Apple And Amaretti Tart  Serves 4. (Recipe by Tamsin Burnett-Hall, Sainsbury's Magazine)
Ingredients: For the base - 4oz plain flour, pinch salt, 2oz butter at room temperature, 2oz caster sugar, 1½oz Amaretti biscuits, crushed small.
                     For the topping - 1½ lb. Bramley apples, ½oz caster sugar, ½ tsp. cinnamon, 1oz melted butter.
You will need: a 9" loose bottomed flan tin, lightly greased.
Oven temperature: Gas mark 6, 400F, 200C.

Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl and rub in butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.  (If you have a food processor this takes a few seconds).  Add the sugar and Amaretti crumbs, and press the mixture firmly into the tin.  Peel quarter and core the apples.  Slice each one finely, holding the slices together as you cut.  Fan each section then arrange on the crumble base in concentric circles, the ends pointing into the centre.  The slices must be close together so all the fruit fits on.  Brush the tart with the melted butter.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over.  Bake on a high shelf 35-40 minutes until the apples are cooked and tinged with brown.  It is important to let the tart cool in the tin, so the apple juices sink into the base to give it a chewy texture.  (Linda's comment.  Serve at room temperature with cream, ice-cream or Greek yoghurt, or - my own favourite, chilled crème fraiche.  )

Apricot Almond Shortcake. Serves 4. (Recipe in BBC Good Food Magazine)
Ingredients:     For the base - 6oz self-raising flour, 2oz caster sugar, 3oz butter or margarine, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk.
                         For the filling - 2oz ground almonds, 2oz caster sugar plus 2 tbsp., grated rind and juice of 1 orange, 1 eggwhite, 14oz can of apricot halves in natural juice. icing sugar for dusting.
You will need: a greased 8 inch flan tin or pie plate.
Oven temperature: 190C, 375F, gas Mark 5, (Fan oven 170C, bake from cold.)

Rub butter or margarine into the flour until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in sugar.  Mix in the egg and yolk to make a soft dough. Press the dough into your prepared tin to make a 8 inch base.  Mix together the almonds, 2oz sugar, orange rind and eggwhite.  Spread this mixture over the base.  Drain the juice from the apricots and reserve it. Arrange apricots over the base, cut side down.  Bake 25-30 minutes, till golden.  Meanwhile, put orange juice and apricot juice in a small pan with remaining 2 tbs sugar and boil fast until reduced by half. Drizzle some syrup over the warm shortcake, and serve the rest separately.  Dust the dessert with icing sugar to serve. (Linda's comment. You can prepare the base and filling a few hours in advance, and pop the apricots on just before you bake it.  To serve - no one will stop you adding a dollop of cream, crème fraiche, Greek yoghurt or a scoop of ice cream on the side!)

Dark Chocolate Puddings With White Chocolate and Amaretto Sauce. Serves 4. (Recipe by Sara Buenfeld, in BBC Good Food Magazine)
Ingredients:    3½oz plain chocolate, 3½oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing,  5½oz caster sugar, 2 eggs, 2egg yolks, 2oz plain flour.
For the sauce:   2¾oz white chocolate, ¼ pint double cream, 1tbs Amaretto or brandy. Cocoa powder to decorate.
You will need:   Four 7floz ramekins, buttered.
Oven temperature: 190C, 375F , Gas Mark 5 (Fan ovens 170C)

Melt chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a pan of hot water (or in a microwave oven), until smooth, then let the mixture cool a little.  Whisk the sugar, eggs and yolks in a bowl and add the melted chocolate, then sift in the flour and whisk together.  Pour into the ramekins and bake for 25 minutes till risen and spongy.  The puddings will keep warm in a turned-off oven while you make the sauce.  In a pan over a low heat, heat the cream and white chocolate until the chocolate is melted.  Remove from heat and stir in Amaretto.  Turn out the puddings onto plates, crusty side up, and pour the sauce round then dust with cocoa.   (Linda's comment.  The combination of the dreamy creamy sauce soaking into the intense chocolate sponge is deliriously good. )

Lemon Cream With Fruit. Serves 6. (Recipe by Mary Cadogan)
Ingredients: 8oz curd cheese, 3oz icing sugar, 1 tsp grated fresh lemon rind, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, ½ pint double cream, 1½lb fruit of your choice ( nicest with summer fruits such as strawberries, cherries etc), 2 tbsp liqueur of your choice. 
You will need - a large seive or mould with holes in the base, and a piece of muslin.

