Food – Page 4 – Hey Pesto!

Baking, Cookery Classes, desserts, Food, Recipes

Sammy the Spider

October 14, 2013October 20, 2020 heypesto

Have I mentioned that I love the variety of what I do -from catering to canapés to classes?

One of my latest ventures is Chocolate Cookery Classes at the famous Butler’s Chocolates.

So when they asked me to do a Halloween class I had to put my thinking hat on and Sammy the Spider was born …..

To make this cake and be the star of your Halloween Party just follow my instructions which I hope don’t ramble too much…..

The body of the cake is made using one of the most versatile chocolate cake recipes you’ll ever need. I was introduced to it about 10 years ago by Tess and Nicola when I worked in Wicklow and since then I’ve used it for cakes, muffins, mini cupcakes, sweet canapés …..and now spiders.

What you need :

8oz/200g Self raising Flour
9oz/225g Soft Brown Sugar
2o/50g Cocoa Powder
1/4 pt/125ml Milk (the full fat variety please!)
1/4 pt/125ml Sunflower Oil
3 eggs , separated

What you do:

Preheat your oven to at 180C /170 C Fan/Gas 4
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Mix the milk and oil in a jug and whisk in the egg yolks.
Whisk the egg whites until they’re thick and glossy (as if you were making meringues).
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix well and then fold in the egg whites – being careful not to knock out all the air.
And that’s it ! Now pour mix into baking tins – I used two 11.5 cm and one 20 cm- you could make 2 large cakes or 4 small ones.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until firm to touch.
Leave to cool in the tin for about 5 mins then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Note: It’s not worth halving the recipe to make just one small cake so freeze the extra cakes for another day – or make a family of spiders!

Now comes the fun part – the decorating.

First you need some Chocolate Ganache:

To make this you simply heat 200ml cream until simmering then pour over approx 125g dark chocolate chips and stir until melted. If you think it’s not thick enough you can add more chocolate but do remember it will thicken as it cools.

Place on of the 11.5cm cakes on your serving plate (you can do it on a turntable but you have to be very careful when transferring it to its final plate!)

Cover the body of the cake with the ganache then get ready to add the legs. I used wafer rolls for the legs though I think chocolate fingers might work as well.

You need 16 rolls – two for each leg to allow for the bend! Cover each roll in the chocolate ganache (Didn’t I warn you it could get messy!)

Stick 8 of them into the body of the cake to form the tops of the legs. Then carefully ‘glue’ on the bottom half of each leg (wafer) using more of the ganache. (I’ll repeat the picture so you can see what I mean – I hope!)

For the face you need some roll out icing – white for eyes, orange for mouth. Stamp out two white circles for the eyes, ‘glue’ onto the body and then attach an M&M’s to each circle with a little of the ganache.

To make the mouth cut out a smile from the orange icing and stick it on.

Et voila! Your Halloween spider cake is complete and totally worth the mess!

Happy Cooking & Happy Halloween!

PS the best compliment I received on this was from my soon to be 3-year-old nephew – he wants a spider as his birthday cake 🙂

Baking, Cakes, desserts, Food, Recipes

Love is in the Air

February 3, 2013February 10, 2013 heypesto

My poor blog has been very neglected of late so it’s time to pay it some attention and share a recipe for Valentine’s Day.

In preparation for my ‘Cupid’s Cookery‘ class last week I did a little research on aphrodisiacs and found lots of trivia. Did you know that basil was used for seduction by women in Moldova? Or that Catholic priests in Spain banned avocados because they found them obscenely sexual?

Other reputed aphrodisiacs are honey, almonds and chocolate – so what better way to celebrate St Valentine’s Day than to present the object of your affections with a combination of all three?

This recipe is based on one I found in the course of my research….I’ve made a few alterations and I hope you like it……

What you need:

Heart Shaped loose bottomed tin
180g dark chocolate digestives
60g butter
2 tbsp. flaked almonds
200ml Avonmore Fresh Cream
3 tbsp. Limefield Honey
300g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), in pieces
Generous splash of Cointreau!

