Help! I can't get my pizza base crisp

I can't get my pizza base crisp. L. Haines

Thank you for emailing that photo of your pizza L. Haines, what a nice kitchen bench you have. Your trouble is you're treating your pizza like it's a salad bar. Vegetables are good for you but stacking them like that on a pizza is simply insulating the dough and releasing liquid into the base. Hence your rigidity problem. Follow these instructions and get back to me. One: put a pizza stone in the oven. (A mate of mine uses a paving stone from his local garden centre). Two: turn the oven to the highest it will go and leave it there until it is hot; 30 minutes to an hour. Three: saute the veg first. This releases water into the pan and not into the dough. Four: drain fresh mozzarella. Five: less is more. Scant toppings are best. Six: serve with a salad.

Is there a cake icing that can handle transport? It's a novelty cake for an event. D. Hampshire

Well, there is no icing that could have handled the ride we got in an Uber cab recently. It went smack, bang into the car in front. In stationary traffic! Here are a few ideas. First, make sure the cake is on a solid, flat surface. Entrants aspiring to win blue ribbons in agricultural shows place their cakes on sheets of plywood. (They also drive to the showgrounds at speeds similar to what many did when driving their first baby back from the maternity ward). This stops any warping of the cake that would cause the icing to crack. Choose a cake recipe that produces a good solid cake. Avoid sponge cakes – they are about as stable as a minority government. Consider making marzipan. Take 450 grams of blanched almonds and, using a food processor, blitz to a fine meal. Add 175 grams castor sugar, 280 grams icing sugar, two eggs and half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Blend to form a smooth paste. Dust the bench with a little icing sugar and roll out. Brush the cake with warmed apricot jam and cover with sheets of marzipan. Real homemade marzipan is rather delicious, can be coloured by the addition of food dye or vegetable juice, and can be moulded into fun shapes.

I want my roast vegetables to look like the ones on TV. B. Ruhlman

Depends on what you were watching. MasterChef or Orange Is The New Black? Cut vegetables into roughly the same size and shape. If you want crisp bits then make wedges – the fine edges cook faster. Use a thick heavy-based pan – it will distribute the heat more evenly than a thin pan. A thin, lightweight roasting pan can also lead to charring. Preheat the oven to 220C. Preheat the pan. Add some oil, herbs if desired; add the veg, season, toss. Do not overcrowd the veg. Like a well run yoga class, they need plenty of space around each veg. Overcrowding leads to steaming. Roast for 15 minutes, turn, cook for another 10 minutes. If they still need more time sprinkle with a little water, reduce heat to 180C and cook until tender inside.

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