Cut the butter into small chunks and melt it in the honey and milk in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir regularly.

Meanwhile, mix the flour with the baking powder in a bowl.

Take the saucepan off the heat and add one by one the sugar, flour, egg, ground almonds and spices, mixing well after each ingredient has been added.

Butter and dust with flour the inside of a loaf tin and pour the mixture into it.

Bake for 45 minutes. 30 minutes or so into the cooking, cover the tin with aluminum foil to prevent the top of the loaf from burning (honey is very reactive to heat). The timing of this may vary depending on your oven, so keep a regular eye on the loaf as it bakes and as soon as a nicely browned crust has formed, cover it.

Serve warm or cold dusted with icing sugar and eat on its own or with apricot jam or marmalade.

Preheat the oven to 175 degree C.

Cut the chocolate and butter into chunks and melt them together in the microwave in a mixing bowl. Do this in 30 sec sessions, mixing well between sessions to even out the heat and help the chocolate melt faster. With my 850kW microwave, it takes me about 3 sessions. If you don’t have a microwave, place the chocolate and butter into a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and stir regularly until all ingredients have melted.

In a second bowl, lightly beat the egg whites and sugar with a fork until the mixture looks homogenous, for about 20 sec. Do not use a whisk or an electric beater for this, you don’t want the whites to start foaming.

Add the almonds to the chocolate mixture and stir well. Dip your finger into the mixture, it should be just warm, i.e. you should not have any sensation of heat. If you do, wait a bit before moving on to the next step.

Add the egg yolk to the chocolate mixture and stir energetically. Add the egg whites and mix until reaching a homogenous batter.

Butter the cake tin and pour the batter into it.

Peel, quarter and core the pears, and cut them into segments about 3 mm thick. Press the segments into the batter leaving the tops of the segments visible and following a pretty pattern (concentric circles for a round tin, or neat, parallel lines for a square one). Make sure you place them very close to each other – leave about 1 cm between each slice. You may not use up all the pears, I tend to fill my dish with 2 1/2 pears.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a uniform crust has formed. Don’t worry if the cake feels a bit soft and creamy under its ultra thin crust, it will set when cooling down. If you did not use a loose base tin, wait until the cake is nearly cold before demoulding it.

Eat the fondant warm or cold. The slices will be easier to cut once it is cold, but I usually can’t wait, even if it is much messier!

Use preferably a loose-based cake tin (I used a 20 cm square tin, a 22 cm round one will work as well). If you don’t have one, place parchment paper cut to size at the bottom of your mould to facilitate the de-moulding of the cake after it has been baked.

Butter the cake tin (and parchment paper if using) and sprinkle a bit of flour on all sides. The flour will form a barrier between the cake batter and the butter on the tin when baking, not only preventing the batter from sticking but allowing it to rise more easily.

Mix the flour with the baking powder, then add the ground almonds, granulated sugar and 75g of the icing sugar, and mix well.

Melt the butter and mix with the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt into firm peaks. This is how you do it: start by beating them on medium-low speed for a minute or so, until they form a grey foam.  Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the foam becomes smooth, moist and shiny. Stop and lift the whisk – you have achieved firm peaks when straight, upward-looking peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the almond mix using a large spatula, until reaching a homogenous batter.

Pour the batter into the pan. Press delicately the raspberries one by one inside the batter until half sunk. Space them evenly, keeping a handful on the side for decorating.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins.

When ready, leave to cool. Once the cake has fully cooled down, separate its edges from the pan by running a knife’s blade carefully between the cake and the tin. De-mould the cake and place on a serving platter. Sprinkle the remaining icing sugar on top using a thieve to prevent it from lumping (with a sieve, the sugar will fall on the cake like light dust).

Place the remaining raspberries in a pretty heap or in the shape of a flower at the centre of the cake. Enjoy!!!

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees C.

Marinate the raisins and sultanas in the rum diluted with water (or water and vanilla extract if not using rum) so that the raisins sit about 1 cm below the surface of the liquid. To accelerate the marinating process (a little trick of my own!), microwave the raisins in their marinade on full power for 10-12 minutes, or until most of the liquid appears to have been absorbed.

Sift the flour and baking powder together.

Soften 200 g of the butter in the microwave on low power and beat with the sugar until the mixture looks creamy and lighter in colour. Add the eggs one by one, mixing slowly.

Add the flour in one go and mix just enough so that the flour longer shows (too much mixing will make the cake tougher and drier).

Chop the walnuts coarsely.

Using a wooden spoon, fold gently into the cake batter the raisins and their marinade, the nuts and the almonds.

Butter the mould and pour the mixture into it.

Place in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 180 degrees C.

Melt the remaining 10 g of butter. Once a crust forms on top of the cake (about 8-10 minutes into the baking), score it lengthways by running a knife through its middle, and pour the melted butter into the rift you just created. This will allow the cake to raise beautifully without cracking the crust in odd shapes.

Bake the cake for another 50 minutes, checking on it regularly to make sure it does not burn as not all ovens are the same! The cake is ready when a knife or skewer inserted into its centre comes out clean.

After taking the cake out of the oven, allow it to cool down for 10 min. Unmould and cover the top generously with apricot jam.

Eat the cake just warm or cold, cut into thick, rich slices. This cake will keep up to 2 weeks if you store it in the fridge.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, stir in the vinegar and transfer to a small recipient to cool down. When warm, whisk the butter and vinegar into the egg mixture.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat the dry mixture into the egg mixture in 2 to 3 batches, alternating with the milk. You should obtain a homogenous batter.

