice that's sliced rather than scooped. Serve it in slices, garnished with almonds and pistachios.
A no-bake cheesecake on a chocolate biscuit base, made with cream cheese and chopped chocolate caramel bars and marbled with home-made butterscotch and chocolate sauces. It's rich, creamy and very sweet. The book sets it with gelatine, which is not vegetarian; the last step gives an agar-agar swap.
A quick no-bake trifle-style pudding: squares of lightly toasted bread soaked in orange juice, layered with sweetened cream, cornflakes, nuts and fresh fruit, and topped with vanilla ice cream. It's crunchy, creamy and fruity. Serve it straight away so the cornflakes stay crisp.
A colourful fruit salad of pineapple, apple, pear, grapes, pawpaw, melon balls and fresh lychees, coated in a light lemon syrup just before serving. It's juicy, refreshing and naturally light. Serve it chilled, garnished with mint, on its own or with ice cream.
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.
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 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.
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 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 smooth, rich chocolate mousse made without eggs or gelatine: milk, cocoa and dark chocolate are thickened with custard and set with agar-agar, then beaten with sweetened cream. It's silky, chocolatey and fully vegetarian. Serve cold, decorated with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
A light cheesecake built on a soft orange sponge base, with a set filling of condensed milk, cream cheese, cream and orange juice, topped with whipped cream and sliced kiwi fruit. It's tangy, creamy and refreshing. The book sets it with gelatine, which is not vegetarian; the last step gives an agar-agar swap.
Crisp, sweet coconut pastry cases baked in boat or muffin moulds, then filled with sweetened whipped cream and topped with fresh fruit such as kiwi, mango and grapes. The cases keep for days in a tin, so you only need to fill them before serving. The recipe makes about 30 small tarts.
A light, set milk pudding inspired by faluda: milk and evaporated milk sweetened and set with agar-agar, tinted pale pink and flavoured with cardamom. It's cool, smooth and wobbly, and fully vegetarian. Serve chilled in little bowls, topped with almonds and pistachios.
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.
A no-churn vanilla ice cream layered with home-made peanut crunch: roasted peanuts stirred into caramelised sugar, cooled and coarsely ground. It's creamy, crunchy and salty-sweet. Makes about 3 litres; the book also gives chocolate and cashew crunch versions.
A striking three-layer barfi: a white layer of milk powder and coconut, a middle of melted chocolate, and a yellow layer of saffron cashew fudge on top. Cut into diamonds, it shows off its stripes and tastes rich, nutty and creamy. Makes 30–35; a showpiece for festive sweet boxes.
Thin, eggless pancakes made from plain flour and cornflour, rolled around sliced strawberries and sweetened whipped cream and topped with a fresh strawberry sauce. They're soft, fruity and creamy. Serve straight away, dusted with icing sugar.
Magaj (magas) is a classic Gujarati sweet: coarse gram flour rubbed with milk and ghee (dhraba), roasted in ghee until golden, then mixed with sugar, almonds, pistachios and cardamom and set in a tray. It's crumbly, rich and nutty. Makes 20 pieces; a Diwali favourite that keeps well.
A tropical take on trifle: biscuits soaked in sherry or fruit juice, then layered with orange jelly, mango, kiwi and passion fruit, thick custard and softly whipped cream, finished with toasted almonds. It's fruity, creamy and colourful. Ordinary packet jelly is made with gelatine, which isn't vegetarian, and sherry is alcoholic; the steps give swaps for both.
A no-churn cassata of three layers frozen together: vanilla with chopped nuts, strawberry, and mint with chocolate chips. The base is whipped cream and whisked frozen evaporated milk, so no ice-cream machine is needed. It makes about 3 litres; slice it for parties.
A homely apple pie: crisp shortcrust filled with cooking apples simmered with lemon, cinnamon, sultanas and walnuts, finished with a pastry lattice brushed with butter and brown sugar. It's tart-sweet and warming. Serve warm with ice cream or hot thick custard.
A Swedish tea ring is a sweet yeast dough rolled around butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dried fruit and nuts, shaped into a ring and snipped so the filling shows, then glazed with lemon icing. This version has no egg. It's soft, spiced and fruity; serve it warm with tea or coffee. Cuts into about 25 slices.
A no-bake layered pudding with the flavours of piña colada: tea biscuits soaked in pineapple syrup, layered with vanilla whipped cream, fresh coconut and crushed pineapple, and topped with toasted coconut. It's creamy, tropical and alcohol-free. Make it a few hours ahead and serve chilled.
Little eggless ring doughnuts made from a simple soft milk dough, fried until golden and coated with melted chocolate. They're crisp outside and soft inside. Serve them with ice cream, or dust with icing sugar instead and serve at tea time.
Juicy fresh pineapple tossed with brown sugar and baked under a spiced wholemeal and oat crumble topped with chopped nuts. It's sweet, tangy and crunchy. Serve it hot with a scoop of ice cream.
An easy no-churn ice cream: whipped cream and whisked frozen evaporated milk folded together with fresh passion fruit seeds and a little essence. It's light, tangy and speckled with crunchy seeds. The recipe makes about 3 litres; serve it in scoops with wafer rolls or nuts.
A cold 'soufflé' of mango pulp and orange jelly beaten with whipped evaporated milk until light and airy, folded with mango cubes and topped with sweetened cream. It's fruity, fluffy and refreshing. Ordinary packet jelly is made with gelatine, which is not vegetarian; use a vegetarian (agar-based) jelly to make it suitable.
A generous pie of firm pears, cooking apples and raisins with lemon, baked in a crisp shortcrust case under a cinnamon crumble made crunchy with cornflakes. It's fruity, tangy and buttery. Serve it warm with ice cream.
