Tag: fruit

Peach and marzipan tart

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A simple summertime dream dessert, flavours of peach, raspberry and almond. Peach melba delight.

  • 320g ready rolled puff pastry
  • 200g marzipan
  • 2 large peaches, not too ripe and squishy
  • 2 tbsp apricot jam
  • 150g raspberries
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan (220C) and take the pastry out of the fridge
  2. Unroll the pastry onto a lined baking tray (maybe just use the paper that came rolled around the pastry)
  3. Score a rectangle around the pastry 1½ cm in from the edge
  4. Slice the marzipan finely, 1-2 mm thick – or grate it if it’s hard
  5. Lay or scatter the marzipan on the puff pastry in a single layer within the scored rectangle
  6. Halve and slice the peaches into 2 mm slices
  7. Place the peach slices over the marzipan in overlapping rows like fish scales
  8. Bake for 20 mins then turn the tray and give it another 7 mins
  9. Take the tart out of the oven, leave to cool for 5 mins
  10. Melt the jam in a small pan the brush it over the peaches until glossy and sticky then scatter the raspberries evenly over the top
  11. Serve warm with raspberry ripple ice cream on the side

Cherries poached in red wine

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Garnet and ruby tones of summer delight with a hint of booze. Amazing on top of vanilla ice cream or plain coconut yoghurt.

  • 400g cherries, pitted and halved
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 200ml red wine
  • ½ tsp cornflour stirred into 1 tsp cold water
  1. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan
  2. Bring to a bubble, stirring occasionally
  3. Simmer for 8-10 mins until glossy but not collapsing
  4. Drizzle in the cornflour slurry, stirring all the time until it goes thicker and beautifully shiny
  5. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little bit before serving

Roast plums with bay and honey

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A delightfully autumnal sort of pudding, tart and sweet and fragrant with bay, cinnamon and honey. It’s the perfect way to use up a garden glut of plums and dig into that fancy honey that someone gave you as a random gift. Vanilla ice cream is a must as an accompaniment.

  • 400g plums, halved and stones removed
  • 4 bay leaves, scrumpled up gently
  • 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
  • 2 scoopy, generous tbsp honey (the fancier the better!)
  • 150g walnut pieces
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan (190C)
  2. Tumble the plums into a baking dish, ideally in roughly a single layer
  3. Drizzle over the honey and mix in well so the plums are coated
  4. Tuck the bay leaves and cinnamon among the plums
  5. Bake for 20-30 mins until sticky and juicy
  6. Put the walnuts on a little baking tray and bake them next to the plums for 10-15 mins until golden and toasty
  7. When the plums are done, take them out of the oven and scatter over the toasted walnuts
  8. Serve hot with lashings of vanilla ice cream

Baked amaretti peaches

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Beautiful golden jewels of a dessert, soft and sweet as a kiss, and ever so simple to make.

  • 4 peaches
  • 30g unsalted butter, softened
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 75g amaretti biscuits, crumbled
  • 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones
  3. Place them all, cut side up, in a snug single layer in an ceramic ovenproof dish
  4. Beat together the butter and sugar
  5. Add the egg yolk and beat well, then tip in the crumbled amaretti and mix in to make a fairly stiff mixture
  6. Divide the mixture into 8 pieces, roll into balls and press each one into the centre of each peach half
  7. Sprinkle with amaretto and bake for 25 mins
  8. until the peaches are soft and the topping is golden

Serve warm with a drizzle of cream over the top

Pineapple upside down cake

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A retro classic, unashamedly sweet and my favourite pudding as a child. My mum always slightly underbaked it (no idea if that was on purpose, I should ask her) so the middle was still gooey. That was my favourite bit.

  • 160g unsalted butter
  • 50g soft dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup
  • 1 small tin pineapple rings in juice (drained)
  • 110g unsalted butter
  • 110g caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 170g self-raising flour
  • 2 – 3 tbsp pineapple juice from the tin
  1. Grease and line a round 20cm cake tin and pre-heat oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Cream together the brown sugar and 50g of the butter and then stir in the golden syrup
  3. Spread this sticky conconction over the bottom of the tin and arrange the rings of pineapple on top. If you’re feeling especially kitsch, you can add a glace cherry to the middle of each ring – or just fill the gaps with bits of pineapple
  4. That’s the pineapple upside down bit complete. Now for the cake.
  5. Cream together the caster sugar and remaining butter
  6. Add the egg a little at a time, whisking as you go. Then whisk in the pineapple juice,
  7. Tip in the flour and fold into the mixture,
  8. Scrape into the cake tin over the pineapple rings and smooth out the top
  9. Bake for about an hour, checking from 45 mins. The top should be golden and it should (sorry mum!) be cooked through, so a skewer stuck in the middle comes out clean
  10. Turn the cake out onto a serving plate and serve warm. Try to resist the temptation to just stick your face in it

Enid’s bublanina

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A family heirloom recipe for traditional apricot or plum kuchen (cake). I remember tasting this as a child, sitting on the scratchy horsehair sofa in my Granny’s living room and thinking it was the most delicious thing I’d ever eaten. The tart fruit contrasts beautifully with the sweet, light, lemon-scented sponge.

  • 170g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 170g caster sugar
  • 170g flour
  • 3 eggs
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • A little milk (if needed)
  • Apricots or plums, pitted and cut in half
  • Granulated sugar to sprinkle on top
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 160C fan (180C). Grease and flour a 9″ square cake tin (although there’s no reason this cake can’t be round, for some reason it was always square in my Granny’s house)
  2. Separate the eggs
  3. Beat the yolks and sugar until pale yellow and thick
  4. Add butter and lemon zest and beat again
  5. Add flour and lemon juice a spoonful at a time, alternately between them (using a little milk if the consistency is too thick – it should be thick, dropping off only spoon reluctantly
  6. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks
  7. Fold the egg whites into the batter
  8. Spoon into the cake tin and place halved fruit, cut side upwards on top of batter
  9. Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and bake for about 35 mins
  10. Cool thoroughly before cutting into squares to serve

Fruit slump

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A New England tradition and a beautiful way to use up any slightly-past-its-best fruit. Except bananas, but you can make banana bread with those. My fave versions is with apricots or peaches, but almost any fruit works. Feeds 2 with leftovers. Or possibly just seconds.

  • Poached fruit
  • 45g caster sugar
  • 100g flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 40g butter, cold
  • 80 ml milk
  • 1 tbsp flaked almonds
  • Flavour with orange zest, cinnamon, almond or vanilla extract – whatever works with the fruit you’ve chosen
  1. Pre-heat oven to 170C fan.
  2. Put fruit into an overproof dish
  3. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar and flavourings into a bowl
  4. Grate in the butter and rub in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs
  5. Stir in the milk to make a soft dough
  6. Blob large spoonfuls (slumps!) of the mixture over the fruit and scatter with almonds.
  7. Put the dish onto an oven tray and bake for 30 mins until the topping is crisp and golden.