Fruit

• Tweet

• Tweet

Lemon meringue tart

This recipe is for a flan tin of 26 cm diameter.

Ingredients:

Rich sweetened shortcrust  pastry

• 200g of flour
• 150 g of butter- softened
• 70 g of icing sugar
• 30 g of ground almonds
• 1 whole egg
• A pinch of salt

In a large bowl whisk all the dry ingredients together. Pour this dry mixture out onto the working counter heaping it together and making a well in the centre.

Break the egg in a small bowl, beat it slightly, and add it to the mix by pouring it into the well.

Work all the ingredients together, drawing the flour to the centre.

Cut the butter in small morsels and spread them over the flour and egg mixture.

Knead the dough swiftly and gently using the heel of the hand, form into a ball, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of ½ cm, pierce the base over, and line a flan tin with it.

Place some baking parchment over the base and add the baking beads.

Bake blind in a moderately hot oven-180C -for 10 minutes. Discard the baking beads and bake for another 5 minutes.

The finished pastry case should be thoroughly baked and light golden brown.

Lemon curd

• 75 g of unsalted butter
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 egg
• 180 ml of water
• 200 ml of lemon juice
• The zest of one lemon
• 110 g of caster sugar
• 45 g of corn flour

In a sauce pan, add the water, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, egg and yolks, and stir well. Add the corn flour and mix well.

Cut the butter in pieces and place them in the pan.

Warm the pan on a low-to-medium heat, whisking at all times. When the curd is starting to boil, take off the heat- this should take around 10 minutes- and let it cool down slightly before pouring the mixture into the flan case.

Meringues

• 6 egg whites
• 180 g of caster sugar
• 30 g of icing sugar
• A splash of lemon juice

Add the lemon juice to the whites. Whisk until stiff peaks, and then gradually fold the caster sugar and the icing sugar. Spread this meringue over the tart and bake for 10 minutes in a moderately hot oven, 170C.

Mille-Feuille Filled with Strawberry Mousse

Preparation time 30 Min

Setting time minimum 2 hours in the fridge

Will serve 2 – 3 people

Ingredients

Millefeuille
• Few sheets of filo pastry
• 50g of melted butter
• Cocoa powder

Italian Meringue
• 1 egg white
• 70 g of caster sugar
• 1.5 tbs of water

Mousse
• 300 g of strawberries, or 200 ml of strawberry purée
• 125 ml of whipping cream
• ½ lemon
• 2 large sheets of gelatine (Waitrose)

Recipe

Millefeuille
Cut 9 sheets of filo pastry of the following size: 15 cm by 5 cm. Make 3 layers of 3 sheets each. Brush abundantly each sheet with butter and sprinkle with cocoa powder. Bake in a 190 C oven for a few minutes. When baked, set aside.

Mousse

Soak the gelatine’s sheet in cold water. Clean the strawberries and remove the stokes. Blend them to a purée. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
Make an Italian meringue by first whisking the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Then, make a syrup by bringing sugar and water quickly to the boil and boil it until it reaches a temperature of 120C. When the sugar has reached the right temperature, slowly pour it into the egg whites whilst keeping mixing with an electric whisker until the mixture is cold. The egg white will then be firm and shiny.
Whisk the cream till it forms soft peaks.
Warm up ½ a lemon juice, a couple tbs of the strawberry sauce and 2 tbsp of water. When this liquid is warm, wring out the gelatine sheets and add to the mixture. Stir and make sure the gelatine has completely dissolved. Once the strawberry mixture has cooled down, add the rest of the strawberry purée and gently fold in the Italian meringue into the strawberry puree. Put about a third of the whipped egg white into the batter, and mix it in to ‘temper’ the batter, which will make it easier to mix in the rest of the egg white. Then add the whipped cream in the same fashion. This should be done in a very gentle way to ensure that the mixture stays light and fluffy.

Assembling
Sprinkle some cocoa powder on the plate. Lay one filo pastry layer onto a plate. Spread the mousse with a piping bag or with a spoon on each filo pastry layer. Drizzle some hot chocolate sauce and serve.

