This tart is as beautiful as it is delicious, the soaked prunes give it a wonderful flavour……..and it is very French ♥  I have served it at many a dinner & lunch party and it always wows everyone.  Armagnac is a French liqueur and just add a divine flavour to the prunes. 

Ingredients:

• 300g dried prunes
• 4 tbsp Armagnac
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 35g ground almonds
• 55g caster sugar
• 1 x 200g tub crème fraiche
• Icing sugar for dusting
• Double cream or ice cream for serving

Method:

1. Put the prunes into a small bowl, and pour over the Armagnac and leave for 1 hour, turning them often.
2. Roll out the pasty on lightly floured surface and line a greased loose-bottomed flan tin 24cm wide & 2.5cm deep.
3. Prick the base all over with a fork and chill for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C, and line the pastry case with baking paper and baking beans and place in oven for 4-5 minutes.
5. Remove, brush the inside of the case with a little of the beaten egg, and return to the oven for another 2minutes.
6. Set aside, reduce the temperature of the oven to 190°C.
7. Drain the prunes over a bowl and reserve the liquid.
8. Add the found almonds, egg, sugar & crème fraiche to the liquid, and beat together until smooth.
9. Scatter the prunes over the base of the pastry case, pour over the almond mixture and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown, and when tested with a skewer it comes out clean.
10. Carefully remove the tart from the tin and leave to cool slightly on a wire rack.
11. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature cut into wedges, with cream or ice cream.

Pastry:

• 225g plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 130g chilled butter, cut into cubes
• 1½-2 tbsp cold water

Sift the flour and salt into a food processor, add the pieces of chilled butter and work together until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the water with a round-bladed knife until it comes together into a ball.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth.  Roll out on a little more flour and place into flan tin.

You can substitute a normal sweet shortcrust pastry instead of this one if you prefer.

Enjoy!  Please leave a comment below if you like this recipe as I love feedback ♥

I just adore cheesecake, and this baked version it divine!  The addition of the berries in a light coulis on top make is so pretty when you serve it. 

I have made many cheesecakes but this one has to be my all time favourite, it has just the right amount of lemon and the consistency is wonderful….I’m sure you will make this often ♥

Ingredients for the base:

• 100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 200g digestive biscuits (other options ‘Nice’ or ‘Ginger’ biscuits)
• 2 tbsp caster sugar

Ingredients for the filling:

• 500g full-fat cream cheese
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 300ml crème fraiche
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 3 tbsp juice

Ingredients for the berries in coulis:

• 225g raspberries
• 50g caster sugar
• Finely grated zest of ½ orange
• 350g mixed berries (halved strawberries, raspberries & blueberries)

Method:

1. Lightly butter a 20cm clip-sided tin and line base with baked paper.
2. Preheat oven to 150°C.
3. Melt  the butter in a pan over low heat.
4. Crush the biscuits into crumbs, add to the butter with the sugar and mix together.  Tip into the tin, and level out and press into the base in an even layer with the back of a spoon.  Set aside.
5. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together in a bowl until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well between each addition.  Add the cornflour, crème fraiche, lemon zest and juice and beat once more.
6. Pour the mixture onto the base and make in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until just set but still with a slight wobble in the centre.
7. Now turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside, and let it go cold.
8. For the berries & coulis, put the raspberries, sugar and orange zest into a bowl and crush with the back of a fork into a puree.  Rub through a sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the other berries.  Chill until you are ready to serve.

To serve, carefully remove the cheesecake from its tin, you may need to run a round-bladed knife around the edge first, and transfer it to a serving plate.  Dust the top with a little icing sugar and serve cut into wedges with the berries drizzled over.

Enjoy!  Please leave a comment below if you have enjoyed this recipe I love feedback ♥

recipe coming ……..

This salmon is wonderful, with it’s crispy skin and lovely lemony sauce, and served with a delightful dill, potato and bean salad.

