Cookery: Good morning, this is your bake up call

For far too long baking has been considered as 'best left to the experts'. Not any more. You can make (or bake) the most delicious dishes. All you need is a good recipe, an oven and fresh ingredients. Simple presentations or rich concoctions of succulence and flavour, it's all up to you...

There is something so magical about baking... you place a pale mass of quivering dough in the oven and after an impatient wait, you take out a golden, crisp-surfaced warm loaf of bread that tastes fantastic when eaten with a dab of butter. There is nothing quite like it.

There is also very little that compares favourably with the satisfaction of bringing a dish straight from the oven to the table, its layers of succulence hidden under a crisp, firm crust. Be it pies, cakes, souffles, cookies, brownies, tarts, meat, fish, or simply vegetables, baked food has a distinct flavour and you enjoy putting it all together as much as you enjoy eating it.

But to get your dish right, practice is the key. It may be frustrating at times when your souffles won't rise or your cookies refuse to look like cookies.

For beginners, it is best to follow the recipe faithfully. The exact measurements of leavening agents, yeast, salt and the main ingredients have to be maintained for perfect results, time after time.

Discipline and dedication are important but in many other instances, an imaginative treatment of ingredients can also produce unexpectedly delicious results.

Here are some great recipes for beginners as well as experts to attempt...

Curried Chicken Pie