Strawberry Tiramisu

Will serve 4

Ingredients:

150 g of ladies finger biscuits
500 g of strawberries
2 eggs
250 g of Mascarpone
2 * 50g of sugar
50 g of grated dark chocolate

First make a light syrup by combining 50 g of sugar with 100 ml of water and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Wash all the strawberries. Take 125 g of strawberries and whizz it to a sauce. Strain the sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove the little seeds. Add it to the syrup and mix well.
Separate the yolk from the white from the eggs. Mix the remaining sugar to the egg yolk and beat with an electrical whisk until the mixture is a pale mousse.
In a separate bowl, stir the mascarpone to a smooth texture. Make sure there are no lumps. Add the egg yolk mixture to it.
Beat the egg whites till they form soft peaks and gently fold them into the mascarpone mixture.
Slice the remaining strawberries.
You can choose 4 single glasses or a rectangular shaped dish to layer the Tiramisu.
Dip the biscuits briefly into the strawberry syrup. Lay the biscuits into the dish of your choice followed by a layer of mascarpone mixture few strawberries and a layer of grated chocolate. Repeat the whole process till you have no ingredients left. The last layer should be made of mascarpone mixture and grated chocolate.
Leave to set in the fridge for at least 5 hours.

Cherry Clafouti

Preparation time 15 min

Cooking time 25 min

Will serve 6 people

Ingredients: 350 g of cherries
100 g of spelt flour
75 g of Demerara sugar (keep some for dusting the clafouti before serving)
4 eggs
250 ml of buttermilk

Wash the cherries. Destone them using a cherry pitter.
Warm up the oven to 180 °C.
Beat the eggs, add the sugar. Mix until smooth. Sieve the flour and add it gradually to the mixture – if too thick gradually beat in some buttermilk to get a smooth liquid with the consistency of double cream. Make sure there aren’t any lumps. Continue in this manner until all ingredients are used. Butter a tin. Pour the batter over the cherries until just covered (you may not need to use all the batter) and bake for between 30 and 40 minutes, or until puffed, golden, and set. Let it rest for ten minutes (it will sink slightly), then dust with Demerara sugar and serve warm, straight from the dish or wait and eat cold.

Plum Tart

Serves 8/10

Ingredients

• 200 g of flaky pastry
• 700 g of plums
• 200 ml of full fat milk
• 4 tbs of ground almonds
• 1 tsp of vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• 50 g of caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Take a 26 cm lose bottom tart tin.

Roll the pastry out to the thickness of a couple of centimetres; prick it all over with a fork.

Roll it onto the rolling pin and line the flan case with the pastry. Trim away any excess.

Cut out a disc shaped baking paper larger than the flan case and line the pastry with it.

Cover with dried beans or baking beads and bake blind for 10 minutes.

After this time, uncover the pastry; lower the heat to 160 C, and bake for another 5 minutes.

In a bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar, the vanilla, then add the milk and the almonds; mix well.

Cut the plums through the half and remove the stones.

Arrange them in the case cut-side down. They should fit fairly close together.

Pour the egg mixture onto the tart and bake for 30 minutes or until the filling is just set and the plums are cooked.

Tatin Tart

Flaky Pastry

• 125 g of butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 pinch of salt
• 50 ml of water
• 250g of flour

Cut the butter into small pieces.
Mix the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips rub the flour and butter together until you obtain a crumbly mixture.

Pour it out onto your working surface; make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk mixed to the water. Incorporate the liquid into the flour.

Start working the pastry with the heel of your palm (this will allow the butter not to be overheated). Press it down and bring it back together. This should not last more than 3 minutes.

Form a ball and put it in a polyethylene bag and leave in the fridge for at least 45 minutes before using it.

The Tart

• 4 / 5 appels
• 150 g of sugar
• 50 ml water
• A splash of lemon juice
• 200 g of flaky pastry

Peel and core the apples; cut them in quarters and in half again.

In a sauce pan add the sugar, the water and a splash of lemon juice; stir well. Make the caramel by placing your pan on medium-heat and heating the mixture of sugar and water until the caramel reaches a light blond colour. When the caramel is ready take it off the heat.

Arrange the apples in the tatin dish or tin.

Roll out the pastry in a diameter shape slightly larger than the tin.

Place it onto the apples and tuck the sides in. Make a whole in the middle to let the steam escape.

When baked, shake your tin to make sure the apples are loose. Rest a plate onto the pan and flip it upside down.

Beware of the hot caramel!!

Enjoy with some crème fraiche.