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Algerian mkhabezIced almond and lemon diamonds

No Algerian wedding tray, and few Eid tables in Algiers or Constantine, is complete without mkhabez: soft, chewy diamonds of ground almond and lemon zest under a smooth white icing, each topped with a sugar flower or a silver ball and set in its own paper case. Making them is a social affair, with sisters and aunts icing and decorating hundreds the week before a celebration. The almond base is flourless and dairy free, sweet and lemony, and the icing sets to a thin shell; serve them with mint tea or strong coffee. Overbaking is the mistake to avoid: the diamonds should come out pale and soft, or they go dry and crumbly under the icing. Chef's tip: ice them when completely cold, and get the icing so thick it only just flows; runny icing slides off the sides and never sets glossy.

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TopfengolatschenSweet quark puff pastry squares

A Topfengolatsche is what Viennese office workers grab from the bakery on the way in, and what grandparents order with a Melange in a coffee house on a Sunday afternoon. The corners of a puff pastry square are folded over a lemony, vanilla-scented filling of Topfen (Austrian quark) with plump raisins, and the top gets a thin white glaze. It is flaky, light and not too sweet. Raisins are sometimes soaked in rum; warm water or orange juice works just as well, and the recipe below is alcohol-free. Wet quark is the classic problem, because it turns the filling runny and it leaks out in the oven. Chef's tip: hang the quark in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for an hour, or squeeze it, until it is as thick as soft cream cheese.

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Pejerrey arrebozadoBattered fish fillets with onion salsa

Pejerrey arrebozado is a Lima classic from the cevicherías and home kitchens of the coast, eaten at lunch on a plate with white rice, a heap of sharp salsa criolla and sometimes boiled potato. The pejerrey, a small silverside, is opened into butterflied fillets, dipped in a light egg-and-flour batter and fried golden. Outside Peru, use small fillets of whiting, sole, haddock or tilapia. The batter here uses sparkling water, not beer, so it is alcohol free. The common mistake is frying in oil that isn't hot enough: the batter drinks the oil and turns greasy, so test with a drop of batter first. Chef's tip: make the salsa criolla first and let the onion sit in lime for ten minutes; it softens its bite and turns a pretty pink.

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Tallarines rojosSpaghetti in red sauce with chicken

Tallarines rojos is the Sunday-lunch and weeknight pasta of homes all over Peru, from Lima to Arequipa: spaghetti in a sweet, deep-red sauce of blended tomato, onion and garlic with a little ají panca and oregano, often with pieces of chicken cooked right in it. Children love it, and it is served with a sprinkle of grated cheese and sometimes a spoon of huancaína on the side. The usual mistake is cooking the sauce too briefly, so it tastes of raw onion; let the blended tomato fry until it darkens and the oil shows at the edges. Chef's tip: a bay leaf and a spoon of ají panca paste give the sauce its Peruvian character; paprika will do if you can't find the paste.

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Tcharek el arianeAlmond crescents with orange blossom

On the last nights of Ramadan, kitchens across Algiers and Constantine fill up with trays of tcharek el ariane, the 'naked' tcharek: crescents of thin, buttery dough wrapped around almond paste with cinnamon and orange-blossom water. Unlike their sugar-coated cousins they are left bare, so the fine dough with its pinched, lace-like pattern shows. Families give them to neighbours on Eid morning and set them out at weddings with mint tea and coffee. The dough is traditionally made with smen (aged butter); plain melted butter works well. Overbaking is the common slip, because they turn hard and dry; they should stay pale with only golden tips. Chef's tip: keep the dough under a damp cloth while you shape, as it dries in minutes and then cracks along the curve.

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Chicharrón de pescadoCrisp fried fish chunks

Up and down the Peruvian coast, from Chorrillos in Lima to the beaches of Piura, chicharrón de pescado is the crunchy plate ordered alongside ceviche at a long seafood lunch: bite-size chunks of firm white fish marinated briefly in garlic and lime, dusted in flour and fried, then served with fried cassava, salsa criolla and tartar or rocoto sauce. Using frozen peeled cassava keeps it to half an hour. The common mistake is leaving the fish in the lime too long: after about ten minutes the acid starts to 'cook' the outside and the coating slips off. Chef's tip: toss the floured pieces in a sieve to shake off every bit of loose flour; a thin coat fries crisp, a thick one turns pasty.

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ChaplasHollow puffed Andean bread

Walk through Ayacucho's central market at seven in the morning and you will see women selling stacks of chaplas from cloth-lined baskets, still warm from the wood-fired ovens of the Andes. These round wheat breads puff up like pita in the fierce heat, leaving a hollow pocket inside a thin, soft, lightly floury crust. In Ayacucho and Huancavelica they are eaten with sweet coffee or hot emoliente for breakfast, or split and filled with queso fresco, avocado or a spoonful of rocoto sauce. Highland bakers traditionally work in a little lard; vegetable shortening gives the same tenderness and keeps the bread vegan. A cool baking tray is the reason chaplas stay flat, so preheat it thoroughly. Chef's tip: let the rolled rounds rest before baking and flip them upside down onto the tray, so the smooth, dry side meets the heat first and the pocket opens evenly.

