“There’s something magical about the way apricots caramelise, turning golden and intensely fragrant. This tarte tatin captures that magic, whether using fresh fruit or tinned when out of season. Nestled in a thyme-scented caramel, the apricots’ tartness balances the rich, crisp pastry beneath. Once flipped, their glossy, syrupy juices soak into the layers, creating a dessert…”

“These scrolls are to die for — soft, rich, pillowy brioche encases spiced apple and nuts, topped off with a sticky caramel glaze. They’re a special treat, perfect for packing in a picnic to take on an outdoor adventure.” - Nadia Lim

On the menu since Al Brown opened doors at Depot in 2011, Sugar Pie epitomises the knack Al has for creating signature dishes with just a handful of great ingredients. Here a perfect crust is filled with eggs, brown sugar and cream. Al was introduced to this dessert in…”

"This soufflé debuted in our first winter in 2006. It was immediately obvious that this dish could never leave the menu, our guests never tire of it! The two baking stages each fill the dining room with an intoxicating aroma. This impressive-looking…”

“This quiche has its origins in France, but it has become a firm favourite in homes across the world for its simplicity and divine flavours. With a buttery pastry crust and a creamy egg filling, it’s a satisfying dish that’s perfect for lunch.” - Anna Cameron

“I love this pudding because it perfectly combines two of my all-time favourite sweet treats – carrot cake and sticky date or sticky toffee pudding. It was actually initially inspired by a traditional North Indian dessert called halwa, which is made by cooking…”

"I first met Melanie Russo when she attended kinder with my daughter Pam, so I have known her a long time. Melanie’s big, bold cooking smacks you in the mouth. My father started working for the Russo brothers, Joe and Jack (distant cousins to Mel’s family), in the early 1950s. Joe, Jack and Diego bought a farm in Tyabb called Cumbrae…"

“My favourite kind of Indian desserts are custards and creams. I can remember savouring silky smooth shrikhand and rich warm kheer during big holiday dinner. Possets give me the same type of feel. They are a citrus-flavoured (usually lemon) dessert that has a texture similar to pudding or pot de crème but without eggs…”

“My mom has an intense green thumb, and her pride and joy is her night-blooming jasmine. Summer nights were spent sitting outside basking in the aroma of jasmine while eating freshly cut fruit from my dad. This tiramisu is an edible version of those memories, and it’s made with ladyfingers that are soaked in a delicate jasmine tea and layered with ripe strawberries and a velvety…”

Semolina—yeah, we get it, it’s a bit of a love-hate thing. And we know why: flashbacks to dodgy school puddings that were overly sweet, gloopy, and borderline inedible. One of our grandmothers, for reasons that still mystify us, used lemon essence in her semolina despite having a fruit-laden lemon tree right outside her kitchen window. Go figure…

“Being a travelling monk in sixteenth-century Sicily couldn’t have been easy. During Lent, the season of austerity preceding Easter, monks were expected to hike on foot day after day for forty days, ministering to the faithful across the land. Although they were able to stop at monasteries for sustenance, eating meat was prohibited…”

Have you got a bunch of egg whites sloshing around after dutifully making hollandaise sauce or creme anglaise? Or is it just us that ends up with an accumulation of whites from time to time? Given the price of eggs, we don’t like to waste any part of a single one, but we don’t always want to bake meringue or pavlova, either…

OK, so back to your dad. We’re not done with him yet. We’ve dealt with the savoury dads, so let’s address the sweet ones. If he’s a sweet tooth, here’s THE breakfast treat for your Pa; oaty pancakes dripping in gooey caramel sauce with roasted pears.

Miso brings a lovely rich, salty vibe to this apple crumble; it’s subtle though, so if you’re thinking ‘uh-oh, this sounds weird’, don’t fret. It actually works fabulously and we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how good this spin on a Kiwi classic tastes. Use white miso, as it’s the mildest of the whole bunch...

Lemon tart… but make it easy, we say! No tricky pastry to roll out and potentially shrink in the oven because you’ve over-handled it… no filling that requires culinary wizardry to get just right. As a bonus, the base here is gluten free, if that’s important to you, although any health-related claims stop well and truly there. No one is pretending…

If you’re looking at this recipe and wondering why we just didn’t use chicken mince, it’s because we don’t like it. Like, we r-e-a-l-l-y don’t like it. That stuff you get from the supermarket? It’s mushy, pallid and has a really sloppy texture and who knows what sad part of the bird it actually comes from. So yeah, we chop our own…

It’s World Chocolate Day on the 7th July and we are taking it very seriously this year. What with bad harvests, ageing trees, disease and the economic un-viability of cacao farming leading to declining production and rocketing prices, we are going to scoff our fill of chocolate while we can..

Semolina! And listen; hear us out. We know that kids of a certain era were traumatised by bland, milky semolina ‘pudding’ but it’s lucky that other cultures do way more inspiring things with it than reduce it to pallidness. Like the Turks, for example, who make this. A delicious, classic dessert, irmik halvasi…

“One of the things I always try to hunt down whenever I visit Korea are these beautifully packaged milk caramel bites. Often found in convenience stores, these perfectly bite-sized squared caramels come individually wrapped in silver foiled paper; they are a classic confectionery, loved by all for their milky toffee-like taste and softly chewy texture.” - Su Scott

“This version of a classic Lebanese milk pudding normally set with cornflour (cornstarch) is a rip off of Rita Macali’s chocolate panna cotta. When working at Ladro as the prep chef before opening Rumi, I would occasionally sneak one of these for breakfast…