A few years ago in Poland we had a difficult time when in sweet shops they only had products which had nothing to do with chocolate. Mums had to prepare their own candies for their children. My mum very often baked cakes and made sugar lollypops, sweet oat or rice balls. You can make these sweets in no time, and the children - eager for sweets - ate them just as quickly.

This difficult time is fortunately behind us, but I often make small, sweet oat balls for my children. Today I would like to share with you the recipe for nutty candy bars made with peanut butter and expanded rice. They are very easy to make and really yummy. Ask your children to prepare the sweets with you. They will be delighted to make their own dessert. I recommend it!

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
150g of white chocolate
75-100g of expanded rice
50g of dark chocolate
a fistful of pistachios

Everyone associates the winter and December with Christmas, family atmosphere, and the spicy fragrance of cakes and cookies. Today I decided to welcome to my home the warm flavour of cinnamon rolls, which are excellent with a cup of hot cocoa. They are also a nice part of the school packed lunch. I put small cinnamon rolls into my daughter's lunch box. It was a shame that I couldn't see her face when she opened her box. I don't think this is the last time I'll prepare cinnamon rolls this year.

Ingredients:
dough
250g of flour
7g of dry yeast
1 egg
75g of sugar
125ml of milk
40 g of butter
a pinch of salt
filling
70g of butter
20g of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar
70g of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of lemon zest
lemon icing

I think the winter is coming. Today I prepared chocolate cake, which I usually make when it is drab outside. My children like it. Sometimes I think that I could make chocolate cake or chocolate muffins every week and they would never get fed up. I guess I won't be trying this. I don't want to starve myself of apple pie or cake with plums. After all, I don't only prepare desserts for my children.

Ingredients (20 cm cake tin)
100g of chocolate
100g of butter
2 tablespoons of cocoa
50ml of water
125g of sugar
130g of flour
3 tablespoons of ground almonds
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 banana
2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
chocolate icing
almond flakes

The rustic tart is in my opinion one of the most excellent discoveries of the last year. I don't think it's possible to make an easier cake. You only need to knead a smooth dough and use good quality ingredients. There's nothing else to it. You can even roll the dough any old way you like. You don't need to worry about uneven edges and you don't need to use a tart mould. You can use any fruit you like, such as pears, apples, peaches or nectarines. I like it best with plums. The cake smells excellent, looks beautiful and doesn't need a lot of work. It is simply a perfect cake.

Ingredients:
dough
130g wheat flour
3 tablespoons of wheat meal
4 tablespoons of minced almonds
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of cream
120g of butter
stuffing
6 plums
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of wheat flour
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of milk

The autumn indicates that the winter is coming. Winter is my bête noire season. I don't like extremes in the weather, whether that be heatwaves or too much snow. But the short days and lack of sunlight are the winter symbols which I dislike the most. Now I try not to think about it, because I want to feel good about the beauty and flavours of autumn.

If I think about autumn, I see colourful plums. I can eat them constantly. I like them in cakes, but they are also excellent in desserts, salads and jams. A few weeks ago I promised to make an upside down cake with plums, and today I decided to deliver on my promise. The cake was fluffy, moist and sweet, just the way we like it.

Ingredients:
280g of flour
125g of brown sugar
80g of butter
250ml of milk
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
a pinch of salt
8 plums
120g of brown sugar