Baking Recipes

Reach new sugar highs with bakes by top chefs from Australia and beyond.

Remember that classic Simpsons bit, “you don’t win friends with salad”? Sweets are the opposite of that. Come to the office with fresh cookies, or a dinner party with a perfect tiramisu, and you’re everyone’s favourite person. These sweets cover much ground – from chocolate cakes to Asian-inspired soy milk crème caramel and Argentinean alfajor cookies.

For more free recipes in your inbox each week, sign up to our Cooking newsletter.

Recipe: The Only Chocolate-Chip Cookie Recipe You’ll Ever Need, According to Emelia Jackson

Food & DrinkThese cookies are so nice, Jackson has featured them in her cookbooks twice. They hit that chewy-crispy sweet spot and are overloaded with chocolate.

Recipe: Nadine Ingram’s Layered Pistachio, Rhubarb and Ginger Cake Is an Ode to John Olsen

Food & DrinkThe Flour and Stone owner’s lush new cookbook has the wonders of nature woven into every page. Here, the pistachio- and rhubarb-coloured palette of a John Olsen work is reimagined in cake form.

Recipe: A Cherry and Rye Pie That’s a Summer Favourite

Food & DrinkMichael and Pippa James tell the stories of their lives through their inviting cookbook Sweet Seasons. This rustic pie makes the most of the glut of cherries around Christmas.

Recipe: Sicilian Lemon, Raisin and Fennel Seed Fritters

Food & DrinkDusted with sugar and rich in citrusy flavours, these fluffy doughnut-adjacent fritters are often eaten on Saint Martin's Day to celebrate the harvest.

Recipe: These Dirty Chai Cheesecake Brownies Are As Good as (and Dusted in) Gold

Food & DrinkThese heady brownies, spiked with coffee and chai spices, are from a new cookbook fusing western desserts with Indian flavours.

Recipe: Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Orange Sugar-Dusted Madeleines Are “Perfect in Their Simplicity”

Food & DrinkRound out a meal with these petite cakes, still warm from the oven. Or make up a batch to devour at home with a glass of cold milk when a sweet treat is in order. Either way, these lovely little madeleines from the Melbourne cookbook author’s latest, Good Cooking Every Day, will bring joy.

Recipe: Karen Martini’s Sticky Panforte Date Pudding With Black Caramel Sauce From Johnny’s Green Room

Food & DrinkOne of Melbourne’s most beloved chefs collaborates with a stylish Carlton rooftop bar for this winter-warming take on a classic dessert.

Recipe: Flourless Lemon and Almond Cake With Chocolate Ganache

Food & DrinkLondon-born, Tuscan-raised cookery writer Amber Guinness was inspired by Capri’s famous chocolate-almond torte for this cake – which just happens to be gluten-free. The zest of five lemons makes it extra special.

Recipe: A Silky, Buttery Lemon Tart With Basil Cream That’ll Dazzle at Your Next Dinner Party

Food & DrinkGuardian columnist and Great British Bake Off contestant Benjamina Ebuehi’s lemon tart is given extra zing with the addition of a fragrant basil cream.

Recipe: An “Overachieving” Pistachio and Polenta Cake With Preserved Lemon

Food & DrinkThis beauty is the perfect all-rounder to have up your sleeve: bring it along to a casual afternoon tea or dinner, or whip it up if you want to impress.

Recipe: A “Fancy yet Homely” Salted Honey Sesame Tart

Food & DrinkJust because it’s dessert doesn’t mean it has to be cloyingly sweet. Great British Bake Off alumnus Benjamina Ebuehi sprinkles a sesame crunch on top of this fragrant tart for texture and a hint of savouriness.

Recipe: The Brownie Beatrix’s Natalie Paull Says Is Her Favourite

Food & DrinkPaull says brownies are like socks: “They are mostly functional, but when you get a really, really good one, you really, really know it and you become deeply loyal to those socks/that brownie”. This one has a finely flaky top crust, uses a special technique so the brownie stays softer for longer and is open to adaptations so you can change it up for your own tastes.

Recipe: Gewurzhaus’s Satisfyingly Sweet Twix Bars

Food & DrinkNeed a chocolate fix that’s not packed with processed sugars, but dark chocolate won’t cut it? Enter this take on a classic choc-caramel Twix bar, by Maria and Eva Konecsny, the founders of Melbourne spice purveyor Gewurzhaus.

Recipe: Emiko Davies’s Soft, Buttery Matcha-Almond Cookies

Food & DrinkThese melt-in-your-mouth cookies are from Australian-Japanese cookbook author Emiko Davies’s latest volume, Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking, in which she shares the home-style Japanese recipes she grew up with. Delicate and lightly dusted with matcha powder, they’re a quick bake for your next afternoon tea – and taste even better the day after.