What you do:

Crush the biscuits finely and add in the melted butter. Then press into the bottom of heart shaped tin.
Toast the almonds in a dry pan.
Whisk the cream and honey together in a small saucepan over a low heat and then slowly bring the mix to just below the boil.
Pour the mix over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts.
Stir in the toasted almonds and the Cointreau.
Pour the mix into the lined tin and leave to chill for a few hours until set (overnight is best)
Decorate to your heart’s content with almonds, hearts and sparkles!
Serve with lots of extra Avonmore Fresh Dessert Cream

I also made individual ones for last week’s date night – one with added sea salt which I preferred but The Chief Taster preferred the Cointreau version!

Did it live up to expectations? Well, let’s just say there were no complaints ……

Happy Cooking!

Baking, Cakes, Christmas, Cooking, desserts, Food

Extremely Chocolatey Christmas Wreath

December 9, 2012December 9, 2012 heypesto

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas around here – the tree is up, the lights are on and I’m doing up my Christmas menus which will include this Christmas Wreath Cake as an alternative to the traditional fruit cake

I may have mentioned that I’m not really a dessert person – give me savoury any day – but I love making desserts and watching others enjoy them! I came across this wreath cake a few years ago – in a copy of Good Housekeeping I think – and have been using it every Christmas since.

I should warn you that this is a cake for serious chocoholics and not for the fainthearted, but it makes a great centrepiece on Christmas Day!

It’s an easy cake to make and it freezes well (un-iced ) so you can make it in advance and take it out to decorate on Christmas Eve.

The only special piece of equipment you will need is a ‘wreath’ tin i.e. a 23cm spring form cake tin with a but missing in the middle! I use one I bought in Ikea but I know my local shop ‘Kit Your Kitchen‘ now stock similar .

Turn your oven to 180 C or Gas 4 before you start and grease your tin with butter.

What you need:

1 * 400g tin of pears (in natural juice)
50 ml milk
1 tbsp. espresso coffee
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
175g cocoa (I use Green & Black ‘s)
125g plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
340g caster sugar
6 egg whites
250g crème fraîche
175g dark chocolate (I use 70% )
Christmas decorations

What you do:

Drain the tin of pears and whizz in food processor to a purée.
Mix the pear purée with the milk, espresso granules, oil and vanilla extract.
In another bowl mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk the egg whites and the sugar together at high speed until stiff and glossy
Add in the pear purée mix to the eggs and whisk slowly to blend
Finally fold the flour mix into egg and pear mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in your preheated oven for 30 mins or until firm to touch
Allow cake to cool slightly in tin before turning out onto rack.

As I said, if you’re making this ahead of time , you can freeze it at this point. Just make sure you wrap it carefully!

The icing is very simple : heat the crème fraîche in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Then remove from heat and add in chocolate. Allow to melt and then mix in until smooth.
Place pieces of parchment paper under the cake to protect your cakeboard/plate. Then using a palette knife spread icing over the cake . Remember you want it to look like a wreath so it doesn’t have to be smooth

Then it’s time for your (or your children’s ) imagination to take over…..

You can make chocolate leaves …..

…. use sprinkles ….Santas…..Robins….Snowmen……..

……whatever you like!

But whatever you decide please be warned that this cake is INCREDIBLY rich and a little goes a long way!

Happy Cooking!

PS I have been known to make this into an Easter Cake by covering it with flowers and mini eggs – you see a cake’s not just for Christmas!

Cookery Classes, Cooking, Food, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Uncategorized, Vegetarian

Where’s the beef – an alternative burger

November 26, 2012November 26, 2012 heypesto

When I left college (a few years ago….) I could barely boil water – I though pizza and coleslaw were major food groups and takeaways were essential! So when I found myself in paid employment I decided in the interests of survival to sign up for a cookery class, vegetarian of course.

The class was hands-on, given by a lovely girl in Ballsbridge. It was great fun and I learned lots – you have no idea how basic my knowledge of all things culinary was at that time.

My memories of the course include the couple who read 3/4 lb carrot as 3 to 4 lbs and then spent a class doing nothing but peeling carrots; my ‘landlady’ Siobhan waiting for me to come home with Wednesday night dinner and a realisation that I did not like kidney beans!

One of the recipes from this course that I still use is one for Black-eyed Bean Burgers . In fact we serve them as a vegetarian barbecue option.

Last Saturday I wasn’t really in the mood for cooking (I know, hard to believe) so I was delighted to find a few of these burgers in the freezer and I paired them with the mango and pomegranate guacamole leftover from Friday’s book club – happy days!

