Gourmet Greatrix

A Swiss meringue buttercream has a softly whipped texture and is much less sweet than the more common american-style buttercreams. It requires more patience to make but the resulting rich, silky, not-too-sweet frosting, is well worth the extra effort.

This white cake is made with only egg whites and is very light and clean tasting. It makes a great base for a multitude of rich and tasty fillings and frostings. I like it filled with tangy Lemon Curd and sweet Vanilla Buttercream.

This is a very quick and easy tart to make, using store bought filo dough. A variety of fruit can be used including apples and pears or even mango or nectarine. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Traditional pecan pie with a Southern flair. This classic pecan pie spiked with Bourbon to enhance the flavour of the pecans and baked in a tender, sweet pastry. Brimming with flavour, this pie is always a favourite.

There is a small village in England's Lake District whose name has become synonymous with Sticky Toffee Pudding. The village shop in Cartmel has been producing undeniably the best sticky toffee pudding in the world since 1989. Read their story.  Growing up with relatives in the area, my family became huge fans of this dish and would make sure to always 'stock-up" when we were in the area. Stocking up is not an option now that we live in the USA, although some specialist shops in NY do import the pudding from Cartmel, they are few and far between and you can imagine the specialist price tag attached!

Until recently I never tried to make the dish myself, after all what was the point when you could buy perfection? All that changed when our good friends Jay and Melissa made Sticky Toffee Pudding for a dinner party one night as a special treat for us. I was blown away at how good it was, and honestly never thought it possible to come close to the Cartmel perfection, but it totally is! Everyone has to make this dish, it's impossible not to love it! This recipe serves 12 (supposedly) but if you are cooking for a smaller number do not reduce recipe - you will want seconds, even if it's the next day!

This is most delicious pizza dough I have ever tried. The secret of any good pizza is the the dough and this one is the perfect blend of chewy, tender, and crisp. The recipe yields enough dough for 6 individual pizzas, so I usually freeze dough in individual portions. They can be defrosted to make quick pizzas without all the time and effort of making dough every time. I also keep fresh Mozzarella sliced (separated with parchment) in the freezer with pesto and classic tomato sauce. That way whenever we feel like pizza, it's a quick and easy meal, without all the calories and expense of take out pizza. It’s also a lot tastier!

Fresh Pesto is such a simple thing to make and the result is far superior to the store bought variety. The main downside to making it yourself is that you end up with far more than you will use before the basil loses it's wonderful green colour and turns black. I get around this problem by freezing left-overs in an ice cube try and then transferring to a zip lock bag. Pesto cubes can then be easily defrosted as you need them. Pesto spread on pizza dough and baked thin and crispy with lots of mozzarella is one of my all time favourites.