Recipe: Al Brown’s Sunny Passionfruit Lamingtons

Food & DrinkTry making this nostalgic Antipodean treat at home. Passionfruit is a tasty tropical alternative to the traditional pink or chocolate varieties – and it’s perfect going into summer.

Recipe: Philip Khoury’s Elaborately Layered Chocolate-Hazelnut Babka

Food & DrinkThe Aussie head pastry chef of London icon Harrods works with top-tier eggs and dairy at his day job. But in his new cookbook, A New Way to Bake, he’s showing plant-based baking can be a doddle – and needn’t rely on artificial ingredients for maximum deliciousness. Is this plant-based babka a lesser babka? We think not.

Recipe: Crispy Cashew Caramel Slice by Vanya Insull of VJ Cooks

Food & DrinkA base of roasted cashews and crispy rice bubbles adds a satisfying crunch to this never-fail combination of caramel and chocolate.

Recipe: Morgan Hipworth’s Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Food & DrinkA sprinkle of sea salt on top balances out the sugar hit of these uncomplicated golden-brown discs.

Recipe: Savoury, Seven-Ingredient Vegemite and Cheese Biscuits

Food & DrinkYou probably have everything you need to make these simple yet moreish biscuits right now. What are you waiting for?

Recipe: Lucy Tweed’s Show-Stopping Sticky Date Brioche

Food & DrinkTweed reckons this warming, butterscotch sauce-doused pudding is the “ultimate weekend-away dessert for a dozen”. (It also makes a viable breakfast.)

Recipe: That’s Amore Cheese’s Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake

Food & DrinkWhip up this citrusy centrepiece for your next dinner party – or to mark the 15th anniversary of Melbourne cheese-making stalwart That’s Amore Cheese.

Recipe: Annabel Langbein’s Ultimate Pumpkin Pie

Food & DrinkEmbrace warming spices with one of the celebrity chef’s favourite winter desserts – and go all out with garnishes of maple-glazed nuts and ginger-honey cream.

Recipe: Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Sugar-Dusted Apple and Ricotta Frittelle

Food & DrinkThe sweet Italian snack sees a simple batter dolloped into hot oil and deep fried for a soft, moreish finish. This particular version is loaded with ricotta, rum, green apple and sultanas and takes just a few minutes to fry up.

Recipe: Layer Up With Petra Galler’s Show-Stopping Medovik Honey Cake

Food & DrinkIt’s from Galler’s debut recipe book Butter, Butter. Eight layers of ginger-spiced discs and burnt honey icing make for a fragrant and deep-flavoured cake that’s – according to Galler – not as hard to make as it might look.

Recipe: Shannon Martinez’s Date Night-Worthy Sticky Fig Pudding

Food & DrinkThe much-loved chef and author says this is a “total crowd-pleaser”. And she has a wine pairing that’s available to order through Broadsheet.

Recipe: Dessert King Reynold Poernomo’s Honey-Glazed Basque Burnt Cheesecake

Food & DrinkUntil recently, the Masterchef contestant and Koi Dessert Bar owner hadn’t even heard of a Basque cheesecake. He shares a rich, mousse-like – and uncharacteristically imperfect – version all his own.

Recipe: Rhubarb Custard Crumble Pies From Cult Melbourne Bakery Beatrix

Food & DrinkThese four-part tarts are filled with creamy vanilla custard, sweet roasted rhubarb and ginger, and topped with a crunchy butter-oat streusel. They’re worth your time.

Recipe: Peter Gilmore’s Chocolate Mousse

Food & DrinkGilmore helms one of Australia’s best restaurants, Quay, but that doesn’t mean his version of this rich, classic dessert is hard to make. In fact, it’s surprisingly simple.

Recipe: Sweet Tahini Rolls (Kubez el Tahineh)

Food & DrinkThis recipe by Ottolenghi co-founder Sami Tamimi looks impressive, but it’s surprisingly simple to make.

Recipe: Smoky, Salty Chocolate-Chip Cookies From Cult Melbourne Bakery Beatrix

Food & DrinkThe secret to the perfect cookie (and many things in life) is a good night’s rest. Experiment with different nut-and-choc combos, such as pecan and white, hazelnut and milk, and almond and dark.

Recipe: Rockpool Bar & Grill's Lamington

Food & DrinkIt’s so simple: a sponge cake that’s dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut. (Sometimes with a thwack of jam and cream in the middle.) Here’s Rockpool Bar & Grill’s version of this Aussie icon.

Recipe: Bourke Street Bakery’s “Nearly” Anzac Biscuits

Food & DrinkThis Sydney bakery may have set up shop in New York, but that doesn’t mean it’s forgotten its Aussie roots. This recipe begins with a classic Anzac cookie batter but you then add one additional ingredient.