The recipe was requested after I posted a photo of the dish on facebook . I know the original recipe included sautéed mushrooms but I omitted those and from memory for this batch I added in some oyster sauce and used mixed nuts. Thinking about it I might try adding red peppers and chilli sauce the next time……..

What you need:

1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
400g tin black-eyed beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp tahini paste
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
50g/2 oz brazil nuts (or mixed nuts)
100g/4 oz breadcrumbs (I prefer the panko ones)

What you do:

Sauté the onion in 1 tbsp rapeseed oil until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic after about 5 mins and cook for another minute
Pulse the beans in food processor with the nuts and approx 3/4 of the breadcrumbs (that’s 75g not 3 breadcrumbs!)
Add in the tahini paste (or peanut butter if you prefer) and the oyster sauce and the cooked onion and whizz together
If the mix seems dry add a little stock.
Using a chefs ring form into burgers, then ‘top and tail’ with the remaining breadcrumbs.
Bake in the oven (180 C/ Gas 4) for 10 mins until breadcrumbs crisp or if you prefer shallow fry them.

The original accompaniment to these was Sweet and Sour Sauce and Brown Rice – well it was the nineties! I serve them with a home-made coleslaw for barbecues but the guacamole really worked as well. It was a recipe from Gourmet magazine that I picked up in Canada – it’s already in the favourites folder!

I hope you like them !

Happy Cooking !

PS The Chief Taster has requested that I point out he is not in favour of these vegetarian posts and could I please do a carnivore dish for the next one.

Catering, Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Vegetarian

Comforting Vegetarian Cuisine

November 18, 2012 heypesto

As I may have mentioned not only do I collect cookbooks I also collect recipes…. Also did I mention that I was a vegetarian for about 14 years?

I was talking to the guys in my local vegetable shop, The Farmer’s Gate, about recipes we could give their customers that use produce from the shop. So I went back through my recipe notebook for inspiration and came across this one for Savoury Vegetable Crumble. I think the original came from a vegetarian magazine way back when I was dedicated to the cause. It’s been adapted a bit over the years and here’s the latest version.

You can use any mix of vegetables for this dish but winter root vegetables work really well. Tonight I used leeks, celery and carrot as they were in my vegetable rack. I also added a red pepper for colour.

What you need:

1 onion, diced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 cm ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
Mix of vegetables – such as 2-3 carrots, few sticks celery, 2 parsnips…..
500 ml vegetable stock
1 400g tin cannelloni beans
75g/3 oz spelt flour
50g/2 oz butter
75g/3oz Kilbeggan Porridge Oats

What you do:

Sauté the onions and the chilli until soft but not coloured.
Dry fry the cumin and coriander seeds for a minute then grind in pestle and mortar with the other spices. Then add to the onions and chilli and cook for a few mins.
Add in the purée, cook for another minute, add vegetables and toss to coat in the spice mix.
Finally add in the stock and the beans. Bring mix to the boil and then simmer over a low heat for 15-20 mins.

Make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour and then add in the oats.

Transfer the vegetable mix to a casserole dish and scatter the crumble over the top.

Bake the dish at 190 C/Gas 5 for 25 mins until crumble is cooked

I served the dish with some minted yoghurt – a perfect warming dish for a dark winter’s evening!

Happy Cooking !

And yes, before you ask – it was the rasher sandwich that ‘brought me back’!

Baking, Cakes, Catering, Christmas, Cooking, Food, Recipes

When is a recipe a family recipe?

November 11, 2012December 21, 2020 heypesto

When is a recipe a family recipe? Does someone in your family have to develop the recipe from scratch or can it be a recipe that is used a few times and then becomes a family favourite?

I’ve been involved in several conversations on this topic and my maths brain tells me that there has to be a finite (albeit large) number of recipe combinations so there are bound to be duplicates making it harder to credit the original originator of a recipe!

I believe that recipes evolve through sharing and experimentation. I have scraps of paper from family and friends glued into my recipe notebook including a very precious one dictated by my late Grandmother for her famous brown bread – once I figure out how much is in a ‘handful’ I’m sure it will work…..

