Donna Hay shares her baking secrets

Donna Hay has fond childhood memories of learning to bake. "My grandmother loved to bake, too – she'd fix an apron around my waist and let me help her in the kitchen, teaching me her secret recipes for cakes, cookies and puddings," she says. "Together we made lots of traditional things from scratch, like lemon curd, jams and cakes – I still use her recipe for my Christmas pudding every year."

Hay has compiled more than 250 of her own favourite recipes for cakes, cookies, slices, pies, desserts and icy sweets in her latest cookbook, the handsome 400-page Modern Baking: Cakes, Cookies and Everything in Between (Fourth Estate, RRP $55).

It's cookbook No. 28 for the best-selling cooking author, whose books been translated into 10 different languages. Asked to forecast the next big thing in baking, Hay says we have health on our minds.

"I think we will see a lot more people giving their favourite recipes a healthy makeover by swapping out ingredients for healthier alternatives like buckwheat flour instead of regular flour.

"Recently I've been experimenting with all the new unrefined sugars like coconut and rapadura – they add a lovely rich and almost earthy caramel flavour to your baking."

Salted peanut butter and choc-chip skillet cookies

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups (225g) plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¾ cup (135g) light brown sugar

½ cup (110g) white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

⅔ cup (190g) smooth peanut butter

175g unsalted butter, melted

200g dark chocolate, chopped

½ cup (70g) unsalted peanuts

sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

store-bought vanilla ice-cream, to serve

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180C. Place the flour, bicarbonate of soda, both the sugars, the egg, vanilla, peanut butter, butter, chocolate and peanuts in a large bowl and mix to combine.

Divide dough between 8cm x 10cm round (1-cup-capacity) heavy-based ovenproof frying pans and press to cover the bases evenly, with the mixture coming halfway up the sides of the pans. Place on a large oven tray and bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown but still a little soft in the centre. Allow to cool slightly.

Sprinkle with salt and top with ice-cream to serve.

Serves 8

Molten dulce de leche lava cakes

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

2 egg yolks, extra

1 tsp vanilla extract

1½ cups (450g) store-bought dulce de leche* or thick caramel

¼ cup (35g) plain flour, sifted

store-bought vanilla ice-cream, to serve

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220C. Grease four 1-cup-capacity (250ml) metal dariole (pudding) moulds. Place the eggs, extra yolks and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for four to five minutes or until very thick and pale. Add the dulce de leche and whisk on low speed until just combined.

Add the flour and gently fold to combine. Divide the mixture between the moulds. Place on an oven tray and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden but slightly soft in the centre.

Allow to cool in the moulds for one minute.

Gently run a small knife around the inside edge of the moulds. Invert the cakes onto serving plates. Top with ice-cream and serve immediately.

*Dulce de leche is a rich Latin American caramel sauce made from sweetened milk. It is available in delicatessens and speciality stores.

Serves 4

Passionfruit tart with rum pineapple

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups (375ml) single cream*

3 eggs

5 egg yolks, extra

¾ cup (165g) caster sugar

¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice

¾ cup (180ml) passionfruit pulp (about 9 passionfruit)

Sweet shortcrust pastry

1½ cups (225g) plain flour, plus extra for dusting

½ cup (80g) icing sugar

125g cold unsalted butter, chopped

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp iced water

Caramelised rum pineapple

500g pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced into 3cm pieces

½ cup (125ml) passionfruit pulp (about 6 passionfruit)

½ cup (90g) light brown sugar

¼ cup (60ml) white rum

METHOD

To make the sweet shortcrust pastry, place the flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg yolks and water, and process until a dough just comes together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring the dough together to form a ball. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 160C. Roll out the dough between two sheets of non-stick baking paper to 3mm thick. Line a 22cm loose-based tart tin with the pastry. Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with baking weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the paper and weights and bake for a further 10-12 minutes or until the pastry is light golden. Allow to cool slightly in the tin.

Reduce the oven temperature to 140C. Place the cream, eggs, extra yolks, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl and add the passionfruit. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and bake for 30 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool to room temperature, before refrigerating until chilled.