Mix the curd cheese, sugar, rind and juice. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape, and fold it into the curd cheese mixture. Line the mould  or sieve with the muslin, fill with the cream mixture and smooth the top. Set it over a bowl to catch the drips, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.  To serve, turn the cream out onto a plate, and remove the muslin.  Make a fruit salad by slicing the strawberries and mixing them with the other fruit and the liqueur.  Spoon the fruit around the cream.  Serve with shortbread.  (Linda's comments. I used strawberries, lychees and orange liqueur.   Great recipe for a dinner party when you don't have too much time on the day.)

Easy Strawberry Trifle  Serves 6-8.  (Slightly adapted from recipe by Sarah Randall in Sainsbury's Magazine)
Ingredients: 12-16oz fresh strawberries.  3floz sherry or madeira,    madeira cake, strawberry conserve, 1x400g tub fresh custard, 1x250g tub mascarpone, 1x500g tub fromage frais, 1 teaspoon caster sugar, a few  drops vanilla essence, toasted flaked almonds.

Cut eight slices madeira cake and sandwich together with strawberry conserve. Place these in your trifle dish. Hull and halve the strawberries and put three quarters into the trifle dish.  Cover them with the custard.  Put the mascarpone, fromage frais, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and whisk with an electric whisk till incorporated.   Spread this on top of the other trifle ingredients, decorate with the reserved strawberries and the almonds. Chill until needed - can be made several hours in advance or even the night before. (Linda's comments. Without the traditional whipped cream topping this trifle tastes fresh and very more-ish. Expect guests to want seconds or even thirds!)

Blackcurrant Slump. Serves 6 (Recipe from Sainsbury's Magazine)
Ingredients: 1½lb fresh blackcurrants (see Linda's variation below), 6oz caster sugar, 3floz water, 1oz cornflour dissolved in 1½tbs water, 1x250g tub mascarpone.
For the topping: 6oz self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch salt, 2oz demerara sugar, grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, 2oz melted butter, preferably unsalted, 3floz milk.

Place fruit in a pan with 4oz of the sugar and the water, bring to boil, stir and add the cornflour mixture.  Stir then reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.  Pour the fruit into a round (approx 7-8 inches) fairly deep (about 3inches) ovenproof dish. Preheat the oven to 400F/200C/Gas 6. You may need only 180C if it is a fan oven. Mix the mascarpone with the remaining sugar and drop in even spaced blobs over the fruit. Now sift the flour baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add sugar, lemon rind and juice and melted butter.  Add milk and mix gently to a soft consistency without overworking it. Now drop blobs of this mixture onto the blobs of mascarpone. Bake 25 minutes till the scone topping is brown.  Cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
(Linda's comments.  I couldn't get fresh blackcurrants, so I used 1lb cherries, halved and stoned, and a small tin of blackcurrants in natural juice, reduced the amount of sugar,and omitted the water) 

Chocolate Custards. Serves 6-8 (Recipe by Joanna Farrow)
Ingredients: 1/2 pint milk, 1/2 pint double cream, 6oz good quality plain chocolate, 4 egg yolks, 2oz golden caster sugar, 1tsp cornflour, 1tsp cocoa.

Heat the milk and cream in a pan.  Break up the chocolate, add to the pan and heat gently till it has melted.  Whick the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour, and cocoa in a bowl.  Stir in the chocolate mixture, mix well, then return to the pan.  Cook gently, stirring with a wooden spoon.  When the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon, it is ready.  Pour into serving glasses, and let it set.  (Linda's comments:  The cornflour helps to stabilise the egg mixture, and makes no difference to the taste.  I like to add a sprinkling of chopped white chocolate to decorate.  The eggwhites will sit happily in your freezer till you need them)