I have a ‘to try’ box filled with recipes cut from magazines and papers that I want to try …..someday

I have a vast collection of cookbooks that I love to cook from – but more often than not I’ll change something as I’m going along.

Don’t you hate it if you ask somebody for a recipe and they refuse to share it as it’s a ‘family secret’?

I make a lot of Chocolate Roulades – in fact it’s one of my main desserts. I love making a mini version to go on a mixed dessert plate. I was given the recipe by the lady who owned the catering company I used to work for. I changed the quantities slightly to make it work in a bigger tin., and added the brandy! Years later I came across practically the same recipe in one of the Avoca books – so does the recipe belong to the person who first gave me the recipe, to the author or to me ???

I hate to think of myself as possessive so I’m more than willing to share this wonderful recipe, whoever it actually ‘owns’ it. I hope you like it.

What you need:

6 large eggs, separated
6 oz/175g dark chocolate
6 oz/175g caster sugar
3 fl oz/ 75 ml brandy
½ pt /300ml cream, whipped

What you do:

Melt the chocolate with the brandy, either slowly in the microwave or in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until you get to the ‘ribbon stage’ – you really need an electric whisk for this unless you have really strong arms!
Fold in the melted chocolate into the egg mix. Then in a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until stiff (the egg whites not your arms!)
Using a metal spoon fold the egg white in stages into the chocolate mix. Then pour into a lined large Swiss roll tin
Bake at 180 C/Gas 4 for 12-15 minutes, until firm to touch.

This is the important bit – cover with a damp towel and leave to cool completely
Dust the top of roulade with icing sugar and invert onto parchment paper.

Spread the cream evenly over the surface (feel free to add fresh berries as well)

Using the parchment paper to help roll it up like a Swiss roll

Decorate the roulade with icing sugar and strawberries or grated chocolate

Serve and watch it disappear!

PS This works really well as a Christmas Log – decorate it with chocolate leaves and a robin – or lots of chocolate bark and sprinkles!

Anybody else got a favourite recipe they’d like to share ?

Happy Cooking !

book review, Chef, Cookbooks, Food, Recipes

Rosemary Shrager’s ‘Absolutely Foolproof Food for Family and Friends’

September 20, 2012September 24, 2012 heypesto

A few years ago my friend Siobhan and I headed to Swinton Park in Yorkshire for a residential cookery course with Rosemary Shrager. the location is beautiful and Rosemary herself gives the course and while she can be a tad scary she was great fun. We had an absolute ball and learned lots.

I use the recipes from the course regularly and also have a few of her booksthat are well-thumbed so I was delighted to receive a copy of her new book ‘ Absolutely Foolproof Food for Family & Friends’ from Octopus Books.

When I saw the title I assumed the book would be full of quick and easy recipes for everyday meals which is not like the Rosemary I love. My assumption was wrong – this is a book for dinner party dishes that you can impress with such as Venison Carpaccio of Sea Bass with a Pickled Carrot Salad and Roast Crown of Pheasant , dishes for larger celebrations such as Salmon en Croute and even detailed instructions on curing pork and salmon.

There is a lovely introductory section detailing all the kitchen equipment you may need (the only thing I’m missing is a potato ricer!), what knives to use and how to use them. The recipe sections are divided by main ingredient such as vegetables, poultry, game and pasta. Each section begins with a very detailed technique complete with step by step pictures and complete with tips and ideas and possible variations on the main recipe.

My pet peeve as you know is cookbooks without finished photos of each dish – this book unfortunately falls into this category. This surprises me as I learned so much about presentation when I was at the Cookery School but the detailed technique pictures are good. The other thing that I found strange is that there is no dessert section in the book.

So what did I cook? Well for a change I gave my main taster the book and asked him what would he like for dinner. The choice : Scallops en Papilotte with Curried Coconut Milk and Pak Choi and Roast Venison with Chocolate Sauce and Braised Chicory.

I was unable to find either pak choi or chicory so I decided that as a starter the pak choi could be omitted and I picked up some curly kale to use with the venison. Rosemary uses loin of venison in her recipe but as I had two venison steaks (farmed I will admit) in the freezer I used those. I spent a very pleasant afternoon prepping the dishes – the recipes are well laid out and easy to follow. The sauce for both dishes can be made ahead of time making them ideal for entertaining.

