Murdoch Books Test Kitchen - My Little Mini Cakes & Treats Book: More Than 80 Irresistible Recipes

Cinnamon palmiers

MAKES 50

55 g (2 oz/ cup) sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 x 25 cm (10 inch) square sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F/Gas 6). Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar onto a clean work surface, place the pastry on top and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar. Gently roll over the pastry with a rolling pin to secure the sugar, brush with half the melted butter and slice in half. Use your fingers to gently roll up one long side as tightly as possible to the middle. Repeat with the remaining side and the remaining piece of pastry. Brush with the remaining butter. Wrap the rolls tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for 1520 minutes, or until firm.

Use a small, sharp knife to cut across each roll into 1 cm ( inch) thick slices. Place the palmiers, cut side up, 12 cm ( inch) apart, to allow for spreading, on the prepared tray. Bake for 810 minutes, or until beginning to caramelise. Remove the tray from the oven and carefully flip the palmiers. Bake for a further 23 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, caramelised side up.

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Shredded kataifi pastries

MAKES 40

250 g (9 oz/1 cup) unsalted butter, melted

70 g (2 oz/ cup) ground pistachios

100 g (3 oz/1 cup) ground almonds

510 g (1 lb 2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of ground cloves

2 teaspoons brandy

1 egg white, lightly beaten

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) kataifi pastry (Greek shredded pastry), left at room temperature for 2 hours (in its packaging)

500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) water

1 teaspoon lemon juice

5 cm (2 inch) strip lemon zest

4 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon honey

Preheat the oven to 170C (325F/Gas 3). Brush a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) baking tray with some of the melted butter.

Place the ground nuts in a bowl with 55 g (2 oz/ cup) caster sugar, the ground cinnamon, ground cloves and brandy. Add the egg white and stir to make a paste. Divide the mixture into eight portions and roll each into a log about 18 cm (7 inches) long.

Take a handful of the pastry strands and spread them out on a work surface, with the strands running lengthways towards you, to measure 25 x 18 cm (10 x 7 inches). Brush with some of the melted butter. Cut the pastry in half. Place one of the nut logs at the end of the pastry nearest to you and roll up into a neat log shape. Repeat with the other pastry portions and nut logs. Place the pastry rolls close together on the prepared baking tray and brush with more melted butter. Bake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.

Place the remaining sugar in a small saucepan with the water and stir over low heat until dissolved. Add the lemon juice, zest, whole cloves and cinnamon stick and boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the honey and set aside to cool.

When the pastries come out of the oven, pour the cold syrup over the top. Leave to cool completely before cutting each roll into five pieces.

Rose scented milk fritters

MAKES 40

100 g (3 oz/1 cup) powdered milk

50 g (1 oz/1/3 cup) blanched almonds, ground

155 g (5 oz/1 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

teaspoon ground cardamom

30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter, chopped

60 g (2 oz/ cup) plain yoghurt

23 tablespoons water vegetable oil, for deep-frying

ROSEWATER SYRUP

220 g (7 oz/1 cup) sugar

375 ml (13 fl oz/1 cups) water

2 drops of rosewater

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the yoghurt and water. Mix with a flat-bladed knife to form a soft dough. Shape tablespoons of the mixture into small balls and cover with a damp cloth.

To make the rosewater syrup, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and stir until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the rosewater.

Fill a heavy-based saucepan one-third full of oil and heat to 180C (350F/Gas 4), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds. Deep-fry the dough balls in batches until deep brown and slightly puffed. Dont cook too quickly or the balls wont cook through. Drain in a sieve set over a bowl. Place the warm balls in a deep bowl and pour the syrup over the top. Leave to soak and cool until still slightly warm. Drain and serve immediately piled in a bowl.

Nutmeg slice

MAKES 16

250 g (9 oz/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

teaspoon ground cardamom

teaspoon baking powder

280 g (10 oz/1 cups) soft brown sugar

125 g (4 oz/ cup) unsalted butter, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

185 ml (6 fl oz/ cup) milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

185 g (6 oz/1 cups) roughly chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). Lightly grease a 20 cm (8 inch) square baking tin and line the base with baking paper, extending the paper over two opposite sides for easy removal later.Place the flour, nutmeg, cardamom, baking powder and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process until combined. Add the butter and pulse in short bursts until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Transfer 1 cups of mixture to the prepared tin and press down using your fingertips.