THREE recipes by former Bake Off star John Whaite taken from his latest cookbook A Flash In The Pan...

MACARONI CHEESE FRITTATA

Mac and cheese in a frittata? Hell, yeah.

"One of the ultimate images of comfort-food joy has to be the sneaky picking of the best bits," says John Whaite. "Whether it's lasagne or macaroni cheese, those charred, burnished bits that transform from tender, cheesy pasta, to smouldered and crunchy corners are some of the most happiness-inducing nibbles we can encounter.

"This macaroni cheese frittata, with its burnished underside, is basically a giant crispy corner."

Ingredients:

(Serves 2-4)

75g macaroni

50g evaporated milk

1/2tsp English mustard

50g grated Cheddar, plus extra to finish

40g Stilton, crumbled

Small handful of parsley, roughly chopped

3 large eggs

1tbsp sunflower oil

Tabasco sauce

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Bring a medium saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions - normally about eight minutes - until al dente. Drain.

2. Return the pasta to the pan and add the evaporated milk, mustard, Cheddar, Stilton and parsley. Set over a medium heat and stir until the cheese melts into the milk and coats the pasta. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the eggs to the pan with the pasta and beat until well mixed.

3. Set a small, deep-sided frying or saute pan over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil, then the egg and pasta mixture, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with a lid or a larger pan, and fry for 10-15 minutes, until the frittata is set. Drizzle with Tabasco sauce, scatter over a little extra grated Cheddar and serve.

HOW TO MAKE MIRACLE GRANOLA

This really is a breakfast of champions.

"I'm not one for undue hyperbole," says John Whaite, "so when I say this is a miracle recipe, please do believe me. There's little more gleefully welcomed to a breakfast table than homemade granola, but the oven-baked variety, while so simple, is a little time-consuming. This is made within a matter of minutes, and the seeds and dried fruit can be adjusted to suit personal tastes.

"If you're vegan, you could substitute the butter with coconut oil, but I much prefer burning the butter to get that caramelised hit. When made, this will keep in an airtight tub for weeks - if you ensure the hole in the jar is small enough to restrict pilfering handfuls."

Ingredients:

(Serves 10)

200g jumbo porridge oats

70g pecans, roughly chopped

70g pumpkin seeds

70g buckwheat

60g unsalted butter

60g maple syrup

60g light brown muscovado sugar

100g dried apple, roughly chopped

1/2tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat a large frying pan over a high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oats and toast, tossing frequently, for a minute or two.

2. Pour the oats into a bowl, return the pan to the heat and add the pecans, pumpkin seeds and buckwheat. Toast, tossing frequently, for two minutes, until everything smells wonderfully roasted and the pumpkin seeds have stopped popping violently. Pour into a separate bowl.

3. Put the pan back on the heat and add the butter, allowing it to melt and sizzle, until the sizzling stops and you have a thick foam made of fine bubbles on top - this will only take a minute or two. It should be burnt, so don't be flapping. Just throw in the syrup and sugar, and heat for a minute, stirring to combine everything well, letting them bubble together. Ensure there are no lumps of sugar lurking about in the pan.

4. Add the oats to the pan and stir to coat them really well in the sweet, caramelised butter mixture. Once well-coated, allow them to cook for just a minute more, stirring constantly.

5. Pour the oats onto a baking sheet and allow to cool for a few minutes, then toss together with the toasted nuts, seeds and buckwheat, the dried apple and the cinnamon.

6. Once completely cool, tip into a large storage jar.

TOFFEE APPLE AND SALTED PRETZEL ROCKY ROAD

While rocky road needs, obviously, to have a good crunch to it, it's important that we don't neglect chewiness and fruitiness. This is a triple threat," John Whaite states matter-of-factly.

"The wafers used here are those discs comprising two very thin biscuits, sandwiched together with an impossibly chewy layer of caramel - they're sometimes sold under their Dutch name stroopwafel."

Ingredients:

(Makes 12-16)

250g dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids), broken into chunks

100g milk chocolate, broken into chunks

125g salted butter

1tbsp golden syrup

50g mini marshmallows

100g caramel/toffee wafers (stroopwafel), roughly chopped

100g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

100g salted pretzels, roughly crushed

100g dried apple, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.

2. Put both the chocolates, butter and the golden syrup into a medium saucepan and set over a medium-low heat. Stirring frequently, allow everything to melt together into a smooth, chocolatey pool.

3. Put all the remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture into the mixing bowl and stir so that everything is evenly mixed and coated in the chocolate.

5. Scoop into the prepared cake tin, press down to level and refrigerate for an hour or until set solid. Cut into the desired number and sized pieces.