Enjoy the Great British Bake Off with a biscotti!

The nation’s favourite baking show draws to a close tonight. Each week we’ve watched with rumbling tummies and gaping mouths as the Great British Bake Off contestants create delectable goodies containing enough fat and sugar to supply Willy Wonka for a year. If, like us, you want to enjoy the final tonight with a plate of something sweet and delicious but prefer not to exceed your Healthy Food Guide boundaries (which are working very nicely, thank you), be your own star baker and whip up a batch of GBBO 2012 winner John Whaite’s pistachio and rosemary biscotti.

Comforting crumbles

At HFG we love finding ways to make our favourite dishes healthier. From satisfying pies to decadent desserts, we believe that with a bit of nutritional tinkering most culinary treats can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet.

In our November issue, we put the spotlight on fruit crumbles and our chefs surpassed themselves when experimenting with healthier fillings and toppings. In fact, they managed to concoct so many delicious variations there wasn’t enough room for all of them in the magazine. But we didn’t want you to miss out, so we thought we’d share the leftovers with you here. A serving of either crumble contains one of your 5-a-day and is low in saturates and salt.

Lactose-free peach melba fairy cakes

By Rebecca Almond

Just peachy! Lactose-free cupcake

For those of you who are lactose intolerant or know someone who is, you’ll be familiar with the problems often faced when searching for lactose-free recipes. So it’s great to hear top London cookery school L’atelier des Chefs has teamed up with Lactofree to offer a series of cookery courses to inspire lactose-free cooking.

Well bread

By Melanie Leyshon

The humble loaf is making waves, but not as we know it. Broccoli bread is the new low-calorie, low-carb, high-protein option, available in London, that will appeal to those Gwyneth Paltrow carb-o-phobes, who can afford to pay the minimum £20 charge for a special delivery (see planbread.co.uk).