Support Cancer Council's Biggest Morning Tea

You can help those affected by cancer this May or June by bringing your family, friends or workmates together for morning tea, in support of Australia's Biggest Morning Tea.

It is estimated that one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85. Sharing a social cup of tea and some delicious food, while fundraising, is a simple and fun way to help support the work of the Cancer Council.

Australia's Biggest Morning Tea is one of the Cancer Council's leading annual fundraising events. Now in its 23rd year, the official event date is Thursday, May 26, and morning tea fundraisers can be hosted throughout May and June.

Register at biggestmorningtea.com.au or call 1300 65 65 85, to receive a free host kit packed with fundraising ideas, party tips, mouth-watering recipes from celebrity chefs and everything you need to get started.

Biggest Morning Tea ambassadors Luke Mangan and Darren Purchese have provided a couple of recipes to get you started.

Luke Mangan's berries poached in balsamic with vanilla cream

3 punnets strawberries, tops removed and cut into quarters

2 punnets blueberries

1 cup sugar

500ml balsamic vinegar

2 cups water

2 punnets raspberries

300ml cold pouring cream

1 tbsp castor sugar

1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise, reserving the seeds

Lay the washed strawberries and blueberries in a baking dish.

Bring the sugar, vinegar and water to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes then pour the mixture over the strawberries and blueberries.

Cover with cling film immediately to keep the heat in.

After 10 minutes add the raspberries and re-cover, allow to stand on the bench for a minimum of two hours.

For the vanilla cream:

Whip the cold pouring cream with the castor sugar and mix through the vanilla bean seeds.

To serve:

Spoon the berries with the juice into six martini glasses or bowls and serve with a little of the vanilla cream.

Serves 6

Darren Purchese's date and orange and chocolate buttermilk scones

500g plain flour

30g baking powder

125g castor sugar

pinch salt

125g unsalted butter

200ml buttermilk

fine zest of 1 orange

175g dates, pitted, flesh chopped

85g dark chocolate, chopped

egg wash: 1 egg, splash milk, pinch salt

Sieve the flour and baking powder together into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and salt.

Using your fingertips or the paddle of an electric mixer, crumb the ingredients until you have a light, sandy texture.

Add the buttermilk, dates, orange zest and the chocolate. Continue to knead until the dough has been formed. Cover the dough in a bowl with cling film and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Using a rolling pin and a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to three centimetres thick and cut out the scones using a 50-millimetre round cutter. Repeat this process twice with the trimmings. Discard any leftover trimmings.

Place the scones on a baking tray lined with silicone paper or baking paper.

Using a pastry brush, glaze the tops of the scones neatly with the egg wash. Bake at 180C for about 12-15 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

You can try other variations by combining dry goods with the finished dough before cutting. For example: sultanas, choc chips, dried apricots, citrus zest and nuts.

These scones are delicious served warm with organic fruit preserves and clotted cream. Sliced strawberries and creme fraiche can be used for a lighter alternative.

Makes 12-16