Pour the batter into a 20 cm round buttered cake tin or into the cavities of a muffin tray (fill in 2/3 of the way). Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40-45 minutes for the cake, 25 min for the muffins. When ready, a skewer inserted at the center of the cake or a muffin should come out clean. If not, bake for a few more minutes.

While the cake is baking, prepare the sauce by melting all the ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat.

Once the cake is baked, prick its top with a fork on several places, making a larger hole at the centre (same for the muffins). Pour 2/3 of the sauce over the cake/muffins while still in the tin, and allow the sauce to seep down into the cake for a good 10 minutes before unmoulding.

Serve warm with the rest of the sauce and fresh berries, ice-cream, or lightly cooked apricots.

Pour the olive oil slowly into the orange purée while whizzing constantly, until obtaining a thick and creamy texture.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs into an omelette, then add the sugar little by little while beating continuously. Beat until the mixture thickens and becomes cream-coloured. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and give it a last whipping.

Using a spatula, stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture in three stages, alternating with the orange purée. You should obtain a thick, homogenous batter with fine grains of orange skin.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Butter (or oil, for a completely dairy-free version) the inside of a cake tin.  Sprinkle it with flour, turn it over and shake it so as to release the excess flour.

Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake for about 45 minutes (a skewer dipped into the center of the cake should come out clean).

Wait 5 minutes before unmoulding. Once the cake is warm or cold, sprinkle with icing sugar. Serve it with a thick chocolate sauce (melt in the microwave 100 g good quality 70% cocoa dark chocolate, 30 g lightly salted butter and 5 tablespoons water), if you enjoy the taste of chocolate and orange together.

Butter 6 individual cake moulds or six-cavities in a tartlet or muffin tray and place them in the fridge. If using a silicone mould, no need to butter or refrigerate it.

Wash and dry the lemons. Zest one into thin, long strips and reserve. Zest the other, chop the zest finely and toss it into a large mixing bowl.

Add into the bowl the butter and icing sugar. Mix well with a wooden spoon until reaching a homogenous paste. Add the eggs, one by one, stirring well between each. Sift the flour and baking soda together on top of the bowl, add the ground almonds and 50 g of the flaked almonds and stir until reaching a smooth mixture.

Pour into individual moulds or tray cavities and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until nicely browned. 15 minutes into the baking, sprinkle the remaining flaked almonds over each mini-cake.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the lemon syrup. Juice the two lemons into a thick bottomed saucepan, add the sugar and the reserved lemon zest. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the liquid takes a honey-like tint and texture.

When the cakes are ready, take them out of the oven and unmould them. Pour the syrup over them, arranging the zest prettily at the centre, and let cool completely before serving.

Serve with fresh raspberries.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Mix the flour with the baking powder and reserve.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture becomes cream coloured. Beat in the eggs one by one, then the vanilla, followed by the flour and baking powder. Once the mixture is smooth, add the cream or milk slowly and beat until obtaining a thick and creamy batter.

Pour the cake batter into a buttered  loose bottom cake tin (I used  24 cm dia one) and bake it for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Wait until warm to unmould the cake and cool completely before cutting it. With a long, sharp knife, cut out the domed top part of the cake so that it looks completely flat (keep it for nibbling on!). Cut the cake again horizontally through its middle so as to obtain 2 identical rounds. Spoon the double cream evenly on the top cake half, then spread jam liberally on top of the cream. Place the bottom cake half on top of the creamed and jammed round, crust side facing up. This inversion trick will make it easier to spread the icing as the crust is less prone to crumble when you apply the icing on it than the fluffier, cut side. Your cake is now ready to be iced.

Make the icing (best done in a stand mixer if you have one):

Place the butter at the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Beat the icing sugar into the butter in small batches, then add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat well, then slowly add the remaining milk while beating continuously, until obtaining a smooth and thick icing.

Spread the icing delicately on the cake without looking for perfection. Spread marks are part of the final look.

Decorate according to your taste. On the picture I made Smarties flowers on top with a Smarties ribbon circling around the side.

Gently boil the raisins in the wine in a small saucepan until the raisins have absorbed most of it (you can also microwave the raisins in the wine for 6 to 7 minutes).

Cut the stilton into 1 cm cubes, keeping the crust on. Peel, core and chop the pears into same sized cubes.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Add the eggs, cream, a good sprinkling of pepper and a bit of salt. Mix with a spatula until homogeneous.

Add the pears, walnuts, drained raisins and stilton and mix gently.

Butter a loaf tin and pour the mixture into it. Bake for about 35 minutes, until nicely browned.

Let the cake cool down for 10 minutes before unmoulding and serve it sliced, warm or cold, with a green salad.

Lightly butter a loose-base 20 cm cake tin (I used a 24 cm one and I would have liked the filling to be a bit thicker- see picture above). Line the mould with the pastry and make small holes at the bottom; place in the fridge.

In a bowl, mix the fromage frais (or yogurt and mascarpone), egg yolks, corn four, sugar, lemon zest and poppyseeds. Reserve.

Place the egg whites in a bowl and whip them into firm peaks with a pinch of salt — add 1 teaspoon sugar near the end to make them firmer. Fold carefully into the fromage frais mixture.

Pour this batter into the pastry, level the top and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes . When ready, the top of the batter should be nicely puffed up and browned.

Let cool completely before unmoulding. The batter will settle back down, don’t worry, this is how it should be. Dust the tart with icing sugar and serve with fresh fruits. In season, berries are a wonderful match. In the winter, serve it with a quick coulis made by whizzing frozen raspberries with a bit of icing sugar, or with fresh pomegranate grains.

The tart can be eaten at room temperature or straight out of the fridge for extra freshness.