But why are we messing about with the simple irresistible beauty of muffins and macaroons?
‘There is no love sincerer than the love of food,” wrote George Bernard Shaw, and perhaps the greatest expression of that love is through spending a peaceful hour or so in the kitchen, transforming flour, sugar, butter and eggs into wonderful things. I concede that of late my column has been a bit light in the baking department, so this week that’s what it’s all about. At the same time I thought I’d get a couple of annoying things off my chest.
The first is, how did the macaroon (it is the same as a macaron) suddenly find itself in the foodie spotlight, frequently dyed with a range of poncey colours that might just be by Martha Stewart? I first saw the vibrant pink-, green- and orange-hued biscuits known as macarons while working in Japan. The trend for the originally French confection is now so widespread they’re even sold at McDonald’s.
The true macaroon is a brittle biscuit made with nothing more than almonds, sugar and egg whites. At most there’s the addition of darkest cocoa.
The macaroons I saw the other day had been spray-painted with three different colours, and instead of being a handmade expression of love, they looked cold, manufactured and loveless. There was nothing sincere about them.
My second gripe is, what happened to the muffin? It used to be a thing of simple irresistible beauty that could be served with a morning cup of tea or as part of a proper afternoon tea. Now it seems to resemble the kind of small cake that should be served after dinner or eaten in two sittings.
I think of the following as a great muffin. It has no flour, just plenty of ground almonds; it’s also important to use a good brand of dark chocolate – Whittaker’s, Green & Black’s or Valrhona – so you end up with a muffin that’s dense and intensely chocolatey.
Flourless Chocolate Muffins
250g unsalted butter
300g dark chocolate
6 free-range eggs
175g sugar
120g ground almonds
1 tsp instant coffee
150g sugar
Set the oven to 170°C. Grease individual petit pans with a non-stick spray or a little of the butter. Chop the butter into small pieces, then place in a heatproof bowl. Roughly chop the chocolate and add to the butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Separate the eggs. When the chocolate and butter have melted, stir in the egg yolks, the first measure of sugar and the ground almonds. Stir in the coffee, remove from the heat and set aside. Whisk the egg whites until stiff using a benchtop mixer, then add the sugar and beat for 2 minutes.
Carefully fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and pour into the petit pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until the muffins are firm to the touch. A metal skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Cool the muffins in the tins.
Makes 10.
A doughnut just isn’t a doughnut without the sweet, comforting notes of cinnamon. Use this spice sparingly, though, for it will quickly go from adding restrained intrigue to being overpowering.
Cinnamon Doughnuts 
220g flour
a good pinch of cinnamon
salt
3 tbsp sugar
1½ tbsp water
7g sachet of dried yeast
5 eggs
220g unsalted butter
lots of vegetable oil
caster sugar and ground cinnamon
raspberry jam
whipped cream
Put the flour and cinnamon into a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix the salt, sugar, water and yeast, then rub this into the flour with your fingertips. Add the eggs and mix until the dough comes together. Add the butter and continue to mix until the dough is smooth and springy. All of this can be done in an electric benchtop mixer with a dough-hook attachment. Cover the bowl with a damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place for an hour. With lightly floured hands roll the dough into 8 balls. If you want to make a hole in the doughnuts, push the handle of a wooden spoon through the centre. Leave the balls on a lightly floured tray to prove for 20 minutes.
Pour the oil into a deep saucepan or deep-fryer to a depth of at least 10cm. Get the oil hot (175°C). Test with a little bit of dough; when dropped into the oil, it should float to the surface and brown. Lower the doughnuts gently into the oil and cook until golden brown – about 10 minutes. Fry in batches if necessary, so as not to overcrowd the pan.
Scatter caster sugar and few pinches of ground cinnamon over a baking tray. Drain excess oil from the doughnuts, then roll in the sugar until well-coated. Fill with jam and cream and eat while still warm.
Makes 8.
Delicate, crisp and light, these biscuits have a delightfully chewy texture. Made without any flour, they also place a large tick in the gluten-free box. They will keep well in tightly closed tins.
Macaroons
125g ground almonds
250g caster sugar
1-2 drops of vanilla extract
2 egg whites
icing sugar
Set the oven to 180°C. Add the ground almonds to the bowl of an electric mixer with a beater attachment, then slowly add the sugar. It’s not enough just to mix the two – you need to extract as much oil from the almonds as possible. Add the vanilla and slowly mix in the egg whites to make a dough. It should be firm enough to be kneaded by hand. Divide the dough into 12 small balls of equal size. Place the balls on a non-stick baking sheet (or oil a sheet of baking paper) and flatten lightly. They will spread out while cooking, so space them well apart.
Brush the surface of the macaroons with cold water and sprinkle with a pinch of icing sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Once the biscuits are cold, sandwich them together with a teaspoon of mandarin curd, or serve them plain.
Makes 12.
Mandarin curd
2 eggs
150g sugar
150ml mandarin juice
1½ tbsp unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Blend the eggs, sugar and juice together. Pour into an ovenproof container, then place in a deep roasting dish with hot water coming halfway up the side of the container. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and whisk in the butter until the curd thickens.