Episode 8

Mairi MacRitchie is in the Highlands and Islands meeting the nation's best home bakers. She is on the hunt for recipes that you turn to when the fridge is empty and you have to depend on what's in the cupboards at home.

From Stornoway to the Black Isle she sees how bakers get creative when they have to make do with what they have in the store cupboard. She tastes a rich gingerbread slab covered in desiccated coconut that can be kept for over a week and also samples sweet maple syrup cookies with raisins and dates.

At home in Uist Mairi shares her recipe for a retro upside down pineapple and cherry cake. All you need are sponge ingredients and tinned pineapple to make this light pineapple-flavoured sponge with a moist layer of fruit at the bottom. She also makes traditional coconut macaroons that can be thrown together in minutes for unexpected guests calling in for a cup of tea.