Rohit Ghai’s mango and pineapple cake

This cake is a family favourite – particularly of my daughters – and an easy recipe to make at home. I either serve it with mint tea, or with some fresh fruit.

Serves 6-8

unsalted butter 100g, plus extra to grease the cake tin

sugar 100g

eggs 2

ground almonds 110g

plain flour 50g

salt ¼ tsp

baking powder 1 tsp

pineapple flesh 65g, sliced

ripe mango 65g, chopped

Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3. Grease a 15cm diameter x 7.5cm deep round cake tin with non-stick spray or some of the unsalted butter.

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add the eggs and beat again until smooth. Add the ground almonds and mix again.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder and gently fold to combine well. Make sure no streaks of flour remain in the batter – you should have a fairly thick batter, which is perfect.

Transfer to the greased cake tin and press down gently. Arrange the sliced pineapple and mango on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. The edges will start to brown and the pineapple and mango will shrivel a bit, and the cake will rise very slightly. When a skewer inserted in the centre comes out moist but without any batter sticking to it, you are done.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and then gently invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing. Best served within two days of baking.

Rohit Ghai is headchef at Kutir, London SW3, and recently opened KoolCha in Boxpark Wembley, HA9

Russell Norman’s olive oil cake

Russell Norman’s olive oil cake. Photograph: Jenny Zarins

It may seem counterintuitive to bake a cake using an ingredient so firmly associated with savoury dishes, but olive oil cake is an everyday classic that feels distinctly Italian. It’s a delicious alternative to butter-based cakes and has a rather grown-up flavour profile, but this will change dramatically depending on the type of olive oil that you use. It goes without saying that you should use the best quality olive oil you can get, but grassy, peppery oils don’t lend themselves very well to this cake. Look for an oil that has floral, herby or fruity notes instead.

Because it is made with oil rather than butter, this cake keeps nicely moist for a good few days.

For 8

extra virgin olive oil 320ml

caster sugar 300g

large eggs 4

fine salt ½ tsp

vanilla extract 1 tsp

whole milk 250ml

lemon juice and zest of 1

orange juice and zest of

baking powder 2 tsp

‘00’ flour 350g

Use a little of the olive oil to grease a 24cm cake tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

Put the sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl and beat until pale and fluffy. Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in the olive oil, milk, lemon juice and orange juice. Add the two zests. In a separate bowl, mix the baking powder into the flour, and when combined fold into the olive oil mixture until smooth.

Pour the mix into the greased tin and place in the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top feels springy, a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle and the cake is golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack and serve warm, generous slices with a sweet wine, or enjoy cold the next day with coffee.

From Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking by Russell Norman (Fig Tree, £26)

Jacob Kenedy’s perfect affogato

Jacob Kenedy’s perfect affogato. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Drowned – that’s what affogato means – gelato. A classic affogato is vanilla, or custard, gelato with a strong double espresso poured over it – though I prefer hazelnut gelato and black hot chocolate (bittersweet 70% cocoa chocolate melted in a scant amount of water – barely enough to cover it). Alcohol, of course, is a splendid option for drownings: sambuca, whiskey, dark rum, grappa or amaretto – they’re all good ways to go.

There are four secrets to a successful drowning. First, choose flavours that go together – vanilla or hazelnut ices with espresso; vanilla, raspberry, coffee or coconut ices with chocolate, etc. Use ice-cream, or gelato, that’s not too cold – take it from the freezer a bit before scooping as hard ice-cream in liquid is hard to eat. If you’re using coffee, it must be proper espresso. Finally, do the drowning at the table so the ice-cream doesn’t have time to melt too much.

For each person

gelato or ice-cream 60g



hot espresso double shot (60ml), or 50g of 70%-cocoa chocolate melted with 40ml of boiling water

Ensure the gelato is soft enough to serve, but nowhere near melting, and scoop it into a small bowl. Put the espresso or hot chocolate in a small jug and let the lucky eater drown their own dessert just before they eat it.

Jacob Kenedy is chef-patron of Bocca di Lupo and Gelupo, both in London

Nuno Mendes’s arroz doce – rice pudding

Nuno Mendes’s arroz doce – rice pudding. Photograph: Andrew Montgomery

The enthusiasm for rice in Portugal knows no bounds, so it should be no surprise that we absolutely adore rice pudding. Whenever I cook this, the smell always takes me back to my childhood, when my grandmother used to make it. She would spread it out on a plate on the dining room table to cool down, and make patterns on the top with ground cinnamon.

Most likely to avoid my continual pleas of “Is it ready yet?” she would always set a little bowlful aside for me to taste. In this recipe I have added pistachios to the classic plain version.

Serves 4

short-grain white rice 150g, preferably Portuguese carolino, Japanese sushi or Spanish bomba rice

whole milk 800ml

caster sugar 80g

lemon and orange zest a couple of strips of each, plus grated zest to taste (optional)

cinnamon stick 1, broken in half

egg yolks 3

single cream 50ml (optional)

pistachios 40g, shelled, toasted and roughly chopped

ground cinnamon to taste

sea salt flakes

Rinse the rice according to the instructions on the packet. Bring 300ml water to the boil in a pan with a pinch of salt. Stir in the rice and cook over a gentle heat for 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed. Add a little extra water if it starts to stick.

Heat the milk and sugar in a separate pan with the lemon and orange zest and cinnamon stick. I always count how many pieces of peel and cinnamon I put in the pan, which is helpful when I go fishing later to take them out. Depending on how strong you want the flavours to be, you can remove the aromatics at this stage, or leave them in for a bit longer. Pour the milk mixture into the rice gradually, stirring well after each addition. Continue to cook over a low heat for another 20 minutes, or until thick and creamy. Just before serving, stir in the egg yolks and cream, if using, and cook very gently for a couple of minutes. The rice will thicken as it cools, and you can adjust the consistency with a little extra cream or milk.

Serve the rice pudding in a large serving dish or individual bowls. I love to eat it with toasted pistachios and cinnamon sprinkled on top. You could also add a little extra grated lemon and orange zest.

From Lisboeta by Nuno Mendes (Bloomsbury Publishing, £26)

José Pizarro’s summer fruit salad with mint and olive oil

José Pizarro’s summer fruit salad with mint and olive oil. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Forget cream with your fruit salad, try olive oil – it’s much more refreshing. This recipe is a favourite with my staff during summer at the end of a service. Fruit in season is always the best, so adapt this salad to what is available and at its sweetest.

Serves 4

sweet pineapple ½, peeled and diced

peaches 2, stoned and sliced

kiwi fruit 2, peeled and sliced

strawberries 16, hulled and cut in half

blueberries a handful

extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp

freshly ground black pepper

lime juice of 1

mint sprigs 3, leaves stripped and chopped

Mix everything except the mint together, and leave to chill for a couple of hours. Then, just before serving, stir in the chopped mint.

From Seasonal Spanish Food by José Pizarro (Kyle Books, £16)