Wendy's classic cheesecake

We're up to sentimental cake number six, which happens to be a lemon cheesecake that Tony and I shared on our first date. The recipe belongs to my mother-in-law Wendy and it's simple to make and is creamy without being too heavy.

I first sampled it when Tony and I had just started going out. We'd met up after uni one day and spent a whole afternoon and evening together - stopping for tea, walking to the art gallery and then onto a movie (No Country For Old Men !!), a dumpling dinner and then to Tony's house to watch The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Tony happened to have two slices of cheesecake in the fridge, leftover from his brother's birthday. His mum had made it and a year or two later, she passed on the recipe to me. I made it over Easter to mark the first day of Tony's exhibition and successfully hid it in the fridge beneath a tea towel :)

Wendy's classic cheesecake

You'll need:

1 packet of Nice biscuits

125g butter, melted

250g cream cheese, room temperature 

395g can of sweetened condensed milk

2 lemons, juiced

Here's how:

To make the crust, crush the biscuits in a food processor and mix in the melted butter. Press the mixture into a 10 inch cheesecake tin and put in the freezer to set. I use my mum's trick of squashing the mixture into the tin using the bottom of a drinking glass :)

To make the cheesecake mix, blend the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice together. If you have Kitchen Aid, the whipping attachment does this really well. Pour into your cheesecake tin and refrigerate to set.

And just a tip:

For Easter I decorated the edge with mini dinosaur eggs. Strawberries and blueberries would look cute too. Also, don't go for light cream cheese whatever you do. Apparently it doesn't set properly because the fat content is too low.

P.S - Catch up on all of the recipes to date here.

Sophie's fruit cake

This might be my favourite cake of the season, a buttery loaf that's generously dotted with dried fruit. To me, it's more comforting than banana bread.

The recipe comes from my friend Sophie, and it's actually the very first cake she gave me. I'd never been given an entire cake before, with the exception of a birthday cake, so it felt pretty special. Tony and I found this same loaf and a small vase of homegrown flowers on our doorstep the other month, after we'd returned home from an overnight trip to Sydney to attend the funeral of a friend.

The original recipe comes from Sophie's grandmother and you can read its story here. Thank you for sharing the recipe Sophie, and for knowing the special comfort a homemade cake can bring :)

Sophie's fruit cake

You'll need:

250 grams self raising flour

150 grams brown sugar

1/2 tbsp mixed spice

75 grams dried figs, chopped

75 grams dried dates, chopped

75 grams dried apricots, chopped 

75 grams sultanas

125 grams butter

2 eggs

3/4 cup of milk

Here's how:

Set your oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease and line a loaf tin. Melt the butter on the stove and set aside to cool. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the wet ingredients. I used my KitchenAid and mixed it on high for a few minutes until totally combined but Sophie says you can also do it by hand and mix like you've never mixed before. Pour the mixture into a cake tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

And just a tip:

This recipe is easily doubled, I've actually halved the original recipe and regretted it less than a week later when all our cake was gone. You can also substitute the dried fruits and use things like dried cranberries. It's delicious on its own or you can serve it with a bit of butter and jam for afternoon tea, or ice cream for dessert. Sophie also decorates heres with raw almonds pre-bake.

Find more Sentimental Cake recipes here.

Connie's date scones

Over the years, I've received the most unexpected homemade gifts through my job. There has been a handmade salami, an orchid arrangement and a few years ago, a dozen freshly baked date scones.

I'd had scones and a hot cup of tea at Connie's house once before, when I dropped in to record a story. It was the beginning of a long day and I was grateful for her hospitality.

Connie's scones have a surprise ingredient - thickened cream - which means you're not messing around with butter, making them quick to mix up. They make a great late Sunday lunch :)

Connie's date scones

You'll need:

2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup thickened cream
1/4 cup milk, warmed
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
pinch of salt

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius and line a tray with baking paper. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl, add the chopped dates and then the cream. Use a knife to mix it through.

Add enough milk to make the mixture moist and turn it onto a floured board. Knead it gently, turning it a couple of times before shaping the dough into a rough square. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll the dough until it is about two centimetres thick. Cut out your scones - I don't own a scone cutter so use the opening of a small-ish glass - and place them on your tray. Pop them into the oven on the middle shelf and bake for around 10 minutes.

Makes 10 large scones.

And just a tip:

If you want to make plain scones just leave out the sugar and the dates. I've also halved Connie's original recipes, so you can double it easily if you'd like 20-plus scones. You can also substitute the dates for mixed fruit and if you wear rings, take them off before you start kneading, it's messy work!