To make the caramelised rum pineapple, place the pineapple, passionfruit and sugar in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or until caramelised. Add the rum and cook for three minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

Remove the tart from the tin and place on a serving plate.

Top tart with the caramelised rum pineapple to serve.

Serves 6

Banana and coconut three-milk cake

INGREDIENTS

180g unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (220g) castor sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs

1 cup (260g) mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour

1 cup (250ml) coconut milk

1 cup (250ml) milk

395g can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups (500ml) single cream, whipped

½ cup (25g) coconut flakes, toasted

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160C. Lightly grease a 22cm round springform tin. Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for six to eight minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana and flour and beat on low speed until just combined.

Spoon the mixture into the tin. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin.

Use the skewer to make holes all over the cake, pushing it three-quarters of the way to the base. Place the coconut milk, milk and sweetened condensed milk in a large jug and whisk well to combine. Place the cake tin on a tray to catch any spills and gradually pour the milk mixture over the cake. Refrigerate for two to three hours or until the milk mixture has been absorbed.

Top the cake with the cream and sprinkle with the coconut flakes. Slice to serve.

Serves 8

Strawberries and cream ice-cream bars

INGREDIENTS

50g 70 per cent dark chocolate, melted

10g freeze-dried strawberries*, finely chopped

Strawberry layer

400g strawberries, hulled and chopped

¼ cup (60ml) maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Cream layer

2 medium bananas (360g), peeled and sliced

2½ cups (625ml) coconut cream

½ cup (125ml) maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

METHOD

To make the strawberry layer, place the strawberry, maple syrup and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Cook, stirring, for 15 minutes or until the strawberry is soft and the liquid has thickened. Allow to cool slightly.

Roughly mash with a fork and set aside. To make the cream layer, place the banana, coconut cream, maple syrup and vanilla in a large jug. Using a hand-held stick blender, blend until smooth.

Add 1 cup (250ml) of the cream mixture to the strawberry mixture. Stir to combine and refrigerate until needed.

Line a 20cm square slice tin with non-stick baking paper.

Pour the remaining cream mixture into the tin and freeze for two hours or until firm. Spread evenly with the strawberry mixture and freeze for four hours or overnight until firm.

Allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Use a hot knife to cut the slice into bars. Drizzle with the chocolate and sprinkle with the chopped freeze-dried strawberries to serve.

*Freeze-dried strawberries are available in supermarkets and specialist grocers.

Makes 8

Caramel popcorn, salted almond and malt cookies

INGREDIENTS

⅔ cup (120g) light brown sugar

½ cup (110g) white sugar

100g unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup (150g) plain flour, sifted

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ cup (30g) malted milk powder, sifted

1 tsp sea salt flakes

2 cups (75g) store-bought caramel popcorn

1 cup (160g) salted roasted almonds, chopped

dark hot chocolate, to serve

METHOD

Preheat oven to 160C. Line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place both the sugars, the butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed for five minutes or until pale and creamy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and beat until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, milk powder and salt and beat until just combined. Add the popcorn and almonds and fold to combine.

Shape 2-tablespoon portions of the dough into balls and place on the trays, flattening slightly and allowing room to spread. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cookies are golden. Allow to cool on the trays before serving with hot chocolate.

Makes 16

Edited extract from Modern Baking by Donna Hay (Fourth Estate, $55).

Donna Hay's five tips for the novice cook

1. Master a few simple basics and you will quickly see how easy it can be to make brilliant and impressive dishes you'll love to cook again and again.

2. If there's one skill that definitely helps, it's patience. Baking sometimes takes time and can't be rushed – like folding ingredients together, you just need to take your time.

3. It's important to remember that baking is science (that's one of the reasons I love it so much!) so always measure and weigh the ingredients carefully for your baking to work perfectly every time.

4. Even the best cook in the world has fails. In fact, sometimes the fails are the most interesting ... I guess I'm a bit of a geek like that. I'm fascinated to try to work out, what went wrong? Why didn't the base stick together? What happened to the mousse?

5. And finally, I'd say … Be kind to yourself, take it slow, measure the ingredients correctly and start with something simple. You'll be great.