Follow our step-by-step guide to make your own light and fluffy marshmallows.

Makes: 12-16
Preparation time: about 1 hour

• 30ml gelatine
• 400g (470ml) sugar
• 15ml liquid glucose or golden syrup
• 2 large egg whites
• vanilla essence (optional)
• food colouring (optional)
• 50ml icing sugar
• 50ml cornflour

1 Add 100ml water to a bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine. Set aside. Combine sugar, glucose, a pinch of salt and 250ml water. Warm over a low heat without boiling, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Brush sugar crystals from the sides with a little water.

2 Allow the mixture to simmer, without stirring, until it reaches soft-ball stage or 112-115°C. (Drop a small amount of the syrup into a bowl with cold water; it should form a soft ball.)

3 Stir in the hydrated gelatine. Set aside. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the hot syrup to the egg whites in a steady stream while the beater is running.

4 Beat for about 10-15 minutes until the mixture is cooled and thick. Add the essence and colouring, if using. Beat well until the mixture can hold its shape.

5 Sift half of the icing sugar and cornflour into the bottom of a lined 20 x 25cm dish or tin. Pour in the marshmallow mixture.

6 Sift the remaining cornflour and icing sugar on top of the mixture. Leave to set. Heat a sharp knife and cut into squares, or use a cookie cutter to cut shapes out.

Toasted coconut marshmallows
Prepare the marshmallows according to the recipe alongside, but use toasted coconut instead of the cornflour and icing sugar. Once you have cut the marshmallows into squares, dip the cut sides into extra toasted coconut.

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Bring back happy memories from your childhood with one of these old-fashioned confections.

Makes: 16-24 squares
Preparation time: about 30 minutes, plus cooling time

• 800g (940ml) sugar
• 300ml milk
• 35ml golden syrup
• 40ml liquid glucose (or use golden syrup)
• 1 can condensed milk
• 50g (55ml) butter
• 5ml vanilla essence

1 Heat the sugar, milk and a pinch of salt together in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Brush down the sugar crystals from the sides of the saucepan with a little water. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the remaining ingredients except for the essence and allow the mixture to come to the boil.

2 Reduce the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches soft- ball stage (112-115°C). Test by dropping a little of the mixture into cold water. It should form a soft ball.

3 Remove from the heat and leave the mixture to cool down until it is lukewarm (50°C). Add the essence and then beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes thick and creamy.

4 Pour immediately into a greased 20cm loaf tin or 20cm square tin and set aside to cool completely. Cut into squares with a hot knife. Store in an airtight container.

You can decoupage almost anything you choose; there are so many possibilities!

You need
• item that you want to decorate (wood, ceramic, metal, glass, and so on)
• thin paper or serviettes to decorate with
• modge podge
• suitable clear varnish (optional)
• sponge or craft brush
• scissors

To make
1 Wash and dry the item. Remove any grease. Prepare the item correctly before you start: lightly sand away rust, paint it, or block off sections with masking tape. If the surface is porous, such as wood, you can seal it with a layer of modge podge.

2 Think about how you want to decorate the item and cut the paper or serviettes accordingly.

3 Paint a thin layer of modge podge over the section where you will begin, place a piece of paper on top and paint over another layer of modge podge.

4 Smooth out any wrinkles or creases, but be careful not to tear the paper.

5 Repeat these steps until you are finished. Leave the item to dry then paint on another layer or two of modge podge. After these layers have dried, you can paint on another couple of layers of modge podge in a criss-cross way.

6 When the modge podge is completely dry, you can seal the item with a clear varnish, if you prefer. There are several varnishes that are specially formulated for decoupage. You can also use resin, if it is suitable for your project.

Bring back happy memories from your childhood with this old-fashioned confection.

Makes: about 40
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus drying time

• 250g (480ml) icing sugar
• 35ml cream
• 5ml peppermint essence
• green or other food colouring of your choice

1 Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add a pinch of salt. Stir in the cream and essence. Mix well and knead until smooth. Add a little more cream if necessary.

2 Divide in half. Colour one of the halves with a drop of green food colouring and leave the other white (use different colours, if you prefer).

3 Roll into small balls and leave on a lined baking tray to dry out and harden. Or you can roll into a thin log shape and cut into slices.

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KWV Classic Collection includes a range of stylish and sophisticated wines. Ultimately, the vision is that every vintage of KWV Classic Collection should be better than the last.  These wines are crafted with extraordinary skill and dedication, fit for every special moment.
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Giveaway ends 10 June 2013.

Dust off your old things and pretty them up with decoupage.

