• All you need to do is just cut out a stencil of any snowflakes pattern on a reasonably thick paper (yes, make sure it's thick enough to hold on the icing sugar), push a needle through the middle and stick the needle (together with the stencil, obviously) into the centre of the cake.
• For extra precaution, brush the stencil with some water to just slightly moisturise the surface so that the dusted sugar would stick on (instead of falling off onto the cake) when you remove the stencil.
• Using a fine sieve, dust some icing sugar onto the stencil and cake, making sure that the sugar covers the cake and forms clear edges of pattern along the stencil.

I made this Victoria Sponge Cake for my neighbour's Christmas get-together and the simple, mess-free decoration looked very presentable as a gift or a potluck dish!

This decoration is also great for little cupcakes but I do find that the bigger your cake is (at least a 9-inch), the more elaborate pattern of stencils that you can experiment on. Try it for the next Christmas!

An easy, filling dish for the lazy Sundays. Recipe serves four, adapted from Zu, quickneasytreats.blogspot.com

What you need:

• 3 medium or large Russet potatoes, cooked and sliced thinly
• 2 tomatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can tuna in brine
• 2 tbsp chopped corriander leaves
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1oo ml whipping cream
• Shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese for topping
• Sprinklings of bread or biscuit crumbs
• White pepper to season

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius and greased a large casserole dish with butter
2. In a bowl, mix together the tuna, tomatoes, onion, corriander and mayonnaise. Season with pepper.
3. Arrange 1/3 of the sliced, cooked potatoes at the bottom of the dish, followed by half of the tuna mixture.
4. Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese and alternate with another potato and tuna layer. Finish with the last 1/3 of sliced potatoes.
5. Pour cream over the gratin and sprinkle shredded cheese generously over the cream. Top with bread or biscuit crumbs for the extra crunch and sweetness.
6. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes till the top is golden brown. Serve warm with salad.

• 100g fresh bread or biscuit crumbs
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp fresh chopped coriander
• Half a cup of natural yoghurt
• 12 chicken drumstikcs
• Dashes of olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celcius. Mix together the crumbs, flour, cumin, chilli powder, paprika and fresh coriander. Spread the mixture on a shallow plate.
2. Pour the yoghurt into another plate. Dip the chicken drumsticks frist in the yoghurt, then in the crumb mixture to coat evenly. (Note: You can make some diagonal cuts over the drumsticks' flesh to help it cook more thoroughly later)
3. Place the drumsticks on a lightly oiled baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden, crisp and cooked through. Serve with potato wedges, green salad and mayonnaise!

What you need:

• 3 or 4 US potatoes
• Salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 220 degrees celcius. Peel and cut the potatoes into wedges - quarter them up, then half the quarter.
2. Put them into a pot of water to get rid of extra starch. Soak for 1o minutes, rinse and drain well.
3. Return the potatoes into a pot on stove with enough water to cover them. Add 1/2 tsp salt and bring to boil. Once it boils, reduce heat & simmer for 3 minutess. Drain the potatoes well & pat dry on kitchen paper towels.
4. Place the potatoes strips on a large baking sheet; do not overcrowd. Sprinkle olive oil generously over them. Gently toss the potatoes to mix well with the oil.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet and turn the wedges over & continue to roast for another 15 mins or until it´s well browned & crisp.
6. Remove from oven & immediately sprinkle with salt over the hot wedges & serve immediately with ketchup or mayonnaise.