Chocolate and clementine come together here in a deliciously light 'rocky' bun. For an extra chocolatey orange touch why not drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cakes? Green and Black's Maya gold (orange and spices), or organic milk chocolate orange flavour would work wonderfully!

Makes: 12 cakes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
200g self raising flour
25g cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
125g butter
40g granulated sugar
100g candied orange and lemon peel (I got mine from Tesco)
1 medium egg
2 clementines (zested and juiced)
2 tablespoons demerara sugar for decoration

 
You could make your own mince pies for this fudge, but this recipe is so simple and effective it's just easy to use shop bought! If you are a real fan of mince pies, add 2 tablespoons of mincemeat as well as the bashed-up mince pies. A thermometer is handy but not essential to make this fudge.

Adapted from Domestic Sluttery (Dec 2012)
Makes: 30 squares
Cooking time: 20-30 mins, plus 2 hours to cool

Ingredients:
225g butter (salted, or add a pinch of salt to unsalted)
450g caster sugar
One tin condensed milk (397g)
6 mince pies (optional: + 2 tablespoons mincemeat)

 
This year I decided to go for it and make homemade presents for 3 people. These recipes all took a couple of hours each to make, and filled 3x400ml jars. If you have some fairly common pantry items, and can get the out of season fruit/veg frozen then they all work out as quite cheap which is nice! 
I made:
Mango and apple chutney
Rhubarb and date chutney (I had a lot of excess chutney with this recipe)
Sweet chilli jam
and....
Clementine, cranberry and whisky marmalade! Now this smelled fantastic as it was bubbling away on the stove so i'll share the recipe here with you.

Ingredients:
600g clementines
4 lemons
225g cranberries (I used dried but fresh/frozen is ok)
1.6kg granulated sugar
150ml whisky
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Clockwise from top left: sweet chilli jam, mango and apple, rhubarb and date, marmalade

 
Starbucks have been promoting their pumpkin spice lattes incredibly hard this year in the UK. Despite the fact they contain no actual pumpkin I have to admit they are delicious! I always like to make a little something with pumpkin when the clocks go back and the nights draw in, plus I love all the spices of the season (see pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin fudge and salted caramel cookies). 
I can never seem to get the texture to my liking when I make cookies with pumpkin (they always seem to end up as little cakes) so I've decided I should probably call these 'cakelets'. They taste OK on their own but topped with coffee and cream 'latte' icing are absolutely delicious, and I'd probably choose them over the drink. Come on, who wouldn't choose the cakelet?!

 
I used this lemon curd in a lemon victoria sponge cake instead of jam, but it's delicious on toast, crumpets and scones as well!

Adapted from Bakers Royale (Feb 2011)
Preparation time: half an hour, plus time for cooling

Ingredients:
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx 6 lemons)
225g granulated sugar
Zest from 2 lemons
6 medium egg yolks
10 tablespoons of butter, cut into pieces

Directions: 
1. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy in a saucepan.

2. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until incorporated.

 
Ever have those days where you want to make something easy, and not even bother switching on the oven? Yep, me too! This key lime pie is delicious, and so easy to make. I can guarantee you won't ever have any leftovers!

You can make this on days where you can't bear to switch on the oven as it's so hot, or in the depths of winter as the ginger biscuit base with a hint of cinnamon complement each other nicely.
Adapted from AllRecipes
Makes: One 23cm pie, or 6-8 ramekins
Preparation time: 15 mins plus at least 2 hours for the pie to set

Ingredients:
200g pepperkaker biscuits (ginger biscuits sold in Ikea), or plain hobnobs
125g melted butter
30g dessicated coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
7 limes
200g crème fraîche
370ml Carnation condensed milk (plus a little extra just in case)

 
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Coconut, pineapple and rum... is there a more heavenly combination in the summer? Pina coladas remind me of sunshine, lying on the beach, impromptu drinks made with ice cream at BBQs and tiki bars. 

If you can't indulge in the cocktail, have a go at these cakes because they're almost as good as the real thing!


 
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A bit of a twist on traditional flapjacks with the addition of sweet figs, but this recipe is still extremely straightforward!

Adapted from All Recipes
Cooking time: 30-40 mins + 8 hours left in the pan!

Ingredients:
375g butter
225g golden syrup (1/2 a tin of Lyle's in the UK)
250g dark brown soft sugar
500g porridge oats
300g figs, chopped into chunks, and to remove stalks




 
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Lady Grey tea has a delicate flavour, with hints of oranges and lemons. 
I found some in the supermarket and thought I'd try tea infused cakes after seeing a recipe on Emily Kate Makes. 
They turned out very light and tasty, and perfect for afternoon tea of course!
After making these cakes I'm tempted to try again with Tetley's Earl Grey and vanilla, or Twinings Lavender Earl Grey. So many teas, so little time!


 
I don't know about you, but I can never find buttermilk in supermarkets where I live. I don't know if it's a UK thing or I just live by really bad shops! This original recipe called for buttermilk so I've substituted a crème fraîche and milk mixture instead which has turned out an absolute treat. You (and some friends, or not... I'm not judging!) should eat these scones by the day after baking, as they taste best when fresh. Pop them in the freezer if you know you won't scoff them all and reheat in the oven when you're ready for them.

Adapted from Joy the Baker (March 2013)
Makes 12 scones
Cooking time: 15-20 mins