Plates
We took photos of a couple of pretty plates, printed them out onto paper and then used the pictures to decorate other plates. Cut the pictures to the correct size then cut them in half. Use these halves to decorate one half of every plate. You can also use a plain white plate and decoupage it with two different halves. Smooth out all the creases, especially over the curved section.

Focus wall
We used a roll of leftover wallpaper and more pictures of plates to make this wall decoration. Arrange the pictures all over the back of a piece of wallpaper, stick them down and then stick the wallpaper onto the wall.

Bring back happy memories from your childhood with one of these old-fashioned confections.

Makes: about 20 squares
Preparation time: about 45 minutes

• 25ml butter
• 320g (375ml) sugar
• 360g (250ml) golden syrup
• 150g peanuts (salted or unsalted)
• 1ml bicarbonate of soda, sifted

1 Heat the butter in a saucepan until melted. Add the sugar, the syrup, a pinch of salt and 100ml water. Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has melted. Brush down the sugar crystals from the side of the saucepan with a little water.

2 Simmer, without stirring, until the mixture reaches hard-crack stage (149-154°C). To test, drop a little mixture into cold water. It should separate into thin threads that are firm and brittle.

3 Add the peanuts and the bicarbonate of soda. Pour into a greased 25cm square baking tin. Mark into squares with a knife before the toffee has hardened. Break into squares and store in an airtight container.

Tips for making sweets
Making sweets can be tricky. It is easier to achieve good results if you use a sugar thermometer to make sure that the temperatures are accurate.
• Make sure you follow the recipe properly and measure accurately. Don’t substitute any ingredients.
• Be very careful when working with sugar syrup. It gets extremely hot and can cause nasty burns.
• Don’t make sweets on a humid day. If there is too much humidity in the air, the sweets will not set properly.
• Always store the sweets in an airtight container.

Use one strand of chunky and double knit, but two strands of 4-ply.

You will need
• sufficient scraps of yarn in chunky, double knit and 4-ply
• 5mm crochet hook
• tapestry needle
• scissors
• bolster cushion inner
• measuring tape
• dressmaker’s pins

Before you begin
• Change the wool colours as required.

To measure
Use a measuring tape to measure the circumference of the cushion (measurement 1), as well as the length (measurement 2) and diameter (measurement 3).

Abbreviations
ch        chain stitch
rep      repeat
rnd(s) round(s)
sl st     slip stitch
sp(s)   space(s)
tr         treble

To crochet ‘body’ of cushion
Using 5mm crochet hook, crochet ch to the length of measurement 1.

Row 1: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in 4th ch from crochet hook, crochet 1 tr in each ch to end of chain length, turn.

Row 2: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in each tr to end of row, turn.

Row 3 and onwards: Rep row 2 until work is the same length as measurement 2. Fasten off. To crochet 2 circles at cushion ends Using 5mm crochet hook, crochet 3 ch.
TIP Use knot as in photograph (step 1) of patchwork blanket to start with circle. Crochet circle only to same diameter as measurement 3. Change colours as and if required.

Rnd 1: Crochet 11 tr in 1st ch (of knot; as in step 1), sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 2: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, crochet 2 tr in each tr of rnd 1, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 3: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in next tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 4: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 2 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 5: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 3 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 6: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 4 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 7: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 5 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 8: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 6 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 9: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 7 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made.

Rnd 10: Crochet 3 ch, crochet 1 tr in same sp as sl st, *1 tr in each of next 8 tr, 2 tr in next tr,* rep from * to * to end of rnd, sl st in 3rd ch made. Fasten off only when diameter of circle matches measurement 3.

To make up
Place crocheted piece around bolster cushion and sew up seam of body using the tapestry needle and a scrap of yarn. Pin circles with dressmaker’s pins to ends of cushion. Sl st each circle to body of cushion. Fasten off. Darn in all loose yarn ends.

It’s quick, it’s easy and most of the ingredients are already in your store cupboard.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 20 minutes
Oven temperature: 200°C

• 1 roll puff pastry, defrosted
• 12-16 brown mushrooms, depending on size
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• about 200g feta cheese, crumbled
• 100ml pesto in any choice of flavour, to serve
• salad, to serve

1 Use a cookie cutter to cut out pastry circles about the same size as the mushrooms. Place on a lined baking sheet and brush with the egg.

2 Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth and use a small knife to cut out the stem. Place the mushrooms onto the pastry discs. Mix the feta with the remaining egg and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon the feta into the mushrooms and press lightly.

3 Place in a preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and puffed. Garnish with pesto and serve immediately with salad.