My favourite cuisines are without a doubt Japanese and Korean. It’s a bit surprising perhaps considering that I have a strong aversion to seafood, and I’m a massive cheese fiend. This crunchy salad has been my go-to salad for years. It’s delicious with spring rolls, gyoza, tofu katsu or simply topped with a fried egg.

Ingredients

Sweetheart cabbage or green cabbage
Carrots
Daikon or radishes
Gherkins
Black sesame seeds
Rice vinegar
Toasted sesame oil
Soy sauce

Preparation method

1. Grate carrots and radishes into a large bowl. Shred the cabbage and slice the gherkins. Add them to the bowl and mix all the vegetables together.

2. In a small bowl mix all the ingredients for the sesame dressing. I do this to taste but I would advice you to not go overboard with the sesame oil. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until all the vegetables are evenly coated.

Note: I mixed mayonnaise with Eat the Bits Chilli Oil and drizzled it over the salad but it’s equally yummy with gochujang (fermented Korean chilli paste). If you decide to use neither, add fresh ginger and garlic to the dressing. Also, try adding bean sprouts or edamame to the salad.

Recipe adapted from The Art of French Baking by Ginette Mathiot. Makes approximately 23 biscuits.

Ingredients

125g caster sugar
100g dairy-free butter
1 egg
1 tbsp soya milk
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 tsps baking powder
250g plain flour
4 tbsps apricot jam, preferably smooth
100g desiccated coconut

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with non-stick baking paper.

2. Cream sugar and butter in a large bowl until pale and fluffy. In a small bowl beat the egg with the soya milk, then add it along with the vanilla to the large bowl.

3. In another medium-sized bowl mix baking powder and flour together. Add this to the large bowl taking care to incorporate. The dough should be smooth, thick and slightly sticky.

4. Roll balls of dough about the size of a walnut between your hands. Place the balls on the baking trays, spaced about 5 cm apart. Bake for 10 minutes then turn the oven up to 200C and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Leave the biscuits to cool on a wire rack.

5. Once completely cooled warm the apricot jam and sieve it if not using the smooth kind. Pour the coconut on to a side plate. Roll the biscuits in the jam and then in the coconut.
I cannot recommend The Art of French Baking highly enough. It’s a fantastic baking book that covers absolutely everything. There’s even a Maison Bertaux recipe in it which happens to be one of my favourite places to have cake in London.

This cake is one of my favourites and the strawberries make it the ultimate summer cake. I’ve previously made it with blueberries and with a raspberry blueberry combination.
Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food.

Ingredients

175g soft (dairy-free) butter
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
225g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsps vanilla extract
150ml soured cream
450g strawberries
200g cream cheese
100g icing sugar

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 20cm springform cake tin with non-stick baking paper.

2. Put the butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla in a bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes until lighter in colour and well mixed. Beat in 4 tbsp soured cream. Quarter the strawberries and fold 350g of them into the batter.

3. Tip the mixture into the tin and spread it level. Bake for 50 minutes until it is risen, feels firm to the touch and springs back when lightly pressed. When the cake is cool enough to handle, take it out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. To make the frosting, beat the soft cheese with the icing sugar and the remaining soured cream in a bowl until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake and scatter with the remaining strawberries. The cake will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

Ingredients

50g (dairy-free) butter
150g dark chocolate digestives
200g cream cheese
75g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g good quality dark (85%) chocolate
130ml double cream

Preparation method

1. Melt the butter. Crush the chocolate digestives. Mix the butter with the biscuits and line a 20cm springform cake tin with the mixture. Refrigerate.

2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Set aside to cool.

3. Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites until stiff. In a medium-sized bowl, lightly whip the cream. Set aside.

4. Blend the cheese, sugar and egg yolks together in a big bowl until smooth. Mix in the melted chocolate, taking care to incorporate.

5. Fold in the lightly whipped cream. Once incorporated, carefully fold in the whisked egg whites.

6. Spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base and leave to set in the fridge.

Note: It is crucial that all the ingredients are at room temperature and that you let the melted chocolate cool down considerably. You don’t want to scramble the egg yolks when adding the chocolate.