Despite formal training as a pastry chef, combined with additional years of baking, whisking, rolling and folding, New York-based food writer Alison Roman’s recipe style remains rustic, carefree and approachable.

“My pies still leak, cheesecakes crack, and pound cakes are pulled from the oven before they’re fully baked. Lopsided and wonky, occasionally almost burned, unevenly frosted, my desserts are consistently imperfect. But perfection is boring,” she writes in the introduction to her latest cookbook, Sweet Enough.

Instead, she has focused on the “excellence of basicness” – reliable, foolproof base recipes you can fancy up at will. These are some of her favourites. They’re bound to become yours, too.

Raspberry ricotta cake

This cake is on the less-sweet side, precisely my intention. If you’re craving something a bit stickier, a bit sweeter, know that, in lieu of the unsweetened berries, this versatile batter can be baked with 1 cup of jam or marmalade swirled in (any of your choice). The result will be a little sweeter and a bit more subtle in its delivery of the fruit, thanks to its more even distribution, but will still be very delicious and extremely snackable.

INGREDIENTS

• 220g (1½ cups) plain flour
• 1 scant tbsp (12g) baking powder

• 1 tsp (4g) salt

• 365g (1½ cups) ricotta cheese
• 275g (1¼ cups) sugar
• 3 large eggs

• ½ tsp (2g) vanilla extract

• grated zest of 1 lemon, lime, grapefruit or orange (optional)

• 115g unsalted butter, melted
• 340-450g raspberries or blackberries, fresh or frozen

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Spray a 23cm round cake tin with cooking spray and line with a round of baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the ricotta, 220g (1 cup) of the sugar, the eggs, vanilla and citrus zest (if using) until smooth. Whisk or gently fold into the flour mixture until just blended. Fold in the melted butter, followed by half the raspberries, crushing them ever so slightly as you fold – you don’t want them to disappear into the batter, just be distributed evenly to create a nice, streaky look, almost like tie-dye.
4. Transfer the batter to the cake tin and scatter the remaining raspberries and 55g (¼ cup) sugar over the top. (It might look like a lot of sugar – it is! But it’s necessary, promise.)
5. Bake until the cake is golden brown, and a tester or toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before unmoulding.

Makes one 23cm cake

Eat with: A bowl of ricotta (sweetened or unsweetened) on the side (you know you want to).

Do ahead: This cake can be baked 3 days ahead, wrapped tightly in plastic and stored at room temperature.

Tiny strawberry galettes

Not all fruit is interesting enough to carry a small hand-held galette on its own without the need for additional flavours or faffing, but in-season strawberries absolutely are. The perfectly juicy little orbs transform in the oven; juices bubble up and evaporate, concentrating flavours, while the texture and shape stay intact, firming up not unlike a semi-leathery sun-dried tomato. What comes out is a better strawberry than what went in, baked inside a personalised flaky, caramelised crust.

INGREDIENTS

• plain flour, for dusting
• 2 discs The Only Pie Crust (see below)
• 680g strawberries, hulled and quartered (or chopped if especially large)
• 2 tbsp (30g) cornflour
• 7g (⅓ cup) sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1½ tbsp (30g) fresh lemon or lime juice
• ½ tsp rosewater or orange blossom water (optional)
• 1 large egg
• finely chopped pistachios, pecans, almonds or hazelnuts (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each disc of dough out to about 35cm in diameter. Make sure the dough is evenly rolled, with no parts thicker or thinner than the others, even if that means an uneven circular shape. Cut each dough round into four even quarters and transfer to a baking tray. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, cornflour, sugar, lemon juice and rosewater, if using. Toss once or twice to combine.
4. Remove the dough from the fridge. Working with one at a time, remove a piece of dough from the baking tray. Spoon the strawberry mixture in the centre of the dough, leaving about a 2.5cm border, and piling it higher rather than spreading wider. Fold up the edges just over the edge of the fruit, making more of an imperfect circular shape rather than reinforcing the triangle shape from whence it came. If you notice any large tears or cracks, simply patch them up by pressing the dough back together until sealed. Return each small galette to a baking tray.
5. Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of water and brush the edges of the crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle any finely chopped nuts you may be using over the crust, followed by a nice dusting of sugar.
6. Bake, rotating the baking trays once or twice, for 35-40 minutes, until the crust of the galettes is deeply browned, and the filling is bubbling, looking thick and shiny like melted fruit leather. Remove from the oven and let cool before eating.

Makes 8 galettes

Eat with: A scoop of any ice-cream you’d want to have with strawberries.

Do ahead: Tiny galettes are great made in advance and perfect for travel. They’ll last at least 2 days, wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature.

Note: For those lacking in the perfectly ripe, juicy berry department, these galettes will still produce something delicious with even sub-par fruit (again, baking is magic). Other fruits to consider are raspberries (simply left as is), or rhubarb, unpeeled, but cut into 7.5cm pieces.

Lemon shaker pie

From my lemon-obsessed point of view, I can confirm in a totally unbiased way that this is the best pie in the world. The name comes from the Shakers, a religious community who famously make use of the entirety of anything (an animal, a piece of wood, a whole lemon).

