Chef Jane Dunn’s recipes for her favourite sweet treats

“I think everyone has probably seen a Battenberg cake by this point, right? It’s famous for its shape and style, and even colours and flavours – so why not make a homemade version?” asks food blogger and recipe writer Jane Dunn.

“I want to show you that this bake is incredibly easy to achieve by yourself, and it’s far less scary than it may look or sound. I went for the classic yellow and pink colours for the sponge, flavoured with vanilla or almond, sandwiched with apricot jam and covered in marzipan. Of course, if you wanted to change up the colours for a theme, this is one of the best bakes in the world for that.”

Serves 8. Ingredients: 250g unsalted butter or baking spread, at room temperature; 250g caster sugar; 4 eggs; 175g self-raising flour; 75g ground almonds; 1tsp baking powder; 1tsp vanilla or almond extract; Pink food colouring

For the decoration: 100g apricot jam; 400g marzipan

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan and grab a 23cm (9in) square tin. Make a foil division in the middle of the tin, then line both halves with parchment paper so you get two rectangles.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and extract of choice and mix.

Split into two, and colour one half pink. Pour each into a half of the tin and bake for 30–40 minutes. Leave to cool fully in the tin.

Once cooled, cut each cake in half lengthways. Sandwich the cake slices together with apricot jam. Cover with more apricot jam and then completely cover with the marzipan. Serve with the join underneath the cake.

Notes: You can flavour the coloured sponges as you like, such as lemon for the yellow and raspberry for the pink, if you have the flavourings available.

Trim the edges of the sponges so you can fit the layers together neatly.

You can colour the sponges whatever colours you want to suit a theme.

One good top tip: you can use two 900g loaf tins instead to make it easier – the bake time for these is 28–32 minutes.

Tiramisu layer cake

“Tiramisu is one of the most iconic and classic desserts in the world, and my gosh, do I adore it! Typically it has a layer of coffee-soaked sponge fingers, with a whipped mascarpone topping. Oh my. However, translating that idea into a layered sponge cake is EVEN BETTER,” promises food writer and blogger Jane Dunn.

“I make a moist and light sponge cake, soak it with a coffee sugar syrup, then decorate it with a sweetened coffee soft cheese frosting, and it is so tasty. This cake is 100% the cake I would bring to a party and maybe just sit and eat myself, as I wouldn’t want to share.”

Serves 15+.Ingredients: 400g unsalted butter or baking spread, at room temperature; 400g soft light brown sugar; 400g self-raising flour; 7 eggs; 1tsp vanilla extract

For the syrup: 100ml water; 100g soft light brown sugar; 2tbsp instant coffee; 75ml Kahlúa

For the frosting: 200g unsalted butter, at room temperature; 200g icing sugar; 1tsp vanilla extract; 1tsp instant coffee, dissolved and cooled; 400g full-fat soft cheese; 1tsp cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan and line three 20cm round cake tins with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add the flour, eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat again. Split the mixture between the three tins and bake for 30–35 minutes.

For the syrup: While the cakes bake, add the water, sugar, instant coffee and Kahlúa to a pan. Heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Soak into the baked cakes once they are out of the oven and leave them to cool fully in the tins.

For the frosting: Beat the butter in a large bowl on its own for a couple of minutes until smooth. Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract and cooled coffee and mix again until smooth. Add the soft cheese, and beat in fully. Layer the sponges with the frosting, until you reach the top layer – I like to pipe mine onto the top, but you can swirl it over and sprinkle it with cocoa powder.

Notes: You can make this alcohol-free by leaving out the coffee liqueur and replacing it with more instant coffee dissolved in water, or just more water.

You can make the sponges chocolatey by replacing 75g of self-raising flour with 75g of cocoa powder.

Salted pretzel brownies

“Can I just say that I am utterly and completely addicted to baking these brownies. I can’t count the amount of times I have made them any more because I genuinely love them that much,” buzzes food writer Jane Dunn.

“They look satisfying, too, with every piece being covered in pretzels, top and bottom, and even with a caramel swirl on top … they are unreal. I sprinkle on extra bits of sea salt because I really do adore the salty crunch, and the thick, chocolatey nature of the base brownie is wonderful.”

Serves 8. Ingredients: 200g dark chocolate; 200g unsalted butter or baking spread; 4 eggs; 275g soft light brown sugar; 100g plain flour; 50g cocoa powder; 100g salted pretzels (roughly 72 smaller pretzels); 150g caramel sauce; Sea salt, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan and line a 23cm (9in) square cake tin with parchment paper.

Melt the dark chocolate and butter together in a bowl in the microwave in short bursts, or in a pan over a low heat, then leave to cool for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together for a few minutes until doubled in volume and mousse-like. Fold through the melted chocolate mix, followed by the flour and cocoa powder.

Layer pretzels on the bottom of the cake tin and carefully pour over the brownie mix. Swirl through the caramel sauce and sprinkle over some salt. Add a second layer of pretzels on top. Bake for 25–30 minutes until there is a slight wobble in the middle, then leave to cool fully in the tin.

Set the brownies in the fridge for a couple of hours for a super-fudgy texture.

Notes: I use the small crunchy pretzels that you can find in the snack/crisp aisle at the supermarket – the amount you need may vary depending on the size of the pretzel.

You can add chocolate chips to the brownies if you want even more chocolate.

You can air-fry half of this recipe in an 18cm square tin for 14–16 minutes at 160ºC.