Sweet Sharing Platter

Heat the oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Mix in the baking powder, rolled oats and sugar.

Melt the butter, syrup or honey and milk in a saucepan or microwave and stir. Add to the dry ingredients. Mix until the liquid is well combined into the oaty mixture.

Weigh the mixture, divide by 30, and spoon each amount onto baking trays. Shape into rounds, leaving about 3-4cm between each biscuit as they will spread whilst cooking.

Bake for 10-15 mins, or until golden brown. Leave to cool for 5 mins before removing from the tray. While the biscuits are cooking make the Baileys filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, icing sugar and salt together until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the Baileys and beat until just combined.

Spread ½ tbsp of the filling onto one cookie and sandwich with another. Repeat until you have 15 sandwich cookies. Chill for 1 hr until the filling is firm. It's time to serve the deliciousness up, Cloud nine, here you come.

To make the macarons, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the powdered sugar, almond flour, and ½ teaspoon of salt, and process on low speed, until extra fine. Sift the almond flour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.

In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the granulated sugar until fully incorporated. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form (you should be able to turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out). Add the vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Add about ⅓ of the sifted almond flour mixture at a time to the beaten egg whites and use a spatula to gently fold until combined. After the last addition of almond flour, continue to fold slowly until the batter falls into ribbons and you can make a figure 8 while holding the spatula up.

Divide the mixture into 3 separate bowls, add 2 drops of the pink, green and brown food colouring to each and beat until just combined.

Transfer the macaron batters into three piping bags fitted with a round tip. Place 4 dots of the batter in each corner of a rimmed baking sheet, and place a piece of parchment paper over it, using the batter to help adhere the parchment to the baking sheet. Pipe the macarons onto the parchment paper in 1½-inch (3-cm) circles, spacing at least 1-inch (2-cm) apart. Tap the baking sheet on a flat surface 5 times to release any air bubbles. Let the macarons sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until dry to the touch.

Preheat the oven to 150˚C. Bake the macarons for 17 minutes, until the feet are well-risen and the macarons don’t stick to the parchment paper. Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

To make the Baileys buttercream, in a large bowl, add the butter and beat with a mixer for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Sift in the icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat to combine. Add the Baileys, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until desired consistency is reached.

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Add a dollop of buttercream to one macaron shell. Top it with another macaron shell to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining macaron shells and Baileys buttercream until all the shells are complete. Serve immediately. Congratulations, you've got yourself the most delightful treat.

Prepare an 8-inch by 11-inch pan by lining it with plastic wrap, leaving enough excess to pull the nougat out once it has set. Spray the lining with nonstick cooking spray, taking care to spray the sides well Place the edible rice paper in a single layer on the bottom of the pan; you may need to cut the paper to fit to the pan.

Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of a large stand mixer that has been thoroughly cleaned and dried. Any traces of grease on the bowl or whisk will prevent the egg whites from beating properly.

Combine 3 cups of sugar, honey, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. The mixture will foam up as it cooks, so be sure your pan is large enough so it can safely triple in size. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any stray sugar crystals. Insert a thermometer and continue to cook the syrup, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 143 C.

When the syrup reaches 132 C, start beating the egg whites and salt with the large mixer using the whisk attachment until you have soft peaks. When the whites form soft peaks, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, a little at a time, until the whites are shiny and can hold firm peaks. Ideally, this stage should be reached when the sugar syrup reaches 143 C but, if the whites are at stiff peaks before the syrup is ready, stop the mixer, so the whites are not overbeaten. Replace the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment.

Continue to cook the syrup until it reaches 290 F / 143 C then remove the pan from the burner. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly and carefully stream the hot syrup into the egg whites. (be very careful when pouring the hot sugar syrup directly from the saucepan into the mixer.) Increase the speed of the mixer to medium-high, and continue to beat the egg whites for 5 minutes, until very thick, stiff, and shiny.

Add the three extracts—vanilla, orange, and almond—and beat briefly to incorporate them. Add the almonds, pistachios, cherries, cranberries, Baileys Irish Liquor and freeze dried raspberries to the bowl, and stir until they're well incorporated. The candy will be very sticky and stiff, and will go a lovely pink colour from the freeze dried raspberries.

Working quickly before the mixture cools, scrape the mixture into the lined and greased pan, then use an offset spatula or knife sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to smooth the top. Cover with another layer of rice paper, cut to fit.

Place a pan of the same size on top of your nougat, and place a large book or another heavy object in the pan to weigh it down. Let sit at room temperature for several hours.

When you are ready to cut the nougat, lift it from the pan using the plastic wrap as handles. Spray a large sharp chef's knife with nonstick cooking spray, and cut the nougat into small squares. If the knife gets too sticky, periodically wash it with hot water and dry it between cuts. Nougat can be served immediately or stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. It is sticky and will gradually lose its shape once cut, so for storage purposes, wrap individual squares in nonstick waxed paper.