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Pan chutaAniseed round bread

The small town of Oropesa, half an hour from Cusco, calls itself Peru's bread capital, and its wood-fired bakeries are famous for chuta: big, flat, round loaves as wide as a dinner plate, glossy on top, with a faint sweetness and the warmth of aniseed. Travellers on the road to Puno and Bolivia stop to buy them by the bagful, and families bring them home for All Saints' Day and for sharing with hot coca tea or coffee, fresh cheese and butter. The bakeries traditionally use lard; this version uses vegetable shortening and butter, so it is vegetarian. The make-or-break moment is the proof: chuta is large and flat, and if it goes in under-risen it bakes dense and splits at the rim. Chef's tip: toast the aniseed for a minute in a dry pan and crush it lightly before adding, for a rounder, sweeter perfume.

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Kärntner ReindlingCinnamon raisin yeast cake

Carinthia's Easter loaf takes its name from the Reindl, the round, deep pan it is baked in, and in southern Austria no Easter basket goes to church without one. Inside the golden yeast crust is a spiral of butter, cinnamon sugar and plump raisins, so every slice shows a dark swirl. Locals eat it two ways: sweet with coffee on Easter morning, or alongside the savoury Easter platter with horseradish. Many bakers soak the raisins in rum overnight; warm water or tea works just as well and keeps it alcohol-free. A dry, crumbly Reindling usually means too much flour went in during kneading, so keep the dough soft and only lightly floured. Chef's tip: butter the pan well and dust it with sugar, which caramelises into a thin crunchy shell.

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AnisbrötliAnise cookies

Anisbrötli and their claw-shaped cousins Chräbeli are among the oldest Swiss Christmas biscuits, baked in Basel, Aargau and Zurich from Advent onwards and packed into tins beside Mailänderli and Brunsli. The egg and sugar dough is pressed into springerle moulds or cut into shapes, then left to dry overnight, so in the oven the bottom puffs up into a little 'foot' while the top stays white and smooth. Inside they are chewy and fragrant with anise. Chef's tip: beat the eggs and sugar for the full 10 minutes; under-whipped batter gives flat cookies with no foot.

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ErdäpfelstrudelSavoury potato strudel

Austrians, especially in the Mühlviertel of Upper Austria and the Waldviertel, make savoury strudels as often as sweet ones, and Erdäpfelstrudel is a farmhouse favourite for a meatless Friday or a cold evening. Thin pastry wraps a filling of potatoes, fried onion, sour cream, marjoram and parsley, baked until crisp and golden and sliced with a green salad or a dill and sour-cream dip. Bought filo makes it easy at home. The mistake to avoid is a wet filling, which turns the pastry soggy underneath. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before rolling; warm filling makes the layers stick and tear.

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NussgipfelHazelnut crescents

In Swiss train-station bakeries and village tearooms the Nussgipfel is the pastry commuters grab with their morning coffee: a crisp, flaky crescent wrapped around a sweet filling of ground hazelnuts and cinnamon, glazed so it shines. Bakers in Bern and Lucerne make their own laminated dough, but at home good all-butter puff pastry gives an excellent result in about an hour and a half. Chef's tip: chill the shaped crescents for 15 minutes before baking; warm pastry slumps and the filling leaks out.

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Appenzeller BiberAlmond-filled gingerbread

In the green hills of Appenzell, Biber are the sweet that marks Christmas, New Year and christenings, and bakers in Appenzell town stamp them with wooden moulds of cows, bears and the traditional alpine ascent. The dough is a dark, spicy honey gingerbread wrapped around a layer of almond paste, baked until it glows chestnut brown. They keep well and are sliced or eaten whole with coffee. Chef's tip: leave the dough to rest for at least a day if you can; honey doughs get smoother and spicier with time and crack less when stamped.

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Willisauer RingliSugar ring biscuits

The little town of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne has been making these rock-hard sugar rings since the 1800s, and Swiss children have been nibbling them on hikes and car journeys ever since, sucking them slowly like sweets. They are made from little more than sugar, flour, egg and lemon, and dried before baking so they set with a smooth, pale, glassy crust. The bakery recipe is a well-kept secret; this home version gets the same snap. Chef's tip: don't skip the overnight drying, which forms the crust that gives Ringli their famous crunch.

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Tarte au vin cuitPear syrup cream tart

Despite its name, vin cuit contains no wine. Farmers in Vaud and Fribourg boil down fresh pear and apple juice for hours in copper cauldrons each autumn until it becomes a dark, tangy syrup called vin cuit or raisinée, and bakeries turn it into this glossy brown cream tart for the Bénichon harvest feast in September and Sunday tables all year. The filling tastes of caramel, dried pear and a pleasant sourness. Outside Switzerland, look for pear syrup or pear concentrate. Chef's tip: take the tart out while the centre still wobbles a little; it sets as it cools and overbaking makes it cracked and grainy.

