“My favourite kind of Indian desserts are custards and creams. I can remember savouring silky smooth shrikhand and rich warm kheer during big holiday dinner. Possets give me the same type of feel. They are a citrus-flavoured (usually lemon) dessert that has a texture similar to pudding or pot de crème but without eggs…”

“Dirty chai is a chai with a shot of espresso, and it’s what kept me going through grad school. The combination of chai spices, milky black tea, and bitter coffee is stellar. You can make this semi-homemade if you’re short on time by using boxed brownie mix. I promise I won’t judge…”

“My mom has an intense green thumb, and her pride and joy is her night-blooming jasmine. Summer nights were spent sitting outside basking in the aroma of jasmine while eating freshly cut fruit from my dad. This tiramisu is an edible version of those memories, and it’s made with ladyfingers that are soaked in a delicate jasmine tea and layered with ripe strawberries and a velvety…”

“This tart-ified version of a carrot cake might not be an obvious classic, but it belongs in this chapter as a great foundational recipe for the tarts in our ‘Not Your Average Tarts’ chapter. The cream cheese glaze is what makes this one special – it’s designed to taste the same as a typical cream cheese frosting and to sit perfectly flat across the top of the tart…”

“Being a travelling monk in sixteenth-century Sicily couldn’t have been easy. During Lent, the season of austerity preceding Easter, monks were expected to hike on foot day after day for forty days, ministering to the faithful across the land. Although they were able to stop at monasteries for sustenance, eating meat was prohibited…”

“Unusually for an Asian nation, the Vietnamese have a fondness for coffee – a taste they acquired from their French colonisers. (Interestingly, Vietnam supplies the world coffee trade with much of its robusta beans, most of which end up as instant coffee.) The left-over syrup keeps well and tastes delicious spooned over ice-cream.”

“Being a travelling monk in sixteenth-century Sicily couldn’t have been easy. During Lent, the season of austerity preceding Easter, monks were expected to hike on foot day after day for forty days, ministering to the faithful across the land. Although they were able to stop at monasteries for sustenance, eating meat was prohibited…”

“If you’ve been to the Caffè Sicilia in Noto, it’s likely you’ve had your way with a warm brioche dipped into a bowl of slushy granita di mandorle made with freshly pressed almond milk. It’s a deliciously fragrant contrast of textures and temperatures. Although they call it a granita, it’s more like a cremolata. Unlike granita, where you want a bit of crunch…”

“There’s an excellent Sicilian pasticceria in my neighborhood in Brooklyn called Monteleone, owned by a man who was born and raised in Sicily. His pastries taste as authentic as any you’ll find in Sicily and, lucky for all of us, he makes cuccidati year-round, not just at Christmas time. (That’s when he makes a larger, ring-shaped version called buccellati, or bracelets.)…”

“Pistachios are super tasty, vibrantly colourful and chock-full of healthy fats. In addition to being highly nutritious, they’re also very forgiving to the baker – the high fat content provides incredible moisture and makes it almost impossible to overbake this cake. We tend to use whole pistachios and grind them fresh, as they oxidise quickly once ground. A top tip is to…” – Michael & Pippa James

“The wow-factor of a clafoutis is inversely proportional to the ease of making one. Just before dinner, make a quick batter, lay some beautiful seasonal fruit into a baking dish and pour the batter over the top. Pop it in the oven while you eat your meal and enjoy a satisfyingly creamy, fruit-based, baked custard pudding to follow. No pastry, no fuss…” – Michael & Pippa James

“It’s not clear whether the reference to wealth here relates to the caloric value of this chocolate-topped caramel slice, or the fact that sugar and chocolate were out of reach for the average Scottish peasant back in the day. Let’s just settle on the fact that this is R I C H. And delicious. A small piece, savoured slowly, is perfect….” – Michael & Pippa James

Want homemade cake but not the palaver that goes with baking? You know the drill… dusting off the mixer… creaming butter and sugar… cleaning up the aftermath. Yeah nah, sometimes you’re just not up for it. Enter this Thai-inspired, sticky rice-based deliciousness. Comprising just four ingredients, it’s so darned easy to make, requiring no oven and using the simplest of techniques. It’s failsafe! And yum…

"This recipe came from our neighbour Mona, who grew up in Hama in Syria, her childhood home built along the river. A wonderful cook, she would make this layered dish whenever she came to one of our gatherings. It has lived on in our spreads ever since." - Karima Hazim Chatila & Siline Tabbouch

"Mum’s tarator has a large handful of finely chopped parsley tossed through it, which gives it a freshness and a rustic texture that works so well against the fried cauliflower. Although traditionally the tarator is served in a small bowl beside the cauliflower; we like to drizzle it all over the pile of golden fried florets and scatter with a generous pinch of Aleppo pepper for an extra smoky crunch." - Karima Hazim Chatila & Siline Tabbouch

"Labne belongs on every breakfast table and is perfect spread on a Za’atar Manoushe with fresh mint, olives, tomatoes and cucumber. Homemade labne topped with olive oil lasts in the fridge for a few weeks so it is worth making it yourself. Leave it to strain for slightly longer, for a thicker, creamier texture." - Karima Hazim Chatila & Siline Tabbouch

“Named ‘juak’ after the shape of a pebble, this traditional Korean dessert is a perfect combination of chewy, sticky rice bathed in jocheong (rice syrup). In the past, Gaeseong Juak was an essential dessert for special guests and wedding ceremonies. Today, it’s a steady seller at Korean dessert cafes and has actually become somewhat trendy.” - Jung Eun Chae

“We’ve put this fish ball soup on the menu at CHAE. It’s nice on a cold day because it’s hot and a bit spicy. The main tip for success is to make the kelp stock the day before and cook it for at least 5 hours. If you can’t find monkfish, you can replace it with another firm fish such as snapper; prawns (shrimp) are fine too.” - Jung Eun Chae

“Kimchi-jjim is one of Korea’s favourite dishes, a daily food that every family will prepare in a slightly different way. Even when the recipe is the same, everyone’s kimchi is different so the dish will have its own character. I’ve even changed my recipe from my mum’s version: she doesn’t use stock. I’ll eat this any day, any time with boiled rice.” - Jung Eun Chae

“When most people think of laksa, a bowl of brothy slurpy noodles comes first to mind, so a dry laksa might sound like a curious thing. I first had dry laksa at a friend’s place. Her father would politely interrupt every maths revision session with a plate of food, because ‘you can’t study on an empty stomach’. I vividly remember Uncle’s dry laksa; he had tried it at a trendy new café and recreated it for us…