Scoop something cold and sweet into something soft and bready for a scrumptious sandwich treat

The Amalfi coast, summer 2005: I’m 14 years old and on a family holiday. I keep seeing people eating these brioche rolls stuffed with ice-cream and, naturally, they’re all I can think about. When I finally get one, it’s not at all how I’d imagined – the brioche is a bit stale, and the sun melts the ice-cream inside and it runs down my elbow. I still love the idea of it, though, and I like to think this version is an improvement on that first one I ate in Italy.

All four Thai flavour sensations – salty, sweet, sour and fragrant – feature in a prawn salad with green mango and peanuts and a pineapple coconut lime loaf for dessert

I still remember the first time I tried Thai green mango salad. It was, and is, a heady combination of flavours: salt, in both crystals and from fish sauce; sugar, preferably unrefined; fresh chilli, lots of it; citrus tang from the lime; and lots of aromatic notes from the herbs. It’s also very simple to bash together at home, as is this embellished version with prawns and peanuts. Just make sure you have a large pestle and mortar, which is the secret to many a great sauce.

Store-cupboard heaven: a no-bake, creamy coconut and passionfruit tart with a biscuit base, and a simple and adaptable spiced pineapple tart with bay cream

I’ve always felt that dessert is the best part of a meal. And I’m typically the designated dessert person – the one who volunteers to bring along something sweet. It’s a role I take very seriously. My new book is full of the recipes I make for those cosy dinner parties with friends, for church potlucks, last-minute get-togethers, weekend lunches, big family gatherings and everything in between. These two tarts put store-cupboard staples and tropical fruits to work for an easy, refreshing end to any meal.

Teenagers queue outside bakeries to buy pastry seen on TikTok that puts American twist on French pâtisserie

It was 3 February when the queues started forming at Boulangerie Louvard in Paris. Even in the sort of downpour that usually empties streets, clued-up teenagers gathered outside the family-run bakery in the 9th arrondissement, desperate to get their hands on one thing: its owner Stéphane Louvard’s invention, le crookie.

It’s a crisp croissant filled with American-style cookie dough, then baked to achieve a soft, gooey centre, and a video of the Frankensteined pastry had gone viral on TikTok.

A fresh take on seasonal favourites adds Middle Eastern spice and cleverly accommodates leftover hot cross buns for afters

The daffodils are out, parading their annual magnificence, and I can’t help but be enchanted by the beauty of spring. While I’m not religious, I also can’t help but revel in the festivities of Easter. Eggs, lamb and hot cross buns are all traditional, but these fuss-free recipes give them a new lease of life. Buy in some flatbreads and pickles to serve alongside the meat, so you aren’t stuck in the kitchen for the whole day. After all, there are more important things to do – such as hunting for chocolate eggs!

A creamy twist on a childhood favourite

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Trim 500g rhubarb , removing the pale ends of the stalks and any dry edges. Cut the stems into short lengths, roughly 5cm, then put them into a baking dish and sprinkle with 3 tbsp of sugar . Slice an orange in half, squeeze the juice of both halves over the rhubarb and sugar and bake for about 15-20 minutes until the rhubarb is soft and deep pink. There should be plenty of juice around the edges of the dish. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a chilled bowl, whip 250g of double cream till almost thick. It should be stiff enough to sit in soft mounds but not stiff enough to hold a peak.

The singular delights of one-person dishes

Sometimes, it is good to have something all to yourself. An individual dish of something delicious that is all your own. I broke the habit of a lifetime this week, bringing dinner to the table in small pots or dishes, one per person, rather than putting a large pot on the table for everyone to tuck in. It felt strangely special, as if it was everyone’s birthday.

An individual dish of smoked fish and cream threaded with emerald green spinach, its surface bronzed and bubbling, was a recipe so simple it was barely called cooking and yet delighted everyone. I put hot brown toast on the table, too, with which to mop up the sauce, and a crisp salad to balance the creamy notes of the fish. Rather than making a classic cream sauce, the smoked fish was mixed with cream, parsley and a little smooth, mild mustard then spooned into the individual dishes. I used hot-smoked salmon for their thick fillets and deep, smoky notes, but could have just as easily used smoked haddock or even kipper fillets.

The chef explains why cooks are like musicians and presents a special Easter menu with a lamb centrepiece and an indulgent dessert

The watery reaches of Buckinghamshire, beloved of bankers and 1980s celebrities, have been subject to so much flooding in recent winters that posh new houses are built to float. Though the future of this countryside is uncertain, the desire for pubs in a town like Marlow remains and Tom Kerridge owns three on the high street: the Hand & Flowers (two Michelin stars, Cornish “tin mine” tart on the menu); the Coach (one Michelin star, turbot scotch egg); and the Butcher’s Tap and Grill, with a sister pub in London’s Chelsea, which is “basically lumps of meat”, as Kerridge puts it. The Butcher has a real butcher’s in the bar area complete with tangy aromas. Men in woollen coats pop in to buy grass-fed bavette steaks and Blur’s The End plays over the sound system. Kerridge is striding down Marlow High Street on a mobile phone, deep in business – then he swings in.

His sweatshirt is covered in mock heavy-metal insignia, running up and down the sleeves like tattoos: a snake on a crucifix, a skeleton-like Iron Maiden’s Eddie. In another life the nation’s most down-to-earth chef would have been in a band. He and his wife, the sculptor Beth Cullen, lived in Camden at the height of the Britpop era: their eight-year-old son Acey (Anglo Saxon for first born) was originally going to be called Jarvis until they realised it didn’t sound great in Cullen’s Stoke-on-Trent accent. Before Britpop, he was a West Country raver. At school he hung out with the bad boys but kept his nose clean: “I was attracted by the naughty boy but I wasn’t a troublemaker. I like hanging around chaos.” Mainstream education didn’t agree with him, and when he won Celebrity Mastermind in 2015 with his specialist subject Oasis, it was the most revision he’d done in his life.

Only four ingredients are involved in this step-by-step guide to the custardy classic with the crusty top

From gelato to quiche, I’ve never met a custard I didn’t like – and you can’t get much more custardy than a crunchy, creamy creme brulee, which, despite its name, is probably as English as Bird’s custard powder and arguably even more delicious. Fancy enough to impress, yet surprisingly simple to execute in advance, it’s an excellent choice for a special occasion.

Prep 5 min
Cook 50 min
Makes 2