Refreshing and fragrant, homemade elderflower cordial is so much better and more pleasing than anything you can buy in the shops. The elderflower season is short, and falls in early summer, but makes a great excuse for long walks spent collecting flowers.

Dough loves a humid environment to prove. Achieve great results by spraying lightly with water, then place in a warm location. You don't want the dough to dry out.

The high temperatures of Thermomix® caramelise the red onions for a fuller flavour in this tasty chutney. Serve with goat’s cheese on crackers or crostini for a great canapé, or add to a cheese board.

In step 5, potatoes should be cooked through but still firm enough that a knife can pass easily through without mashing.

Dip your fingertips in a little oil before making indentations in the dough in step 6.

Serve with cheese or as a condiment for meat or fish or with an Indian curry meal.

To make your own tandoori paste, please refer to the recipe on Cookidoo®.

Thanks to Thermomix® it’s easier than ever to make your own nut milks. The powerful blending results in richly flavoured milk, in this case almond, although the method works equally well for other nut varieties.

This recipe is a favorite of Diamond Club Member, Vanessa Musi .

If you don't have a punch bowl, you can serve your sangria in the large jug instead.

1 tsp homemade vanilla sugar is roughly equivalent to 3 tsp (15 g) shop-bought vanilla sugar.

Replace pitted Kalamata olives with pitted olives of choice in this recipe.

To prepare jars, thoroughly wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse by pouring over boiling water. Prepare for filling, if needed, by placing on a clean tea towel in a roasting tin and heating in the oven at 100˚C until required.

Freeze jalapeño slices in advance, spread sliced peppers on a cookie sheet and freeze for 1 hour. Place sliced jalapeños in freezer bags, remove as much air as possible and seal for future use.

You can shape the dough into a single free-form loaf, just be sure to extend baking time by about 10 minutes.

To prepare bottles, thoroughly wash bottles and lids in hot, soapy water. Rinse by pouring over boiling water and leave to drain - do not dry or touch the inside surfaces.

This impressive French bread is named for its striking resemblance to a wheat stalk. While it looks complex, the unique pattern is made with scissors using a simple cutting technique. This is a great sharing bread for a dinner party. Alternatively, leave as a log shape and slice to serve.

Fry some red onion in a little olive oil and spread on top before baking. Use or omit cherry tomatoes as desired.

Roast potatoes are an essential accompaniment to any roast meal. In this version, we steam the potatoes in the Varoma before finishing them off in the oven with a couple of garlic cloves and a few sprigs of rosemary. Serve them to your guests and watch them fight over who gets the crispiest ones!

To slice steak, find the direction of the grain (the lines of muscle fibre) and slice across the grain rather than parallel to it.