Cinnamon swirls Ingredients

175g softened butter 50g golden caster sugar 50g icing sugar 2 egg yolks 2 tsp vanilla extract 300g plain flour 2 tbsp demerara sugar , plus a few extra pinches 2 tsp cinnamon

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Per serving

Mix the butter, caster and icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla with a wooden spoon until creamy, then mix in the flour in 2 batches. Roll out to a 20 x 30cm rectangle on a sheet of baking parchment. Mix the demerara sugar with the cinnamon, sprinkle all over the dough, then gently roll over a rolling pin again to press the sugar in a little. Roll up from one of the 20cm sides using the parchment to help, wrap in the parchment and chill for 30 mins, or up to a day. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Thinly slice into about 20 biscuits, scatter with a pinch more sugar, then bake on baking sheets for 10-12 mins until golden.

153 kcalories, protein 2g, carbohydrate 19g, fat 8 g, saturated fat 5g, fibre 1g, sugar 8g, salt 0.11 g Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2010.

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Makes 20

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 20 mins Cook 12 mins Plus chilling Raw dough or baked biscuits can be frozen

Ginger madelines

Ingredients

100g plain flour , plus extra for dusting tsp baking powder 1 tsp ground ginger 75g caster sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 pieces stem ginger , from a jar, finely chopped , plus 1 tbsp of the syrup 90g unsalted butter , melted plus extra for buttering 1 tbsp icing sugar

1. 2.

Per serving (for 12)

Sift the flour, baking powder and ground ginger together with a pinch of salt. Whisk the sugar and eggs with electric beaters until they are thick and fluffy. Gently fold in the flour mix, vanilla and stem ginger and syrup. Fold in the butter. Cover the surface of the mix with clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Butter 12 ordinary madeleine tins or 36 mini ones and dust with flour. Fill each with a large blob of mixture (1 heaped tbsp for a large mould). Bake for 10 minutes (minis will need 6) or until risen, golden and springy. Tap the tin to loosen and tip out. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

149 kcalories, protein 2.3g, carbohydrate 18.7g, fat 7.8 g, saturated fat 4.4g, fibre 0.3g, salt 0.1 g

Difficulty and servings

Makes 12 or 36 mini (pictured)

Preparation and cooking times

Ready in 30 minutes, plus chilled

Summer berry meringues Ingredients

3 egg whites tsp lemon juice 150g caster sugar 200ml tub crme frache 200ml natural yogurt 300g strawberries , hulled 250g raspberries small bunch mint , leaves stripped and finely chopped small knob fresh root ginger , peeled and finely grated

5 tbsp icing sugar (you may not need it all) 9 little sprigs of mint and icing sugar, to decorate

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Heat oven to 110C/fan 90C/gas . Tip the egg whites and lemon juice into the clean bowl of a food mixer. Whisk until the whites double in volume and hold a peak when the whisk is drawn through them. Keep the whisk running and add the sugar a tbsp at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next. Whisk until all the sugar has been added and the whites are glossy. Place a square of baking parchment on a large baking sheet. Pencil nine circles, about 7cm each, onto the parchment. Spoon the meringue into a large piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe concentric rounds to fit each drawn circle, piping two or more rings around the edge to form a nest. Bake for 2 hrs until they are crisp and lift off the paper easily. Leave to cool completely. Whisk the crme frache until stiff, then fold in the yogurt. Set 2 strawberries and 9 raspberries aside and roughly chop the rest. Tip the chopped berries, mint and ginger into a bowl. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and use a wooden spoon to mash to a rough pure. Gently fold the berries into the yogurt mix, adding icing sugar to taste. To assemble, cut the remaining strawberries into 9 slices and place a slice inside each meringue case. Generously share the rippled cream between the cases, then top with a raspberry and a mint sprig. Dust with a little icing sugar just before serving. ( Meringues keep in an airtight container for 2 days.)

Use week old egg whites Older egg whites are better for whisking than fresh - about a week old is ideal. The older they get, the more they liquefy and become easier to whisk. Clean equipment All the equipment you use to make meringues must be scrupulously clean, dry and grease-free. Even the slightest smudge of oil on the bowl or pin-drop of egg yolk in the whites will stop them from whisking properly. It's best to use a metal bowl as plastic retains traces of fatty substances on the surface. Low temp and slow cooking The lower the heat the better, so use your oven's 'keep warm' function if it has one. An Aga's lowest warming oven is ideal for meringues. The lower the heat, the longer the meringues are going to take to cook, so if cooking on a lower heat than stated, they can take up to 8 hours.

Per meringue
217 kcalories, protein 3g, carbohydrate 32g, fat 9 g, saturated fat 6g, fibre 1g, sugar 32g, salt 0.13 g Recipe from Good Food maga

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 40 mins Cook 2 hrs