Hello, sweetie!

Claire Ptak, who owns East London’s Violet Bakery and created Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake, shares her irresistible recipes

CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

Clafoutis is a rustic French dessert of cherries baked in custard.

BLONDE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

This is the perfect peanut butter cookie. The small amount of wholemeal flour adds a chewiness to the texture and the lemon juice gives a little acidity to balance the richness. I only recently discovered blonde chocolate – caramelised white chocolate – and it’s perfect in peanut butter cookies where I find dark chocolate too bitter.

★ 115g unsalted butter

★ 250g soft light brown sugar

★ 155g crunchy peanut butter

★ 1 egg

★ 1 tsp lemon juice

★ 1½ tsp vanilla extract

★ 100g plain flour

★ 75g wholemeal flour

★ ½ tsp baking powder

★ ½ tsp fine sea salt

★ 150g blonde chocolate or white chocolate, chopped

★ flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

★ In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter together. Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat well.

★ In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder and sea salt then add these dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture along with the chocolate and mix until combined.

★ Scoop individual portions of cookie dough on to a tray. If using spoons, pat each one into

a little ball then flatten to about 2.5cm thick. Use a fork dipped in water and press the tines down into the tops of the cookies in a hashtag pattern. Cover and chill or freeze for at least 1 hour. (You can bake them straightaway, but the cookies will be slightly flatter; or freeze them for up to a month, baking off as and when you want them.)

★ When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. If you are baking from frozen, allow the cookies 5-10 minutes out of the freezer before placing in the oven. Arrange the cookies evenly on the sheet, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to expand during baking.

★ Sprinkle with a small amount of flaky sea salt and bake for 8-10 minutes until the centre of each cookie is slightly soft and underbaked but the edges are turning crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 5-10 minutes before enjoying.

BLACKBERRY AND ROSE WALNUT CRUMBLE CAKE

This recipe is loosely inspired by the flavours in one of my favourite sweets, ma’amoul, which is a plump buttery semolina cookie filled with walnuts, rose water and cinnamon, traditionally made and eaten in the Arab world at the end of a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

★ 150g almond paste (at least 50% almonds)

★ 115g unsalted butter, softened

★ ½ tsp sea salt

★ 100g caster sugar

★ 2 eggs

★ 1 tsp vanilla extract

★ 210g plain flour

★ 1¼ tsp baking powder

★ ½ tsp bicarbonate soda

★ 250g plain yogurt (not strained or Greek)

★ 200g blackberries, fresh or frozen

★ ¼ tsp sea salt

★ 100g walnuts, finely chopped

★ 2 tbsp rose water

★ 1 tsp ground cinnamon

★ 50g caster sugar

★ Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line a 23cm × 33cm cake tin with baking paper.

★ Make the crumble mixture. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse to combine. Chill until ready to use.

★ In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the almond paste, butter, salt and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

★ In a small bowl, weigh out the flour, baking powder and bicarb and whisk together well. Add to the butter mixture and mix until smooth. Add the yogurt and mix until just combined. Scrape the bowl and mix one last time.

★ Tip half the mixture into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the blackberries and half the crumble topping. Cover with the other half of the batter and top with the remaining crumble mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted at the centre comes out clean.

★ Serve warm – it’s best eaten the same day.

TRIPLE CREAM AMARETTO CHEESECAKE

I love the amaretti cookies you find in Italian delis and this cheesecake is a perfect excuse to use these nostalgic bitter almond cookies. The three creams are because... well, why not? Oh, and that whole thing about baking cheesecakes in messy water baths? Forget it. This technique works well and you will never again get a soggy bottom.