Borek is a Turkish bread stuffed with savoury yumminess. I used spinach and cheese but you can experiment with any flavours you like - curried potato or pumpkin, spicy chickpeas... They also make borek using filo or puff pastry.

Dough:

300 g flour

2 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

30 ml olive oil

125 ml warm milk

125 ml warm water

Filling:

100 g spinach leaves (or kale, silverbeet)

boiling water

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

200 g grated cheese of choice (choose one or a mix of tasty, ...

I do love an easy chocolate cake that you don't need eggs for. Benjamina Ebuehi's recipe from A Good Day to Bake (Hardie Grant, 2022) is vegan and you can make it gluten-free and refined sugar-free too. I added swirls of jam or you could go to town with peanut butter, nuts or dried fruit.

1/2 tsp espresso powder

1 c hot water

1 1/2 c flour of choice

1 c granulated sugar of choice

1/3 c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c neutral vegetable oil

1 Tbsp vinegar

Preheat ...

Mmmm miso and nutmeg make a nice-flavoured caramel! You'll need a candy thermometer to get the exact balling temperature. Benjamina Ebuehi calls these nutmeg caramels in A Good Day to Bake (Hardie Grant, 2022) but I upped the miso content to suit my preference.

1 c coconut cream or cream

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp white miso

2 1/2 Tbsp brown rice syrup (or maple or golden)

2/3 c granulated sugar (I used coconut)

2/3 c light brown or muscovado sugar

55 g butter or dairy-free spread

Line a 20 cm square tin f...

A packet of goji berries had been sitting in the pantry for too long so I put them in these delicious vegan truffles. My other favourite flavour at the moment is rum and raisin so I made those too. I found Lagusta Yearwood's recipe in Sweet & Salty (Da Capo Lifelong, 2019) very easy and with lots of flavour options.

Master ganache recipe makes 2 cups:

200 g coconut milk or cream

1/4 c coconut oil

1 Tbsp water

340 g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Flavourings:

1/2 c goji berries, soaked unti...

This is an Italian recipe for panini al latte and it makes lovely soft rolls, just perfect with butter.

Makes 8 medium or 10 small

7 g dried yeast

250 ml warm milk

500 g flour

50 g caster sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

100 g butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

In a large bowl dissolve the yeast in 3 Tbsp of warm milk. Add 30 g of flour and 1 tsp sugar. Mix and knead until you have a small dough. Flour the bowl and place dough inside. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Sift remaining flour onto a benchtop...

A great go-to recipe if you need to bake a free-from treat. Swap out flours, milks as you need. Another one by Jo Pratt from The Flexible Baker (White Lion, 2022)

Makes 12

1 1/3 c milk of choice

2 tsp vinegar

1 3/4 c self-raising flour (if using normal flour add 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)

1/3 c cocoa powder

1 c sugar of choice, fine

1/2 c light vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

sprinkles 

Preheat oven to 180C. Line 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

In a jug mix the milk and vinegar together ...

Polenta adds colour and crunch to this crispy olive oil shortbread. It's from The Flexible Baker by Jo Pratt (White Lion, 2022).

2 1/4 c / 225 g ground almonds or flour of choice

1 1/2 c / 225 g fine polenta

1 1/4 c / 175 g icing sugar

zest of 2 lemons

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 c olive oil

1 Tbsp caster sugar

Preheat oven to 170C. Have a 20 cm square tin or similar ready.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together with the zest. Stir in the olive oil and bring together as a crumbly dough.

Press even...

Love a flexible recipe. And this is what Jo Pratt is all about. Her recipes can be adapted to be gluten, dairy or nut free and vegan. I've been enjoying her latest, The Flexible Baker (White Lion, 2022). I usually make cheese scones but mushrooms are a nice change for a savoury bite.

Makes 8

15 g dried porcini mushrooms

4 Tbsp boiled water

1 1/4 c  / 175 g Tbsp oats

3/4 c / 75 g ground almonds

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp sea salt

1/2...

A delightfuly easy one-bowl recipe. No creaming, just mix!

Makes 24

2 1/4 c flour

1/3 c granulated sugar (I used coconut)

1/2 c soft brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

zest and juice of 2 oranges - juice simmered until reduced by half

170 g butter or dairy-free spread, at room temperature

2 eggs

200 g dark chocolate bar, broken into small squares

In a large bowl or food processor whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and zest. Add the juice, butter and eggs and be...