Just desserts
Fruit puddings that should round off seasonal meals to perfection
Cherry Pie
Serves 6
300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g chilled unsalted butter, cubed plus extra for greasing
100g golden caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp cornflour
pinch of ground cinnamon
500g cherries, stoned
1 tbsp milk, for brushing
2 tbsp golden granulated sugar
l Put the flour, butter and 75g golden sugar into a food processor and whiz until mixture resembles crumbs. Add the egg yolk and 2-3 tablespoons cold water. Whiz until pastry comes together to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
l Mix the cornflour, remaining golden caster sugar and cinnamon and toss with the cherries in a bowl. Put a baking sheet into the oven and preheat it to 220°C/400°F/gas mark 7.
l Grease a 23cm pie dish – ideally one made of enamel or metal. Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the dish. Spoon the cherry mixture together with 4 tablespoons water into the centre. Brush the pastry edges with water and cover with remaining rolled out pastry. Press the edges to seal and trim off the excess pastry. Make a hole in the centre and brush pie with the milk; sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
l Put the pie on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until golden. Serve with cream.
Rasberry Syllabub
Serves 6
2 punnets of raspberries
4 tbsp caster sugar
50ml sweet red wine
500ml fresh cream
l Place the raspberries in a bowl with the sugar and wine to macerate for a few minutes. Whip the cream to very soft peaks and fold half of it into the raspberry mixture to get a bright pink cream. Fold in the remaining cream to give a ripple effect. Divide cream between 6 glasses and top each with a mint spring and a few thin all-butter biscuits.
Pineapple Mint Sherbet
Serves 6
1 large ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
8 fresh mint leaves
100ml elderflower cordial
100g mascarpone
raspberries to serve
l Place a large earthenware or metal container in the freezer to chill. Whiz the pineapple and mint to a smooth pur?e in a food processor. Add the cordial and mascarpone and whiz to combine. Pour into the chilled container and return to the freezer.
l Every 30 minutes, mix the sherbet up with a fork to aerate it and keep in the freezer until frozen through. Serve with fresh raspberries.
Proven?al Apricots
Serves 4
175cl dry fruity ros? wine
175g golden caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split open lengthways, then cut in 4
700g ripe fresh apricots
vanilla ice cream, to serve
l Pour the wine into a saucepan, tip in the sugar and then add the pieces of vanilla pod. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then add the apricots. Cover and gently poach until just softened, it will take around 15-20 minutes.
l Lift apricots out and put them in a bowl. Boil the liquid hard for 10 minutes to make a thin syrup, then pour over the apricots and leave to cool. Serve warm or cold with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.