Classic choux pastry éclairs filled with sweetened whipped cream, topped with coffee icing and a zigzag of melted chocolate. They're crisp, light and creamy. Note that choux pastry is made with eggs. Serve them the day they're filled.
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 cool layered pudding of ripe mango with cardamom and almonds, covered with a vanilla milk 'faluda' set with agar-agar. It's fruity, creamy and lightly spiced, and fully vegetarian. Make it in a glass dish so the layers show, and serve chilled with mango slices, cherries and almonds.
Crisp, buttery half-moon pastries filled with chopped apricots, pears, figs, cherries and almonds soaked in honey with a little cardamom and cinnamon. They're sweet, fruity and lightly spiced. Serve them hot with ice cream, or cold with tea; the recipe makes about 36 small pastries.
A modern layered barfi: a chewy base of dates, coconut, cornflakes, chocolate cereal and pistachio, a creamy top of condensed milk, cashews and almonds, and a marbled dark and white chocolate finish. It's rich, crunchy and silky all at once. Makes 35–40 rectangles; great for parties and gift boxes.
A no-cook pudding of crushed ginger biscuits soaked in apple juice, topped with fresh coconut, cashews, kiwi and grapes and finished with sweetened cream. It's fresh, creamy and gently spiced. Serve chilled; it's ready in minutes.
A quick carrot halwa made in the microwave: grated carrots cooked tender in ghee, milk and sugar, then enriched with fresh mawa (khoya) and plenty of almonds, cashews and pistachios. It's soft, sweet and fragrant with cardamom. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.
A fresh, fruity kulfi: milk thickened with cornflour and sweetened with condensed milk, then mixed with cream, cashew powder, tangerine juice and segments and frozen in moulds. It's creamy, nutty and citrusy. Serve slices straight from the freezer, garnished with cashews and tangerine.
Sweet bundi are tiny pearls of gram flour batter, fried until just set and tossed in warm saffron and cardamom syrup with flaked nuts. They're soft, juicy and bright orange. Serve as a festive sweet or offering, or spoon over rabdi or ice cream.
Pretty little plaits of saffron, almond and pistachio pastry, deep-fried until golden and dipped in a light saffron syrup. They're crisp outside, soft and nutty inside, and finished with almond and pistachio flakes and cardamom. Makes about 30; lovely on a festive sweet platter.
Roasted fine vermicelli cooked in milk until thick with saffron, cardamom and sugar, with chopped apple stirred in, then cooled and topped with ice cream, crunchy roasted vermicelli and nuts. It's creamy, fragrant and fun to eat. Serve it cool in individual bowls.
A quick no-cook barfi made from crushed wheat biscuit cereal and tea biscuits bound with butter and sweetened condensed milk, with coconut, nuts, nutmeg and saffron. It's chewy, sweet and easy enough for children to help with. Makes 40 pieces.
A quick, modern ras malai: ricotta beaten with sugar and cardamom, baked until just set, cut into squares and soaked overnight in cream scented with kewra (screwpine) essence. It's soft, creamy and delicately perfumed, without the work of making paneer. Serve chilled with almond and pistachio flakes.
Rasgulla are soft, spongy balls of fresh paneer cooked in boiling syrup until they swell, then served cold in light rose-scented syrup. This version hides a little sugar lump (sakar) in the centre of each ball. Makes 20; serve chilled after a meal.
A two-minute dessert for one: scoops of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with crushed amaretti biscuits and drizzled with amaretto. It's creamy, crunchy and almondy. The amaretto is alcoholic and amaretti biscuits are usually made with egg white, so check the packet; see the last step for swaps.
A rich no-bake dessert of ground brown bread mixed with drinking chocolate, nuts, dried fruit and brown sugar, soaked with cream and topped with a smooth white chocolate, cream cheese and sour cream layer. It's creamy, chocolatey and fruity. Make it in a glass bowl and serve chilled.
A colourful no-bake pudding: a base of biscuit crumbs moistened with pineapple syrup and topped with fresh coconut, covered with a fluffy custard cream and finished with pineapple, cherries, kiwi, grapes and strawberries. It's light, creamy and fruity. Pipe whipped cream around the edge and serve chilled.
Puranpuri (puran poli) is a festive Gujarati and Maharashtrian flatbread stuffed with puran: pigeon pea lentils cooked with sugar until thick, flavoured with saffron, cardamom and fennel. It's rolled thin, cooked on a griddle and drizzled with ghee. Serve hot with kadhi and a curry of your choice.
A royal festive sweet: rounds of crisp pastry wrapped around a rich filling of mawa (khoya), roasted coconut, almonds and pistachios, fried in ghee and dipped in a warm mix of ghee and icing sugar. Decorated with nuts and rose petals, they're crumbly, rich and fragrant with cardamom. Makes 50.
Ras malai is a much-loved Bengali sweet now made all over India: soft discs of fresh paneer poached in light syrup, then soaked in milk boiled down until rich and creamy and flavoured with saffron. Served chilled, scattered with almonds, pistachios and cardamom. Makes about 50 small pieces.
A five-minute layered pudding of whipped vanilla cream, crushed chocolate chip cookies and halved black and green grapes, served in a glass bowl so you can see the layers. It's creamy, crunchy and fresh. Serve chilled, sprinkled with brown sugar.
A rich, home-made cream liqueur of whisky, cream, condensed and evaporated milk, melted milk chocolate and a touch of coffee. Sweet, smooth and strong: for adults only. Serve chilled over crushed ice, keep it in the fridge and drink within 3 days.
A chocolatey-tasting shake made with carob powder instead of chocolate, blended with milk, yogurt, honey, fresh mint and ground brazil nuts. Creamy and lightly minty. Serve cold.
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