I julienned the vegetables for the scallop dish so when it came to dinner I just had to cook the scallops, assemble the parcels and put them in the oven for 10 minutes.

There was a lot going on this dish flavour wise but it all worked and the pak choi wasn’t even missed!

I decided to try the recipe for Fondant Potatoes and this was the only one I had any problem with – and I think it was my own fault for not adding enough stock. However I finished them in the oven and they were so tasty – they may even replace roast potatoes as my favourite!

The chocolate sauce took time – and a lot of ingredients – but it was so worth the effort and it complimented the venison perfectly.

I would have preferred to serve the dish with chicory but he loved the kale (I stir-fried it with orange zest and juice).

Was it good? Well the Chief Taster certainly thought so …

This book has already earned a place on the ‘favourites’ shelf and if anyone can tell me where I can get partridge then Roast Partridge with Cabbage, Bacon and Apple is the next recipe I want to try and Stuffed Yellow and Red Pepper Rolls has also been requested……

My verdict – if you want to impress your family and friends with your cooking then you need this book.

Pssst – if you want to try the Chocolate Sauce here’s the recipe:

What you need:

100g butter ( I don’t think I used quite this much!)
150g leeks, finely chopped ( I used 2 leeks)
1 rasher smoked streaky bacon, chopped
250ml red wine
2 tsp redcurrant jelly
300ml game or venison stock (I had to resort to beef stock)
120 ml port
15g 70% chocolate, finely chopped

What you do:

Melt 30g butter in pan, add the leeks and bacon and cook gently for 15 minutes.
Add the wine and the redcurrant jelly and simmer until reduced to a syrupy consistency.
Add the stock and simmer until reduced by half.
Finally add the port and simmer to coating consistency.
Season then strain through a sieve into a clean pan (I prepared ahead to this point)
Reheat gently and stir in the chocolate until it melts
Cut remaining butter into cubes and whisk into the sauce a few at a time.
Check for seasoning and serve.

Happy Cooking !

Baking, Cakes, Catering, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Chocolatey Caramelly Cheesecake

August 16, 2012March 7, 2014 heypesto

Did I mention I’m not a dessert person? I know this may place me in a minority but in my defence I do enjoying making them for others. And sometimes I even find a recipe that tempts me to have a sliver……

I knew once I saw the Peanut Caramel Cheesecake in Good Housekeeping’s ‘Chocolate Collection’ that it was going to be one of those recipes destined to become a firm favourite. I tried it out for a family occasion but never got to taste as much as a crumb – which is always a good sign. Then I did it for as part of dessert buffet and had several requests for the recipe.

So when some of my college friends came for a barbeque last weekend (and yes we did get to eat outdoors – without fleeces and raingear!) there was no question about what I was doing for dessert! And it was a HIT!

I have made one or two changes to the original recipe including leaving out the peanuts in my last version cos I’m always worried in case someone has a peanut allergy. I hope you like it…..

What you need:

150g dark chocolate digestives
50g butter, melted
500g Philadelphia ( the full fat version please)
1 tsp vanilla extract (vanilla paste would be even better ..)
3 egg whites
175g caster sugar
50g dark chocolate ( I use 70% ) , chopped
60g dried pineapple pieces *
2-3 tbsp of Ballyshiel dulce de leche

* in the original recipe this is 75g salted peanuts

What you do:

Line a 22cm springform tin with butter and baking parchment.
Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag using a rolling pin. Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter together and press into the base of the tin.
Whisk the cream cheese with the vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Then (in a spotlessly clean bowl) whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually add in the sugar to form a glossy meringue like mixture.
Carefully fold the meringue mix into the cream cheese using a metal spoon.
Then fold in the chocolate and pineapple into the mix.
Finally swirl in the dulce de luche and pour the mix onto the biscuit base.
Leave cheesecake to set in fridge overnight – or if you’re in a hurry pop it into the freezer for a few hours.
Remove the cheesecake from the tin and topwith more dulce de leche and grated chocolate…….
Serve and watch it disappear!

I dare you not to come back for a second slice!

Happy Cooking !

Food, Restaurants, Wine

On The Tapas Trail

July 20, 2012 heypesto

I buy lotto tickets occasionally and I’m ever hopeful but my luck came in a few weeks ago when I won a competition with the Irish Food Bloggers – an afternoon on the Campo Viejo Tapas Trail .

