Tarte Tatin for Two

It is distressing how easy it is to make a tarte tatin, particularly now that good-quality puff-pastry is readily available. I say 'distressing' because I may or may not have eaten three of these this week, all by myself (please note that the recipe below is meant to serve '2'). I think we can all agree that no matter how delicious, there is only so much sugar and butter one needs to consume in a calendar week...

3 Golden Delicious apples (I've also used Jonathons and Grannies)
1 tbs lemon juice
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
20g unsalted butter, chopped
Ready-rolled puff pastry sheet (must be real butter puff, not oil - if you can get Careme pastry, it's worth the money)
Cream, to serve


1. Preheat oven to 220ºC (200ºC fan-forced).

2. Peel apples, cut into quarters, remove cores (cutting each quarter at the core so it has a “flat” side), and toss the quarters in a large bowl with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the sugar.

3. Using a 20cm frying pan as a guide, cut pastry into a round slightly larger than the pan, prick with a fork.

4. Melt butter in a 20cm non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cover with the remaining sugar. Cook over medium-low heat, shaking pan occasionally to spread around any dark spots that appear, until a rich caramel forms.

5. Place apple quarters into pan, rounded side down, arranging them around pan. Cut remaining apple to fill gaps. Cook the apples over medium heat for about 10 minutes until caramel is bubbling up in the pan, shaking pan occasionally to prevent burnt spots.

6. Lay the pastry over the apples, tucking any protruding edges around edges of pan.

7. Place the pan in the oven, cook for about 25 minutes, or until the puff pastry has risen and cooked. The pastry should be dry and flaky. Stand tarte in pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning out onto a serving plate (do NOT skip this step). Serve with cream.

Ultimate White Chocolate Cheesecake

Years ago I made a white chocolate cheesecake for some friends who loved it so much that it has become something of an urban-legend among our urban-family. Sadly I seem to have somehow lost the original recipe and I have been experimenting with various others for the past few months in the hope of rebottling the lightning. None of the recipes sampled were quite right until I found this fabulous number and adapted it to make it 'white chocolate' flavoured. It's seriously creamy and seriously moreish - the extra effort of baking in a water bath really makes all the difference.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g butter, melted
• 300g wheatmeal biscuits
• 500g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 200g white chocolate
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• few drops pure vanilla, or vanilla extract to taste
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Brush the base and sides of a 22cm x 6cm deep springform tin with a little of the melted butter. Remove the base from the tin.
Cut a round of baking paper to fit the base of the tin, brush the paper with a little butter and set aside.
Tear off an 80cm sheet of foil and double it over so it measures 40cm in length. Lay the foil over the base of the tin, then put the buttered round of paper on top. Sit the springform tin over the base and lock the sides into place, leaving excess foil outside the tin. Draw up the excess foil around the tin and fold the top out of the way. You now have a watertight container.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Add the remaining butter and process. Press the crumb mixture into the base of the tin (and up the sides if you wish), tapping firmly with the base of a glass tumbler or similar as you go.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the white chocolate and then beat in the cornflour, then add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating each time just until smooth. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Add the sour cream and beat briefly to combine. Be careful not to over-beat or the cake will deflate in the oven.

Pour the batter into the tin and stand the tin in a large baking dish. Pour boiling water into the dish to come halfway up the sides of the tin. Bake for 50 minutes, then turn off the oven but do not open the door for a further hour.
Lift the tin from the water bath and flatten the foil away from the sides just in case there is any water trapped inside. Cool completely in the tin on a wire rack and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
This would be particularly delicious with a raspberry coulis...

Mmmm Lemon Delicious

The first time I had this dessert, it was made for me by a dear friend, an Irish woman of considerable taste and distinction.  I mention her nationality because, as it turns out, Lemon Delicious seems to be a mostly Australian phenomenon. Certainly other countries have their own versions but they are usually rolled out as "Lemon Self-Saucing Pudding" or with other, similar monikers. At any rate, that first taste of Lemon Delicious was so overwhelming that I have never quite forgotten it - nor the experience of being caught by my hostess as I was licking my plate clean!

I plan to try to make little, individual servings of this pud for serving at dinner parties as I always find that part of the splendour is lost as the big, fluffy, proud pudding is mulched into a pile of syrupy lumpiness. Plus, in truth, I never want to share any of it so individual servings would mean less violence at my dinner table...If I manage to work out an effective recipe, I'll share it here.

60g unsalted butter softened
¾ cup caster sugar
3 eggs separated
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 cup self-raising flour sifted
¼ cup lemon juice (approximately juice of one lemon)
¾ cup milk and icing sugar to dust

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grease a 1 litre oven-proof dish with butter.
Using electric beaters, beat the butter, sugar, egg yolks and lemon rind in a bowl until light and creamy.
Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the lemon juice and milk and stir to combine.
Beat whites until soft peaks form then gently fold into lemon mixture.
Spoon into the oven-proof dish and place the dish in a baking dish.
Pour in boiling water into the baking dish to come 1/3 of the way up the side of the pudding dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until you can see from the top that it is set in the centre.

There will, of course, be a runny element to this pud so if you see stuff slurping around at the bottom, never fear, it's meant to look like that!


Serves 4