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BürliCrusty bread rolls

Walk into a bakery in St. Gallen, Appenzell or Thurgau in the morning and you will find trays of Bürli, rough, flour-dusted rolls baked in clusters of two or four that you tear apart at the table. Their dough is wet and lightly handled, so the crust bakes up thin and crackling while the inside stays open and chewy. In eastern Switzerland they are the classic partner for a grilled St. Galler Bratwurst at football matches and markets, and they're just as good with butter and cheese. Chef's tip: don't add extra flour to the sticky dough; the high water content is what gives Bürli their big holes, so use wet hands and a scraper instead.

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TotenbeinliAlmond biscuits

The name means 'little dead men's bones', but there is nothing gloomy about these crunchy almond biscuits from Graubünden, sold in the bakeries of Chur and the Engadin and dunked in coffee or a glass of milk on winter afternoons. Whole almonds are folded into a buttery, cinnamon-scented dough, baked in logs, then sliced and baked again, a little like biscotti but richer. Chef's tip: slice the logs while still warm with a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion; cold logs crumble and the almonds tear out.

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MailänderliLemon butter cookies

Come December, almost every Swiss household bakes Mailänderli, the simplest and best-loved of the Weihnachtsguetzli: buttery, lemon-scented biscuits cut into stars, hearts and moons and painted with egg yolk so they bake to a deep shine. Children across German-speaking Switzerland help cut them out, and tins of them are swapped with neighbours and eaten all through Advent. Chef's tip: rest the dough in the fridge overnight, or for at least 2 hours; warm dough spreads and the shapes lose their sharp edges.

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Pane ticinesePull-apart white loaf

Pane ticinese comes from Switzerland's Italian-speaking south and is now sold in bakeries across the country: a long, flat loaf made of linked rolls, each section easy to break off, with a soft, slightly chewy crumb thanks to a little olive oil in the dough. In Lugano and Bellinzona it goes on the table at lunch with salami and formaggini, or is torn into hunks for minestrone; this version is vegan. Chef's tip: when shaping, press each fold right down with the side of your hand; the deep creases are what let the loaf snap into neat pieces after baking.

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TirggelHoney biscuits

Tirggel have been baked in Zurich since the Middle Ages and are still sold at the Christmas markets on the Bahnhofstrasse and the old-town bakeries: wafer-thin honey biscuits pressed into carved moulds of guild scenes, animals and town views, then baked with heat from the top only so the raised picture turns golden while the back stays pale. They are hard and meant to be broken into pieces and let melt on the tongue. Wooden or silicone springerle moulds work at home. Chef's tip: bake them under the top heat only, or on the highest shelf with a tray below; full heat browns the whole biscuit and the picture disappears.

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WeggliSoft milk rolls

Weggli are the soft white rolls Swiss-German children grow up on: in Zurich, Bern and Basel they are bought warm on Saturday mornings, pulled apart along their deep central crease and eaten with butter and jam, or with a bar of chocolate pressed inside for the school break. The dough is enriched with milk and butter, so the crumb is fine and fluffy and the crust thin and golden. Chef's tip: press the crease firmly with the handle of a wooden spoon almost to the tray; if it's too shallow the rolls rise back into plain buns.

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Taillé aux greubonsCracklings pastry

In the cafés and wine-village bakeries of Vaud, from Lavaux to the Jura foothills, taillé aux greubons is served in squares with a glass of something at aperitif time, or warm at the market on Saturday mornings. Greubons are the crisp pork cracklings left after rendering lard; chopped and folded into a rough puff dough, they give a savoury, salty, deeply porky pastry with a criss-cross scored top. Buy pork cracklings (not crisps) from a butcher. Chef's tip: keep everything cold and fold quickly; if the butter melts into the dough you'll get a hard biscuit instead of flaky layers.

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CaracChocolate tartlets

Bright green with a single chocolate dot, the carac is the cheerful little tart in the windows of every pastry shop from Geneva to Lausanne and Neuchâtel, and the one children in Romandie point at first. A crisp sweet shortcrust shell holds a rich dark chocolate ganache, sealed under a smooth layer of green icing. Pastry chefs use fondant; at home a thick icing-sugar glaze works well. Chef's tip: let the ganache set completely in the fridge before icing, or the green runs into the chocolate and the top looks muddy.

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FasnachtschüechliCarnival fried pastries

During Fasnacht, from Basel's drum-filled Morgestraich to Lucerne's masked parades, the bakeries stack Fasnachtschüechli in towers: huge, wafer-thin rounds of fried dough so delicate they shatter at first bite, showering icing sugar everywhere. Families in central Switzerland still make them at home in February, stretching the dough over their knees. A rolling pin and patience work fine. Chef's tip: roll the dough so thin that you can read through it; thick spots puff into chewy bubbles instead of crisp lace.

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