So on a rainy Sunday (well it is the Irish Summer!) I took the train to the capital to join a group of like minded bloggers in The Market Bar where we greeted by our guide Paul and organiser Anri with a very welcome glass of Campo Viejo Cava Brut Reserva .

It was lovely to meet up with some familiar faces including Nessa from Nessa’s Family Kitchen and Paula from Paula’s Kitchen Table. I finally got to meet the delightful Fiona from Hunters Lodge and the lovely Magda from Madga’s Cauldron who became my ‘trail companions’ for the afternoon.

Our guide Paul outlined the event – 4 restaurants in the area , 3 signature tapas and a glass of Campo Viejo Reserva in each and a little sightseeing and banter along the way. I know – it’s a tough life but hey, somebody’s got to it!

The food was good – my personal favourites were the patatas bravas in the Market Bar and the black pudding and prawns in Havana; the wine was excellent and the company was most entertaining , just a pity about the weather!

I also learned lots along the way from Paul – who knew Dublin had so many links with Spain!

If you’re looking for something different to do in Dublin this summer then I highly recommend this – the Tapas Trail is on Wednesdays between 6.30 and 9 pm and Sundays between 2 and 4.30 pm and is great value at €20!

Thanks again to Irish Food Bloggers, Campo Viejo and Conway Communications for a great afternoon out!

Now I’m off to buy a lotto ticket……….

Baking, Cakes, Catering, Cookery Classes, Cooking, Food, Recipes

There’s no chocolate in it honestly!

July 10, 2012July 10, 2012 heypesto

As you may have noticed I have a ‘slight’ addiction to cookbooks. I also have a tendency to collect recipes from magazines, newspapers etc – I have a box of pages and clippings from various publications that I have garnered from numerous sources ………..

Some look tantalising when I’m in the hairdressers or in a waiting room but once assigned to the ‘box’ they never leave, others make it straight to the kitchen for testing and some even go on to become firm favourites.

One such find was a recipe for an Espresso Tart – I think it came from a Food & Travel magazine and my apologies for not acknowleding the original owner of this recipe but your details aren’t on my valued clipping.

I’m not really a dessert person but I do like this (must be the caffeine). Almost everyone who tastes it is convinced there’s chocolate in it but as you’ll see there’s none.

This tart is divine on it’s own but can be raised to another level if you serve it with a mascarpone sorbet. I often make it into individual tartlets to serve at dinner parties and it’s always well received

I brought one of these tarts to Inishfood in May and I’ve been asked to share the recipe – so this is especially for Donal, Imen and Bríd.

Espresso Tart

Oven Setting: 180ºC/ Gas 4

What you need:

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry *
125g butter
250g muscavado sugar
2 tsp espresso coffee (finely ground – I use Illy)
6 tbsp Kahlua or Tia Maria
2 eggs, lightly beaten
50g self raising flour, sieved

What you do:

Line a 24cm loose bottomed tin with your pastry and leave to chill
For the filling, heat butter and sugar until sugar dissolves, then ad the coffee, liqueur and eggs.
Gently fold in the sieved flour and pour the mixture into the pastry case.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 mins – you want a ‘squidgy, fudgy’ texture- be careful not to overcook!
Leave to cool before serving.

* I use 1lb flour, 8oz butter, 1-2 egg yolks, 1 tbsp caster sugar and a little water to make my pastry – this should give you enough for 2 tarts. You don’t need to blind bake the pastry for this recipe.

As I said this tart can be served as an excellent dinner party dessert with ice cream or créme fraiche but best of all with mascarpone sorbet which is not as complicated as it sounds – please try it as the taste combination is divine!

Mascarpone Sorbet

What you need:

250g tub mascarpone
250ml milk (the proper full fat type please!)
150g caster sugar

What you do:

Whisk the mascarpone with the milk until thick, smooth and lumpfree. Then stir in the sugar.
If you have an ice cream maker, pour in mix and leave to stir until thick and creamy, then freeze until needed.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker then pour mix into tupperware box and freeze for an hour. Then whisk in frozen edges back into centre of mix to break up any ice crystals. Freeze for another hour then beat again. Repeat until sorbet is thick, creamy and frozen.

Now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy – and now you know there’s no chocolate in it, honestly!