Makes 30 Note

Unleash your inner magic with the help of Women's Day and create this delightful fairy wings cake. You could experiment with all kinds of colours and sweets to create different effects.

The little ones will be talking about this brilliant monster pinata by Woman's Day long after the party is over. What a fun and clever alternative to the papier-mâché version!

Use baking paper as handles to lift cake from pan. Do not turn it upside down as the crumble may fall off. If you cannot find pear slices, use pear halves, drain well and slice thickly. Note

Wheaten cornflour gives a lighter result, but normal cornflour can be used. Note

These adorable (and delicious) reindeer cookies and perfect for Christmas time. Make them with the family for a fun day baking, or give them as gifts to your loved ones.

Dedicated bakers can make their own snakes and ladders 'game mat' with multi coloured cake squares and add musk stick or liquorice strap ladders to complete this Women's Day masterpiece.

If you can’t find a bell-shaped cutter, make a bell template from heavy card, place on dough and cut around it. MAKES 24 Note

Creating the chequered effect that makes this silk cake by Woman's Day so visually stunning is actually quite simple. All it takes is a few drops of food colouring and some ganache.

Three classic icing recipes for all your baking needs. Photography by Rob Shaw/ bauersyndication.com.au

Delicious and divinely pretty, these Turkish delight cupcakes are an exquisite treat to make for an afternoon tea party or any other elegant celebration.

Make your own gorgeous white wedding cake.

The combination of sweet toffee with crunchy roasted is brilliant in these fun desserts. Your kids will love sucking on these peanut brittle pops for an after school or weekend treat.

A mouth-watering chocolate pavlova with raspberries that's sure to impress.

Create the perfect white meringues.

One of the, many, great things about a classic steamed Christmas pudding is that you can get all of the cooking and steaming out of the way ahead of time and reheat in the microwave when you're ready to eat.

Baked orange custards brought to you by New Zealand Woman's Weekly

The slightly astringent flavour of quince is the perfect foil to the sweet creaminess of cheesecake, especially when doused in fresh lemon juice. This quince and vanilla cheesecake has our favourite granita biscuit base. Yum.

The real pleasure in this lime meringue pie lies in the airy heap of soft meringue, crisped golden in places. And in the piquant lime curd and biscuity base. Also, in scoffing a big slice of it.

Scrumptious little treats with a fun pink glaze.

Choc-raspberry meringue gateau, egg recipe, brought to you by Australian Women's Weekly

Swap the custard for fruit in this new brûlée recipe.

A fluffly winter pavlova with tangy tamarillos.

A ginger kiss that is perfect for an afternoon cup of tea with visitors, or on your own.

A simply delicious recipe with vanilla apple and whipped cream from the city of love.

Sweet, dense and oozing with sticky golden syrup, this gorgeous steamed pudding is perfect served warm with a dollop of cream or ice-cream for an indulgent weekend treat.

Try these delicious morsels for your next afternoon tea.

Smooth, sweet and glossy, here is a recipe for royal icing that you can use on your cakes, cupcakes and desserts.

The perfect balance of sweet and tart, this delicious candied orange peel recipe can be included in desserts, cakes and savoury dishes like tagines.

Basic cup cakes make a great project when you're looking to bake with the kids on a wet afternoon.

These traditional Parisian delicacies are named after a palm tree because, when baked, they resemble palm fronds. Palmiers were probably invented as a way to make use of puff pastry scraps; quick and easy, they're great for afternoon tea.

There's something about warm cake that can turn even the most anti-sweet toothed reaching for the fork. These warm ginger and date muffins with caramel sauce are worth writing home about.

The dark caramel flavours of brown sugar and golden syrup spiced with cinnamon mean these simple golden cinnamon biscuits are absolutely full of flavour.

Chocolate cinnamon scroll

These scone-style dumplings are light, fluffy and perfect for soaking up the treacly, delicious golden syrup sauce.

If you can lay your hands on some home-grown limes for this lime and ginger marmalade then grab them. Either way, make sure you give the fruit a really good scrub before preparing it for the pan.

Rosewater pistachio crêpes

Equipment: two 12-hole (1-tablespoon/20ml) mini muffin tins two 8cm x 26cm (3¼-inch x 10½-inch) bar cake pans 30cm x 47cm (12-inch x 18¾-inch) rectangular prepared cake board piping bag fitted with 2mm (⅛-inch) plain nozzle Leave one bar cake whole, cut the other into two pieces, as shown. Note

Limencello is an Italian lemon liqueur from liquor stores; you could always use white rum instead. To make the removal of plum stones easier and to avoid bruising the fruit, use a melon baller. Keep in mind that the plums can be poached a day ahead; keep refrigerated. However, this cake is best made on […]

A twist on a French classic, l'oeufs à la neige, our soft meringues are topped with blackberry fool.