It’s going to be sweet, of course, but it will also be bitter, complex and tart because of the whole lemon, custardy because of the eggs, and a little salty, flaky and crunchy because of the pie crust. It’s also going to be easy and foolproof, perfectly set and golden brown each time, as if touched by some sort of baking angel. It’s going to be everything you want a lemon bar to be, but more – and better.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Meyer or large regular lemons (about 300g), very thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 260g (1¼ cups) sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• good pinch of salt
• 4 large eggs
• 35g (¼ cup) plain flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 discs The Only Pie Crust (see below)

METHOD

1. Set aside a few lemon slices to put on top of the pie. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining slices with the sugar and salt. Toss to coat, then let sit at least 2 hours, up to 24 hours, refrigerated.
2. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Remove the lemons from the fridge and whisk in three of the eggs and the flour.
3. Dust a work surface with flour. Roll out each disc of dough to a round, about 35cm in diameter. Lay one into a 23cm pie dish, letting the dough slump into the edges, leaving the overhang. Pour the filling into the crust.
4. Use a paring knife to cut a few vents into the other dough round, or simply prick it all over with a fork. Drape it over the pie filling, then, using your thumb and forefinger, press the top and bottom crusts together to seal them. Using the tines of a fork, press the crusts together onto the pie dish, creating an even tighter seal. Then, using a knife or scissors, trim any excessive overhang.
5. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg with about a teaspoon of water. Brush the pie all over with the egg wash and arrange the reserved lemon slices on top. Sprinkle the whole thing with sugar.
6. Bake until the crust is deeply golden and evenly browned, 70 to 80 minutes. Let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes one 23cm pie

Eat with: Thick clotted cream, mascarpone or creme fraiche.

Do ahead: This pie can be made 3 days ahead. Wrap and store at room temperature or refrigerate.

Note: FYI, FWIW, this is maybe one of the few pies that is better at room temperature – even chilled.

The Only Pie Crust

It’s flaky, it’s buttery, it doesn’t require a food processor (in fact, I’d recommend against using one), and 98 per cent of people who have made it have success with it 100 per cent of the time. My tip here is to resist the urge to add more water – pie dough should never look like a smooth, shiny dough. The flour in the dough will hydrate as it sits, transforming from shaggy to more supple once rested.

INGREDIENTS

• 360g (2½ cups) plain flour, plus more for rolling
• 1½ tsp (8g) sugar
• 1 tsp (4g) salt
• 285g unsalted butter, cut into 2.5cm pieces, chilled
• 1 scant tbsp (15g) apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar
• 60g (¼ cup) ice-cold water, plus more only if you absolutely must

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and toss to coat it in the flour mixture. Using your hands, smash the butter between your palms and fingertips, mixing it into the flour, creating long, thin, flaky, floury, buttery bits. Once most of the butter is incorporated and there are no large chunks remaining, dump the flour mixture onto a work surface.
2. In a measuring cup, combine the vinegar and icy water and drizzle it over the flour mixture. Run your fingers through the mixture like you’re running your fingers through your hair, just to evenly distribute the water through the flour until the dough starts coming together.
3. Knead the dough a few more times, just to gather up any dry bits from the bottom and place them on the top to be incorporated. You will be tempted to add a tablespoon or two more water now – resist if you can, add only if you must.
4. Once you have a shaggy mass of dough (it will not be smooth and it certainly will not be shiny), knead it once or twice more and divide it half. Pat each piece into a flat disc about 2.5cm thick.
5. Wrap each disc individually in cling film. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Makes 2 discs

Use for: Pies, galettes sweet and savoury, hand pies, Pop-Tarts.

Do ahead: The pie dough can be made and refrigerated for up to 1 week, or frozen for up to 2 months.

Perfect salted shortbread

Shortbread is a perfect cookie. Buttery, tender yet crumbly, a little salty, and made with only a few ingredients, most of which you likely have on hand. It can be modified to suit your needs and desires by adding things like chocolate chunks, ground cinnamon, toasted nuts, lemon zest – whatever. This here is the most basic version, a simple, sublime, buttery shortbread that truly holds its own and always seems welcome no matter the occasion, just like a bag of salty potato chips.

INGREDIENTS

• 285g cold salted butter,* cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 110g (½ cup) white sugar, plus more for rolling
• 70g (⅓ cup) light brown sugar
• 1 tsp (5g) vanilla extract
• 325g (2¼ cups) plain flour
• 1 large egg
• flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

METHOD

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle (or use a medium bowl and an electric hand-held mixer, or a food processor), beat the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until the mixture is super light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Using a spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour and beat just to blend.
2. Divide the dough into four even pieces, placing each on a large piece of cling film or baking paper. Fold the plastic or paper over so that it covers the dough, to stop your hands getting sticky. Using your hands, just like you’re playing with clay, form each piece of dough into a log shape, about 3cm in diameter. (I like these shortbreads thicker and smaller in diameter, like little fat, buttery coins.) Rolling the dough on the kitchen benchtop will help you smooth it out, but don’t worry about getting it totally perfect. Refrigerate until totally firm, about 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Line a baking tray or two with baking paper. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon water for your egg wash.
4. Brush the outside of the logs with the egg wash and roll them in more white sugar (for those really delicious crispy edges).
5. Slice each log into 1cm thick rounds, and place on the baking tray(s) about 2.5cm apart. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
6. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown and the shortbreads look sparkly and gorgeously golden, 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely before eating them all. (Trust me, a warm shortbread is great, but a room-temperature shortbread is better.)

Makes 30–40 shortbreads

Note: * If using unsalted butter, add 1¼ teaspoons (5g) salt when beating the butter and sugar.

Eat with: Anything and anyone. Every party, every baby shower, every picnic, every class reunion, every parent-teacher conference, every car boot sale.

Do ahead: The dough can be made 5 days ahead, wrapped tightly and refrigerated (or frozen for up to 1 month). The shortbreads can be baked 3 days ahead and stored airtight at room temperature.

This is an edited extract from Sweet Enough by Alison Roman, photography by Chris Bernabeo. Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55. Available in stores nationally. Buy now.

Alison Roman will embark on her first Australian tour in May, including the Melbourne Writers Festival (May 5), Brisbane Powerhouse (May 7) and Sydney Opera House (May 9). Details: alisoneroman.com/tour