Luxury Sherry Trifle with Fresh Raspberries (with Thermomix instructions)

A traditional-based sherry trifle perfect for special occasions - you can leave out the sherry if you want the kids to have some too!

In our family, it has become traditional to make a sherry trifle over the festive period. I have given you the option whether you wish to make this trifle with or without  jelly - I like to make mine without, with plenty of fresh raspberries lightly crushed and crammed into the middle to counteract the sweetness of the sherry-soaked sponge and the custard.

Custard wise, if you own a Thermomix, I've put instructions for making your own custard at the bottom; if not a 500ml tub of good quality thick custard is perfect for the job (or of course, you could make up 500ml of instant custard if you prefer a more set texture).

This should serve around ten people, or a few more if the portions aren't too large!

Raspberry Bakewell Magic Bean Cake (or Cherry Bakewell) - includes Thermomix method

Easy to make, moist and delicious, NO taste of beans (no, really!), and incredibly versatile.

And if you just can't decide whether to go for raspberry or cherry, the beauty of this is that you can make it half and half!

Cherry Bakewell on the top tier, Raspberry Bakewell below (all cooked in the same cake tin).

Moist and almond-y, this makes a great traybake cake and you'll have fun getting people trying to guess what the 'secret ingredient is'! (They won't).This would also be excellent with plums, apricots, nectarines or peaches (cut into quarters or eighths, depending on the size of the fruit) when they're in season, as stone fruits all go really well with almond flavours. The type of fruit you use will dictate how dense the cake is, and what kind of rise you get - e.g. cherries naturally sink towards the bottom and the top rises more, whereas raspberries sit on the top, weighing the cake down more and giving you a more dense, moist result - more of a 'slice' (as you can see above). This is best made in a 9 inch / 22.5cm square tin (or rectangular tin of a similar area).

Cherries to the left, raspberries to the right!

 Another great bonus of this cake, is that not only is it gluten free and grain free, you can also make it dairy free if you want, by using coconut oil (the solid white variety, preferably extra virgin) instead of butter. It's good as a hot dessert too, and needs less cooking time for this (see method).

 This cake gives you 16 portions from 210 calories per serving; or cut into 20, for 168 calories per portion.

If you wish to bake it as a round cake in a smaller,, taller tin, pour in half of the batter, scatter the raspberries over that (I'm not sure I'd recommend trying this with cherries), then pour the rest of the batter on top and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Alternatively, bake as individual little cupcakes / muffins and reduce the cooking time to around 20 minutes - pushing the raspberries into each muffin (or even stir into the mix) before baking rather than leaving them on top. [Calories in square brackets below]

Raspberry and White Chocolate Tart with Black Raspberry Liqueur

This is my go-to dessert when I *really* want to impress...

There's just something about the combination of fresh, tart raspberries offset against the richness of white chocolate and a hint of sourness from creme fraiche, with a crispy dark chocolate pastry encasing it...

Painting the cooled pastry case with a thin layer of dark chocolate means you're not going to get the dreaded 'soggy bottom', and keeps in all the lovely, juicy raspberry filling. It might look a little scary, but trust me - baking is definitely my weak point, and so this one is pretty foolproof and nowhere near as difficult as you might think!

So, now you just need an excuse to make one... right?

Healthy Raspberry Yoghurt Ice, with Oatbran

Like ice-cream, but healthy...?

And takes seconds?

Well, count me in! Also delicious with blueberries, mangoes, strawberries, or whatever your favourite frozen fruit is...

So simple, just blitz - most run-of-the-mill food processors and hand blenders will cope with this easily, made in seconds.

Serves one (easily doubled etc.), 158 calories.