Suze's lemon yoghurt drizzle cake

My friend Suze and I did a recipe swap recently and she sent her tried-and-tested lemon cake, which was the first thing she baked for her boyfriend Kasun.

'I baked it for him at his place one weekend,' she recalls. 'When I was there the next weekend, I opened the oven to bake him something else and found what was left of the cake covered in foil. I said "Oh my god, you still have this! Throw it out," and he grabbed it saying, "No! It's still good, don't you dare."'

Suze and Kasun now share a home in Newcastle and have even climbed Mount Everest together. Suze posts all of her baked goods on Instagram under the cute hashtag #suzebakes.

I can totally vouch for this cake, I made it after work one night for some friends who were coming to stay that weekend. We ate it at midnight and it was so light and fluffy that we nicknamed it lemon pancake-cake.

Suze's lemon yoghurt drizzle cake

You'll need:

3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon rind
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup Greek yoghurt
1 3/4 fine caster sugar
2 cups self raising flour

For the frosting
1 cup fine caster sugar
1 tbs lemon juice

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees celsius. Whisk the oil, eggs, lemon rind, lemon juice, yoghurt and sugar until combined - if you use a mixer the cake will come out light and spongey which I loved. Sift in flour and whisk again. Pour into a greased and floured bundt tin and bake for 50 minutes.

To make the icing, mix the sugar and the lemon juice until it looks like wet sand and drizzle over the cake while still warm.

And just a tip:

I forgot to ice mine while it was still warm, so I mixed 100g of icing sugar with 2 tbsp of lemon juice and drizzled that over the top.

More sentimental cakes here, including Jemma's childhood birthday cake and my sister-in-law's apple crumble.

Emma's apple crumble

Last year when I was living in Sydney for work and missing Tony who stayed behind in Wagga Wagga, my sister would have me round for dinner on a Friday night. She'd make my favourite foods - spaghetti bolognese followed by apple crumble for dessert - and it was the best.

As far as comfort food goes, apple crumble is right up there. It's quick to make and easy to eat in front of the telly, accompanied by  a melty blob of ice cream :)

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law Emma, who is famous for crumble on Tony's side of the family. She also managed to save a disaster crumble I made one Easter, which didn't brown and had tiny crumbs! I reckon this is the only apple crumble recipe you'll ever need.

Emma's apple crumble

You'll need:

5 green apples

1/4 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup water

For the crumble

3/4 self raising flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

80g butter

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Here's how:

Peel and slice the apple, and place in a saucepan on medium heat with sugar and water. Cook until soft. To make the crumble, place the flour, sugar and cinnamon into a medium bowl, add the butter and rub it into the mix until it resembles rough breadcrumbs. Grease a baking dish (I skipped this step and it came out fine), add the apple and place the crumble on top. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees celsius. 

And just a tip: 

Tony made some coconut ice cream from Diner to go with the crumble and it was delicious! His mum recommends adding crushed nuts to the crumble mix, macadamias are her favourite.

P.S - You might also like Jemma's chocolate birthday cake.

Jemma's chocolate birthday cake

This month I'm sharing three special cakes, they're sentimental cakes that are simple to make and really delicious. First up is Jemma's famous chocolate birthday cake.

In my group of friends, whenever Jemma says she'll make the cake, we know it'll be her chocolate fudge cake with thick buttercream icing. It's the kind of cake I remember taking home in lolly bags, wrapped in a napkin.

This particular cake has a long history, my friend Marina remembers having it at Jemma's 16th birthday party and it's one that Jemma's mum Jenny made for her year after year as she grew up.

A few weeks ago, Jemma made a giant version of the cake for Irini and Marina, who were having a joint lunch to celebrate their 30th birthdays. The year before, she'd made the brightest version for Marina's son's first birthday.

I asked Jemma for the recipe and she sent me a photo of a handwritten recipe card, which she says might've come from the Dark Ages ;)

Jemma's chocolate birthday cake

You'll need:

2 1/4 cup self raising flour
1 3/4 cup caster sugar
1tsp bi-carb soda
2/3 cup cocoa
1 cup water
1tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
160g butter, softened

For the icing:

250g butter, softened
1 packet of icing mixture

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and grease and line a large cake tin. Put the butter into a large mixing bowl and add all of the dry ingredients. Add the water and vanilla and beat on medium speed until the ingredients are creamed and well combined. Add the eggs and increase the speed. Pour into a greased cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until cooked.

To make the icing, gradually sift the icing sugar onto the butter. Beat until combined and delicious.