Just remember when those first lockdowns were announced the world over. We were all in absolute shock at the idea that all the running around we had been doing prior to that suddenly came not even to a slow train-like halt but more like a formula one car crashing full-on into a barrier!

After the initial shock, I think we all settled into the idea that it’s going to be tough but after a couple of months, we will be through the worst and can start thinking about getting life back to normal. Fourteen months on and I repeat, 14 months on and it’s like ‘groundhog day’ over. Suddenly, we all feel as if we have gone one step forward and many steps back, with little, if any, glimmer of light at the end of this long dark tunnel.

Everyone found a new hobby and many turned to the kitchen to find solutions… life pretty much went in one of two directions. Many people got fit and healthy, losing loads of kilos and inches, while for others, it was a life with one hand in the fridge and the other holding a drink! We have all seen those photos of Will Smith trending all over the Net over past couple of weeks with his new, full-on dad bod, saying that he is literally “in the worst shape of his life”. Comfort eating senselessly over Netflix binge marathons, little personal care or grooming,

24-hour pyjamas and a little clean and tidy waist up for a Zoom meeting from time to time, has dominated our lives.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some really easy recipes that I played around with last year when I was stuck in the UK, during the initial lockdown. Cooking every day was the best medicine I could think of and I know many people can relate. I am starting with some baking, as I know it’s the best thing to put a smile on your faces. Something we all need at the moment and staying indoors, doing something you enjoy is also keeping you and your family safe, if you think about it.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie

This recipe is incredibly simple, really very very good on so many levels. I have tried to make it with as few ingredients as possible. Keeping the novice in mind because many might think something like this must be incredibly difficult to make. It’s chewy and cheesecakily moreish but too much will certainly make you sick. So go easy!

Ingredients:

• Butter, 125g

• Peanut butter, 75g

• Dark chocolate, 100g

• Sugar, 195g

• Eggs, 3

• Flour, 45g

• Cocoa, 40g

• Milk, 2tbsp

• Double cream, 120ml

• Cream cheese, 200g

• Baking powder, a pinch

• Vanilla extract, a couple of drops

Method:

• To start, preheat your oven to 170°C and line, something along the lines of a 10-inch square cake tin or baking tray, with parchment paper.

• In a bowl, melt together over a bain-marie or in the microwave, butter, peanut butter and dark chocolate.

• Then beat in 170g sugar, two eggs, 25g flour, cocoa, milk and baking powder, and spread it into the lined tray.

• In another bowl, beat cream cheese, the remaining sugar, one egg, vanilla extract, 20g flour and double cream together. Then spread it on the top of the brownie mixture and give a light swirl.

• Spoon over small blobs of peanut butter (optional) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and sprinkle some more chopped chocolate, before cooling and cutting into squares and serving.

Chunky Chocolate Orange Cookies

I mentioned the idea of baking some cookies and the missus jumped at the opportunity to make them. Primarily, out of sheer boredom mind you! We had a go at a recipe that bakes not far away from those British high street favourites, Millie’s Cookies.

Ingredients:

• Butter, 125g

• Castor sugar, 250g

• Egg, 1

• Vanilla essence, a few drops

• Self-rising flour, 210g

• Baking soda, ¼tsp

Method:

• For the basic recipe, start by preheating your oven to 200°C.

• Then cream together the butter and castor sugar or preferably a light golden sugar, until the mixture is pale, light and there are no sugar crystals.

• Next, beat in an egg and a few drops of vanilla extract before folding in the flour and baking soda.

• There are different variations you can make with this as a base — nuts, chocolate chips, seeds, dried fruits…. Here, we added some chunky chopped chocolate, orange zest and rolled them through cocoa power before baking them. Place more chunky chocolate on top to melt, as soon as they came out of the oven.

• Roll into roughly, walnut-sized balls, placing them onto a warmed parchment-lined baking tray with good spacing in-between (do not flatten them, they will melt and fall on their own).

• Bake for exactly seven minutes for those deliciously soft and chewy ones or 10 mins at 180°C for something a little more crunchy.

Carrot and Cardamon Cake

I had some carrots that needed to be used up and was thinking about making a carrot cake but thought that was boring. Then I thought about making Gajar Halwa but didn’t have ghee or condensed milk. I thought I would have a go at a gajar halwa-inspired carrot cake, which also sounded fun! This is another one of those easy-peasy, throw-it-all-into-a-bowl, beat, bake and eat cakes! You can either eat it as it is or make a cream cheese or butter cream frosting as I have in the photo. I also pimped it up with some crystallised ginger and candied orange. I was a pastry chef for a very long time, don’t forget!

Ingredients:

• Ghee, 250ml

• Castor sugar, 300g

• Grated carrots, 250g

• Yoghurt or curd, 100g

• Eggs, 4

• Raisins, finely chopped, 50g

• Cashews, finely chopped, 50g

• Crushed seeds of 12 cardamom

• Orange zest

• Cinnamon, ground, ½ tsp

• Saffron, a pinch

• Self raising flour

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 160°C.

• Into a good-sized mixing bowl, pour all the ingredients together. Give it a good beating and fold in the flour.

• Pour this into two, parchment-lined 1pound loaf tins and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

• Allow to cool in the tin, covered with a damp cloth to keep in the moisture.

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

This recipe takes me back about 25 years when we opened a restaurant in Manchester called Mash and Air. I had a blueberry pound cake on the menu. One day, I added a little less flour to the recipe and the blueberries sank to the bottom. It became part of the day’s staff food. Everyone loved it so much because of its more pudding-like texture than that of a cake. From that day onwards I reworded it in the menu and kept the recipe the same. It remained on the menu for a year or so, with the newly christened name Blueberry Upside Down Cake, served warm with candied orange and creme fraiche ice cream.

As soon as the cake is out of the oven, cover it with a damp cloth to keep it moist while cooling. Once cool, you can warm it up and eat as a pudding or instead, simply slice it and eat like a cake. If you don’t eat it all on the same day, it will keep moist for days if kept in the refrigerator, wrapped in foil or cling film. But it’s too moist to keep at room temperature for more than a day or two as it may attract mold. This cake also freezes really well.

Ingredients:

• Self-rising flour, 175g

• Castor sugar, 175g

• Softened butter, 175g

• Eggs, 3

• Baking powder, ½tsp

• Yoghurt, 1tbsp

• Zest of orange

• Zest of lemon

• Blueberries, 250g

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160°C.

• Into a mixing bowl, add flour, castor sugar, softened butter, eggs, baking powder, yoghurt and the zest. Give it a good mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.

• Carefully, stir in the fresh blueberries before spooning into a parchment-lined 1kg loaf tin (you could use an 8-inch cake tin if you prefer).

• Bake for 30 to 35 mins until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.