Mary Berry’s latest cookbook shows you do not need to be a genius in the kitchen to make fantasic, high quality treats.
The TV veteran wants to demonstrate that cooking can be easy and should never be a chore.
“Making a dish from scratch doesn’t have to be time consuming and nothing beats good home cooking for flavour or nutritional value,” she says.
Here TV’s favourite cook shares some of her best sweet dishes you can prepare in as little as 10 minutes.
Oven baked peaches with Marsala and almonds
Quick and delicious, this would suit any occasion – a family meal or a dinner party.
The sweet peach juices mingle with the Marsala, while the almonds and amaretti biscuits add crunch and flavour. This recipe would also work well with apricots, plums or nectarines.
Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time : 20 minutes
6 ripe but firm peaches, halved
6 tbsp Marsala
50g (2oz) amaretti biscuits
3 tbsp demerara sugar
25g (1oz) butter, plus extra for greasing
25g (1oz) flaked almonds
Preheat the own to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and grease a shallow oven proof dish.
Arrange the peach halves, cut side up, in the prepared dish and spoon over 4 tablespoons of the Marsala.
Place the amaretti in a freezer bag and use a rolling pin to crush into fine crumbs.
Measure the sugar and butter into a small bowl and add the crushed biscuits, then rub together using your fingertips into a crumble-like mixture.
Spread the mixture over the peaches, making sure each peach half is covered with the topping, and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
Bake for about 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and spoon over the remaining 2 tablespoons of Marsala.
Return to the oven to cook for another 5 minutes or until soft and golden.
Serve warm with cream.
Limoncello Trifle
Such a speedy dessert, this is a new favourite!
Serve the trifle in a shallow, wide-based dish so that the layers are even, and every spoonful has a mixture of all the flavours.
Use a glass dish, if you can, so everyone can see the layers.
Serves 6
Prep time: 15 minutes, plus chilling
300g (11oz) fresh raspberries
6 trifle sponges
4 tbsp lemon curd
10tbsp limoncello
150g (9oz) full-fat marscapone cheese
1 x 300ml tub of fresh vanilla custard
Finely grated zest of 1/2 large lemon
You will need a 1.4-litre (2 1/2-pint) trifle dish (preferably glass).
Arrange the raspberries in the base of the dish.
Slice the sponges in half horizontally, spread one half generously with lemon curd and then sandwich the halves back together.
Cut each sandwich in half lengthways to give two fingers.
Arrange the sandwiches around the edge and in the centre of the dish,
covering the raspberries, with their cut sides facing outwards, so you can see them through the glass.
Drizzle over the limoncello, soaking the sponges well.
Measure the marscapone into a large bowl.
Mix gently using an electric hand whisk until softened, then carefully add the custard, a little at a time, until it is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Pour the custard over the sponges and level the top.
Sprinkle over the lemon zest.
Chill until needed and remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving to bring back up to room temperature.
Piccoli Tiramisu
A classic Italian dessert, this is still a favourite of mine.
I’ve made individual puddings here (piccolo means ‘small’ in Italian), as they set more quickly, but you could make this in a large 1.2-litre (2-pint) dish, if you prefer.
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus chilling
250g (9oz) full-fat mascarpone cheese
300ml (10fl oz) double cream
2tsp vanilla extract 4tbsp icing sugar, sifted
125ml (4fl oz) strong coffee, cooled
6tbsp brandy 12 sponge fingers
50g (2oz) dark chocolate, coarsely grated
You will need 4-6 small tumblers.
Measure the mascarpone and about 50ml (2fl oz) of the cream into a large bowl, whisking until smooth.
Slowly add the remaining cream and whisk again into soft peaks, being careful not to over-mix or it will be too thick.
Fold in the vanilla extract and icing sugar.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine the coffee and brandy.
Break six of the sponge fingers in half and dip into the coffee and brandy mixture. Arrange the soaked sponge fingers in the base of the tumblers.
Spoon half of the cream mixture on top and half of the grated chocolate.
Break the remaining sponge fingers and soak on the coffee and brandy.
Place on the cream layer, then spoon the remaining cream mixture on top, levelling neatly.
Chill for a few hours, if possible, then sprinkle with the remaining chocolate before serving at room temperature.
Apricot buns with lemon icing
Children will enjoy these and have fun icing them.
They aren’t fancy – just a lovely light sponge, made with a little dried apricot, and drizzled with a glace lemon icing.
Makes 12 buns
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15-18 minutes, plus cooling
For the sponge:
100g (4oz) caster sugar
100g (4oz) baking spread, straight from the fridge
100g (4oz) self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
2 eggs
50g (2oz) ready-to-eat dried apricots, roughly chopped
For the icing:
75g (30oz) icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
You will need a 12 hole bun tin.
Preheat the oven to 190C/160 Fan/Gas 4 and line the tin with fairy cake cases
Measure the sugar, baking spread, flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the eggs and chopped apricots and whisk with an electric hand whisker until smooth.
Divide evenly between the paper cases – allowing around 1 heaped tablespoon per cake – and bake for about 15-18 minutes, until well risen and lightly golden.
Leave to cool on a wire rack until cold.
Meanwhile, mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl until smooth. Once the buns are cold, using a teaspoon drizzle the icing over the buns in a random pattern.
White chocolate and hazelnut traybake
Chocolate and nuts have always gone well together and they combine beautifully here – the hazelnuts gibing a lovely crunch that offsets the creamy texture of the cake.
The recipe also works well with chopped almonds instead of hazelnuts.
Makes 24 pieces
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes, plus cooling
For the sponge:
150g (9oz) baking spread, plus extra for greasing
250g (90oz) caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
3tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
150g (9oz) self-raising flour
100g (4oz) white chocolate, chopped into chunks
25g (1oz) chopped roasted hazelnuts
For the frosting:
75g (3oz) white chocolate
100g (4oz) butter, softened
150g (5oz) icing sugar, sifted
25g (1oz) chopped roasted hazelnuts
You will need a 23x30cm (9x12in) traybake tin.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C/Gas, then grease the tin and line with baking paper.
Measure the baking spread, caster sugar and baking powder into a large bowl and add the eggs, milk, vanilla extract and flour.
Beat with an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy, then stir in the chocolate and hazelnuts.
Spoon into the tin and level the surface.
Bake in the own for about 30-25 minutes until well risen and lightly golden.
Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack and then remove from the tin.
To make the frosting while the cake is cooling, first melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water.
Whisk the butter and sugar together with the electric whisk until light and fluffy, then stir in the melted chocolate.
Spread over the cooled cake and sprinkle with hazelnuts.
Cut into 24 pieces to serve.
Extracted from Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking by Mary Berry (BBC Books, £22)