White icing is also known as fondant (it’s the traditional icing used on wedding cakes). It is available in packets from the supermarket and cake decorating shops. Keep the icing that’s not being handled, wrapped tightly in plastic. If logs don’t stick together during rolling, brush sides of logs with a little water. The tent […]

Be sure to remove skewers before cutting and serving cake. This cake is not difficult ­it is, however, time consuming. Note

If using butter cream instead of vanilla frosting, you will need half a quantity of butter cream. We used a selection of small jelly beans, rainbow choc chips and M&M’s for the treasure. You will need 3 x 4-pack (460g) double chocolate chip muffins for this cake. Note

If using butter cream instead of the vanilla frosting, you will need one quantity of butter cream. Note

Try this cake with other fillings such as apple or pear. The cake is best made on the day of serving. Note

While not as old as the Trojan horse used by the Greeks, this cake certainly has the looks of an antique rocker. Note

This goes well with prawns, chicken and pork. Note

Speculaas are a Dutch Christmas biscuit traditionally made in wooden moulds. If you have them, dust with cornflour or flour; press dough mixture into moulds then draw a knife across the surface to scrape off excess. Turn mould over and slap hard to loosen biscuits onto oven trays. Dust mould with flour between each biscuit. […]

Spicy date pudding with butterscotch sauce

Use a melon baller to scoop watermelon into bite-sized balls, if desired, for a more decorative look. Note

Packaged cupcakes usually come iced, however, you can ice over the top with the frosting or remove the icing. Place the muffins in matching paper cases, if you like. Note

This king of the jungle cake will be a hit with young explorers at a jungle-themed safari. If the weather is wet or humid, chop the Violet Crumble bars and position them on the cake just before the party, as the damp air will make them sticky. You’ll have about 1 cup of cake mixture […]

To decorate allow for another 200 grams (6½ ounces) fresh raspberries Note

This delightful gnome cake by the Australian Women's Weekly is easier than it looks! All you need is some packet mix, a variety of sweets, some food colouring, and a little creativity! Have fun!

You can swap the almonds for hazelnuts or pistachios if you prefer. Note

Grapefruit probably got their name because they grow in clusters like grapes. Pink or ruby grapefruit have coral-pink flesh and shell- pink skin, and are sweeter and juicier than the yellow-skinned variety. Grenadine is a deep-red syrup based on pomegranate juice and used to both colour and sweeten desserts and drinks. Some versions of grenadine […]

Remember to remove the skewers from the drawbridge before cutting the cake. Note

EQUIPMENT: 12 lengths 18-gauge floral wire Long-nosed pliers Flower glue Styrofoam Block vinyl mat 3cm (1-inch), round cutter 4cm (1½-inch), round cutter 5.5cm (2¾-inch) round cutter Flower mat Ball tool Fine artist’s paint brush Small non-stick rolling pin 12-hole round-based, shallow (1 tablespoon/20ml) patty pan Stamens 1.5cm (¾-inch) 4-petal blossom cutter Florist’s tape 45cm (18-inch) […]

Christmas cutters are available from all good kitchenware shops or cake decorating shops. Note

You can use ready-made air-popped popcorn instead of making your own; you will need about 8 cups. While this looks cute enough for a baby’s first birthday, it’s best not to use the popcorn ­instead, pipe some of the frosting over the sheep to make its woolly coat. Note

Treat your little princess to the sweetest birthday cake around this year.

Allen’s Teeth and Milk Bottles can be found in packets of Allen’s Teeth `n’ Stuff and Allen’s Retro Party Mix. Note

Use a gluten-free packet cake mix for this recipe, if you like. Just make sure the ingredients for the butter cream and the decorations are also gluten-free. Number 4 cake pans can be hired from cake decorating suppliers. Note

We used blue and green Life Savers, mini M&M’s, Skittles and baby jelly beans, but you can use any lollies you like. Note

Violet Crumbles can be substituted with Crunchie bars or any other chocolate-coated honeycomb. Note

Warning, warning… the kids will be back for more of this cute robot cake. Get your little robotics engineer to help with the decorating. Note

The cake mix is enough to make 12 patty cakes, so decorate the other six patty cakes with your own favourite critters & crawlers. Note

You need about 3 large passionfruit for this recipe. Note

Made from little more than apples and a touch of spice, the long slow-cooking concentrates the apple taste. Serve as a dessert cake, perfect for guests with intolerances to wheat or gluten. Note

For a ricotta orange and semolina cake with sticky strawberries: substitute orange rind and juice for the lemon rind and juice in step 2. For a sticky strawberry syrup, use 500g strawberries instead of the cherries and reduce the simmering time to 5 minutes. Note

Stained glass christmas trees

Tying various herbs and spices in a piece of muslin, securing with kitchen string, makes them easier to remove when the chutney is ready to be spooned into jars. Note

You could also make this cake in a deep 18cm round cake pan. This cake is best made on day of serving. Note

Use any remaining cake mixture to make some extra cupcakes for the party. The cake can be completed at least two days ahead. White icing is also known as fondant (it’s the traditional icing used on wedding cakes). It is available in packets from the supermarket and cake decorating shops. Note