Allen - All things sweet: 100 deliciously sweet recipes for every occasion

A great little recipe this: simple, delicious and superfast, too. The white chocolate sauce will also feel very at home with fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.

Serves 6

6 plums

6 tsp brown sugar

For the white chocolate sauce

100ml (3fl oz) double or regular cream

25g (1oz) butter

100g (3oz) white chocolate, chopped or in drops

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F), Gas mark 6.

Cut the plums in half, remove and discard the stones and lay the plums cut side up on a roasting tray. Scatter each half with teaspoon of brown sugar and place in the oven to cook for 2025 minutes or until the plums are tender and juicy.

To make the white chocolate sauce, place the cream and the butter in a saucepan and bring up to the boil to melt the butter. Take off the heat and add in the white chocolate, stirring to melt. Reheat the chocolate sauce just before serving.

To serve, drizzle warm plates generously with the warm white chocolate sauce and place the plums on top.

This cake, which has been inspired by German and Austrian baking, has become one of my go-to recipes for when I want something delicious to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

Serves 46

For the crumble

60g (2oz) butter

100g (3oz) brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

50g (2oz) rolled (porridge) oats

For the cake

175g (6oz) plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

75g (3oz) caster sugar

tsp salt

75g (3oz) butter

1 egg

100ml (3fl oz) milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Equipment

20cm (8in) square tin

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), Gas mark 4. Line the base and butter the sides of the tin.

Start by making the crumble top. Melt the butter and mix it in a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon and oats, then set aside.

Put all the dry ingredients for the cake mixture into the bowl of a food processor with the butter and buzz to make a crumbly texture. Mix together the egg, milk and vanilla extract and beat lightly, then pour into the flour and mix in the food processor, pulsing a couple of times until it forms a soft dough. Alternatively, place the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter, then mix in the beaten egg, milk and vanilla extract.

Pour the cake mixture into the lined tin and sprinkle the crumble topping over the top.

Place in the oven and bake for 2530 minutes until set in the centre.

For a breakfast, brunch or mid-afternoon treat, these pancakes take just minutes to knock up and even less time to be demolished by your hungry ones!

Makes about 12 Pancakes

100g (3oz) plain flour

25g (1oz) caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 eggs, separated

125ml (4fl oz) milk

2 tbsp sunflower oil

15g (oz) butter

125g (4oz) blueberries, fresh or frozen

To serve

Icing sugar

Maple syrup

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks with the milk and whisk into the dry ingredients to form a thick batter. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the batter.

Place a frying pan on a mediumhigh heat. When the pan has heated up, drizzle over a few drops of sunflower oil and add a knob of butter to the pan. Allow to melt, then drop in three or four generous tablespoonfuls of batter at a time, leaving plenty of space in between.

Reduce the heat to mediumlow, then place about seven blueberries on each pancake. After about 2 minutes, the pancakes should be turning golden underneath and holes should be forming on the top. At this stage, flip them over and cook for another 12 minutes until golden on both sides.

Serve the pancakes on a warm plate dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with maple syrup.

As if your average French toast werent luxurious enough! When made with buttery croissants, this definitely has a certain je ne sais quoi about it. A great way of using up slightly stale croissants.

Serves 4

1 egg

2 tsp caster sugar

30ml (1fl oz) milk

1 tsp ground ginger

4 croissants, split in half lengthways

20g (oz) butter, for frying

Whisk together the egg, sugar, milk and ginger. Pour into a large, flat dish, place the croissants cut side down in the eggy mixture and allow to soak for a few minutes. Then turn to soak the other side.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. You will probably need to do this in two batches, so use half of the butter at a time. Fry the croissants cut side down first until golden brown, then flip over to cook the crusty side. Serve with a good drizzle of honey and maybe a dollop of softly whipped cream.

When my husbands cousin Ivan Whelan described this ice cream to me, I was instantly intrigued. Just three ingredients and, to top that, three of my very favourite ingredients. This ice cream delivers a rich, but extremely refreshing, punch of flavour. The mango in mint syrup, while not essential, does bring it all together to make a lovely way to end a meal.

Serves 6

For the ice cream

1 x 400g (14oz) tin of coconut milk

1 x 400g (14oz) tin of condensed milk

Juice and finely grated zest of 3 limes

For the mango in mint syrup

50g (2oz) caster or granulated sugar

20 mint leaves, finely chopped

Juice of lime

1 large ripe mango, sliced

To make the ice cream, mix together all the ingredients well with a whisk, then pour into a container and place in the freezer for 34 hours until frozen.

In a small pan over a medium heat, dissolve the sugar in 50ml (2fl oz) water. Allow to cool slightly, then add the mint leaves and lime juice and mix the syrup with the mango slices.

Serve the ice cream with the slices of mango in the lime and mint syrup.

Strawberry and rhubarb has to be my favourite early-summer flavour combination and in this recipe, the two juicy fruits lie underneath a thick blanket of crunchy, buttery deliciousness.

Serves 6

300g (11oz) rhubarb, cut into 2cm (in) pieces

300g (11oz) strawberries, sliced

100g (3oz) caster sugar

For the batter

50g (2oz) butter, plus extra for greasing

225g (8oz) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

75g (3oz) caster sugar

75ml (3fl oz) milk

1 egg

50g (2oz) almonds, chopped

25g (2oz) caster sugar

Equipment

1 litre (1 pint) capacity pie dish

Preheat the oven to 170C (325F), Gas mark 3.