Turn stale cinnamon buns into a luxurious dessert. Serves 8

Everyone needs an amazing dessert they can make on the fly. This one uses very common ingredients most of us have in our pantry and freezers – apples, brown sugar, butter and, of course, ice cream! Serves 4

This is my version of basic pastry. Instead of using a pastry cutter, use a box grater to grate in the fat, then use your palms to rub some of the fat into the flour in a technique similar to ‘frisage’ in pastry making. These two techniques create a wonderfully flaky crust. I use a combination of shortening (for flakiness) and butter (for flavour). Depending on what I have on hand, I sometimes change the recipe to include equal amounts shortening and butter. Makes 1 double crust pie, or 2 single crust pies

This is the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever tasted and it’s the one I grew up with. It’s not syrupy sweet - just a great balance between pumpkin and spices. Delicious! Makes one 9-inch (23 cm) pie

A taste of summer. These delightful little tarts please young and old alike.

A little ‘pick-me-up’ heavenly dessert from Italy. So simply and quick to make. Do it up in the morning to serve at a dinner party in the evening. Experiment with bowls and glasses to make interesting and decorative individual servings. Do not make this further ahead than the day of serving, otherwise the cookies become too soggy. Makes 4 individual dessert bowls