I'm not a great salad eater, probably because leafy ones tend to splash and I can't stand splashy food, but I love this one conceived late last year when apricots had come into season. I made it again recently with dried apricots and it was still pretty damn good, if you ask me. A great combination of textures and flavours make this a winner.

Before the last juicy plums vanish from the markets and fresh produce displays, buy up and bake a cake! This delightfully fragrant cake is dense and moist, strong with the aroma of plum and cardamom and lifted by tangy pieces of plum. The perfect cake for afternoon tea.

Bread. I like. Warm. Ovenly. Is it true that you get indigestion from eating still-warm bread? I know I do, but I suspect it's more through overconsumption than mythical powers. I recently returned to a life of sourdoughs and have been experimenting in an unconventional way. Sourdough bread is true slow food, but can it be done fast? Surprisingly, yes. With a bread machine!

Eggplant does not play a part in my life. I do not understand eggplant. I hate the smell of it cooking. But there is an exception. I can eat cupfuls of baba ghanoush. It's so easy to make, marries so well with good bread, and keeps vampires at bay.

Dear meringue shell crazy people,

It's time for fillings, flavours and frippery!

This article will be shorter than the others. I feel that the filling is where the cook has the opportunity to show their initiative and creativity and I want to communicate general principles rather than fine detail.

Macaroniers, Macaronistes et Macaroneurs… So you want to make better macarons? Welcome to the third instalment of La Macaronicité at Syrup & Tang! This time it's all about Italian meringue and some pictures of differences in mixing and oven temperatures.

This is the second in a special series about the macaron de Paris. Find out all the factors which influence successful baking of these beauties, and try out a 'simple' recipe.

Ouch! The lemon tart that took my breath away. Delicious, in that I-want-more-but-it-scares-me kind of way.

Think of Easter and food, and you probably get images of chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. How about a change from the mundane? Scrumptious little buns from Sweden! Cardamom, cream, marzipan. Each bun is about the size of a large apple and filled with a dollop of a marzipan mixture and a layer of whipped cream.