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tier
    Arranged on a tiered cakestand, a dozen cupcakes make a spectacular centerpiece for any party. I like to bake them in silver or floral muffin liners. Serve one per person.

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    Makes 12
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    Ingredients
    Glacé frosting
    juice of 1 lemon
    2 cups confectioners’ sugar
    Chocolate curls
    bar of white chocolate, at room temperature
    bar of chocolate, at room temperature
    Method
    1 Make a dozen cupcakes, following the recipe coffee and walnut cupcakes . You won’t need the coffee frosting and walnuts.
    2 To make the glacé frosting, warm the lemon juice in a pan. Put the confectioners’ sugar into a mixing bowl and gradually add enough lemon juice to make a smooth, glossy frosting. Spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes and let set.
    3 Meanwhile, shave curls from the chocolate bars with a vegetable peeler.
    4 Once the frosting has set, decorate the cupcakes with a mixture of white chocolate curls and chocolate curls.
Cook’s know-how
Decorating cupcakes
When it comes to decorating cupcakes, let your imagination run riot. But keep the tier looking elegant and classy, not chaotic. Crystallized flowers look pretty, as do silver balls or silver hearts. Or decorate the edges of the cakestand with fresh flowers. The beauty of the cupcake tier is that you can match the decorations to suit the occasion. For a child’s birthday party, for instance, you could decorate one of the cupcakes with a candle. Tiny colored candies such as jelly beans and Smarties also work well.
    Cupcake tier
      
    Baklava

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    Makes 20 squares
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    Special equipment shallow 7 x 9in (18 x 23cm) rectangular cake pan
    Ingredients
    2 1 / 3 cups walnut pieces, finely chopped
    1 / 3 cup light brown sugar
    1 tsp ground cinnamon
    12 tbsp butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
    24 sheets of filo dough, weighing about 1lb (500g)
    1 / 3 cup honey
    2 tbsp lemon juice
    Method
    1 Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Mix together the walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon.
    2 Lightly butter the cake pan and lay 1 sheet of filo dough in the bottom of the pan, allowing the sheet to come up the sides. (If necessary, cut the sheets in half to fit in the pan.) Brush the sheet with a little melted butter.
    3 Repeat with 5 more filo sheets, layering and brushing each one with the butter. Sprinkle with one-third of the nut mixture.
    4 Repeat this process twice, using 6 more sheets of filo dough each time, brushing each sheet with butter and sprinkling the nut mixture over every sixth sheet. Finish with 6 buttered sheets of filo dough, and lightly brush the top with melted butter.
    5 Trim the edges of the filo, then, using a sharp knife, cut about halfway through the layers to make 20 squares.
    6 Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 10–15 minutes until the filo is crisp and golden brown. Remove the baklava from the oven.
    7 Heat the honey and lemon juice in a heavy saucepan until the honey has melted. Spoon over the hot baklava. Let cool in the pan for 1–2 hours. Cut into the marked squares, and serve the baklava at room temperature.
    Baklava
    Coffee éclairs

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    Makes 10–12
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    Ingredients
    butter for greasing
    1 quantity choux pastry
    1 large egg, beaten
    1 1 / 4 cups whipping cream, whipped
    Coffee frosting
    1 tsp instant coffee
    3 tbsp butter
    2 tbsp water
    2 / 3 cup confectioners’ sugar
    Method
    1 Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Butter a baking sheet and sprinkle with water. Spoon the choux into a piping bag fitted with a 1 / 2 in (1cm) plain nozzle, pipe into 3in (7cm) lengths, and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 20 minutes. Split in half and cool on a rack.
    2 Spoon the whipped cream onto the bottom halves of the éclairs.
    3 Make the frosting: put the coffee, butter, and water in a bowl over a pan of water. Heat gently until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Dip the top half of