#pastries

A pie is a sweet or savoury dish with a crust and a filling and is usually baked in a pie dish. But sometimes we want something more easy-going, organic and delightfully simple to make. Introducing the galette! What is a galette? galette is a round pastry wrapped and fruit-filled dessert that is baked on a baking sheet. The best thing about galettes is that you can make it with any kind of fruit you like. Strawberries, berries, pear, apple – the list goes on. Today, we have a delicious peach galette – a crowd of juicy peaches baked inside the most buttery, flaky and totally fool-proof pastry crust.  

Everyone always wants seconds or thirds of this awesome recipe – we think it’s because it's a classic cheesecake recipe– but it’s even better with the slight tartness of lemon inside. Tips for making this cheesecake great?

• • Make sure your cream cheese is soft, and at room temperature before starting to avoid lumps. It’s also best if your eggs and sour cream are at room temperature too.
  • Go crazy with the crust: do you want Oreo or Chocolate Chip Cookie? Or any cookie or flavour of a graham cracker? Oh, and if you're a fan of the Lotus Biscoff biscuit crust, that works too!

The same goes with topping, use what you like – Speculoos cookie crumbs, little berries, the list goes on.

Perfectly crusty, soft, and just a little bit tangy on the inside – sourdough bread is great for sandwiches, dipping into creamy soups, or just good enough with a slab of salted butter. This recipe is a continuation of our first recipe on making your own sourdough starter. If you’ve managed to make your own – congratulations! Just before you rush to use your starter, do a quick check:

Is my starter ready to be used?

It is best to use the starter when it is at its peak height (look for when it’s doubled in size) during the rising and falling stages of growth. Do this test to ensure it’s ready for use: Mix your starter to distribute bubbles evenly then drop a spoonful of starter into a bowl of water. If it floats, it’s ready to go. But if it drops to the bottom, allow it to rest for a few hours longer. And if you’re still feeling antsy, do a quick smell check: Your starter should smell sweet and slightly sour, and be light in colour. If the starter begins to turn pink, green, or dark brown that goes beyond the surface of the starter then that’s a sign of bad bacteria growth so the starter should be discarded. This recipe makes 2 hefty loaves of sourdough bread.

Holiday ham is a must at Christmas dinners. Luckily, there are several ways you can repurpose it – ham sandwiches, stews and soups come to mind. But why not try making a quiche out of leftover ham and shredded cheese?

First question: What is Stollen? Some people think it's fruitcake, but it's not. Neither is it a fruit and nut loaf. The best way to describe it is like a light, buttery scone packed with bits of dried fruit and powdered with icing sugar on top. It also has a strong, scented almond flavour thanks to loads of almonds and marzipan going into the dough. This wonderful recipe is made using a Kenwood Chef, which is perfect to chop your almonds, combine your ingredients and give you a smooth, elastic dough to work with. Second question: What is marzipan and where do I get it? Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal, sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is sometimes known as almond paste. You can get marzipan in more international supermarkets or e-grocers.

Alphonso mango is a type of seasonal mango from India, considered to be among the most superior varieties of the fruit in terms of sweetness, richness and flavour. Here we use it as topping for the delicious bar cookies, if it is difficult get a hold of fresh Alphonso in where you live, you can always opt for the canned version, just make a visit to your nearby Indian food store (such as Mustafa) and you will be spoilt with choices of Alphonso products on the shelves. In place of these particular mangoes, any sweet Thai mango would do fine! Want more mango recipes? Try this: Passion fruit cake topped with fresh mango.

Are you a puff lover? Whether it's creamy durian puffs or the classic chocolate eclairs, puff pastries are absolutely delicious and versatile indulgences. These Japanese Custard Puffs (also known as Shu or Choux) are baked choux pastries with sweet, crackly, crunchy cookies topping and filled with custard and whipped cream in the centre. If you're not a fan of cooking with cream, fret not! The whole process to make these Japanese cream puffs is extremely short. Choux pastry comes together in about 10-15 minutes. Most of the ingredients are cooked together on the stove; this initial cooking causes the starch in the flour to gelatinize, which will help the pastry hold onto steam and puff up. The pastry shell and the crackly top is actually created separated then laid on top of each other. This recipe makes 24 pieces of light, sweet, crackly puffs, and enough coconut custard cream to fill the shells. Looking for more Japanese treats to make? Try this simple Ichigo (strawberry) mochi recipe. If you're feeling experimental, try out different sweet fillings such as Strawberry Jam, Nutella or Peanut Buttercream. Or if you simply prefer savoury puffs, then check out this simple Cheese Herb Puffs Recipe which you can make to complement any main savoury protein!

Almond milk is also a flavourful substitute for dairy milk in baked goods, and so is perfect for vegans or those who want to avoid dairy products. Its creamy consistency and rich taste make for delicious ice-cream, cakes, cookies and pastries. (Read more: How to make your own almond milk!) Homemade almond milk is the best substitute because its texture is the most similar to cow’s milk. This means you should get the same results and don’t have to tweak the recipe. It’s also the most suitable alternative for lattes and other milk coffees, as almost milk can with withstand high temperatures from steaming without producing a burnt taste. Below is a simple brownie recipe that uses almond milk. If you use cake mix kits, you can simply replace the amount of water specified with almond milk for tastier results.

Love all things chocolate? Us too. Check out this simple brownie recipe, super easy chocolate bread, banana-choco peanut cake, a decadent chocolate cake recipe, or how about a coffee-chocolate log cake?

This dessert is modeled after the famous Mont-Blanc Aux Marrons, a masterpiece formed of pureed, sweetened chestnuts covering whipped cream to resemble the snow-capped mountains. It is a bit labour-intensive because the chestnuts are braised for hours before they are mashed, but consider that our version calls for a soft sponge base topped with fresh cream and covered with a luxurious mound of merlot infused chestnut swirl. It is an absolute pure indulgence that will be worth your efforts.