I often serve it at my degustation lunches as it has that wow factor and tastes divine ♥

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon fillets, boned
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 20gm butter – for cooking salmon in
• 25gms butter for lemon sauce
• 2 tbsp lemon juice (more if needed)

Method:

1. Dry salmon skin, and season both sides.
2. Heat oil and butter in a hot pan and sear salmon skin side down first to crisp.
3. Turn over and cook until done to desired level (I like it medium not rare)
4. Take out of pan to rest on warmed plates.
5. Add remaining butter and lemon juice and stir around pan juices, add 1 tbsp dill, season to taste, then drizzle over salmon.

To Serve:

After placing cooked salmon on warmed serving plate, using a food presentation ring spoon potato & dill salad into ring and level off, remove ring, and repeat with all plates.

Dill & Potato Salad

• 3 Desiree potatoes, cooked and cut into cubes
• ¼ cup whole egg mayonnaise
• 1 heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• ¼ cup cooked frozen peas
• ¼ cup cooked broad beans, de-shelled and de-podded
• 2 green shallots sliced thinly
• Salt & pepper to taste

Mix together and chill in refrigerator.

Please leave a comment below or on the Instagram or Facebook post if you like this recipe I love feedback ♥

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 medium size free range organic chicken – cut into pieces (breast halves & maryland)
• 20gm butter, coarsely chopped
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 4 smoky bacon rashers, 3 coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, extra to serve
• 150ml dry white wine
• 150ml chicken stock
• 100gm frozen peas
• ¼ cup small mint sprigs

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.  Heat half the oil in a casserole over medium heat.
2. Add chicken pieces and cook, turning occasionally until browned (5-6 minutes) set aside.
3. Heat remaining oil and butter in casserole, add onion, garlic, chopped bacon and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally until golden (8-10 minutes).
4. Add wine and stock, b ring to a simmer and season to taste.
5. Add chicken side up and roast in oven until cooked through (30-35 minutes).
6. Add pears and return to the oven to warm through (3-4 minutes) then season to taste.
7. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add bacon rashers and cook, turning occasionally until crisp (3-4 minutes)
8. Serve chicken topped with mint, crispy bacon and extra thyme.

Enjoy!  Please leave a comment below if you have enjoyed this recipe, or on the Instagram or Facebook post as I love to hear feedback ♥

The coconut sambal topping really takes this soup to another level !

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded & coarsely chopped
• 500g kumera (orange sweet potato), peeled & coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 ½ cups vegetable stock

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add onion and cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until soft.
3. Add half the ginger and cook stirring for 2 minutes.
4. Add the pumpkin, kumera and cumin and cook stirring for 2 minutes or until aromatic.
5. Increase heat to high and add the stock and bring to the boil.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin and kumera are very tender.
7. Blend with a stick blender until smooth.  (or cool slightly and transfer into a blender)
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Serve in soup bowls topped with coconut sambal.
10. Optional….you can add a dollop of natural yoghurt in the centre of the soup before topping with sambal)

Sambal:

• Combine ¼ cup fresh coriander, 1 fresh long red chilli, halved, deseeded and finely chopped and 2 tbsp shredded coconut.

Enjoy!  Please leave a comment below if you like the recipe so I have some feedback and know I am pleasing my foodie friends.

If you are short on time but big on flavour, this raspberry & rhubarb cake is the perfect solution!

Ingredients:-

• 1½ cups self raising flour
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup caster sugar
• 100g unsalted butter, melted & cooled
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup frozen raspberries
• 2 rhubarb stalks, trimmed, cut into 5mm thick slices – cooked until just soft in the oven. (see note)
• 1½ tbsp raw sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200° C/180° C fan forced.
2. Grease a 20cm round cake pan, and line the bottom with baking paper.
3. Sift flour and ¼ tsp cinnamon into a bowl, add sugar.  Stir to combine.
4. Make a well in the centre, add butter, buttermilk,, egg and vanilla.
5. Using a large metal spoon, stir gently to combine, fold through raspberries and rhubarb.
6. Spoon the mixture into prepared cake pan.
7. Combine remaining cinnamon and raw sugar in a bowl, sprinkle over the mixture.
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked inside. (insert a skewer if it comes out dry it is cooked).
9. Stand in pan for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

You can omit the sprinkling of cinnamon and raw sugar on top and just dust with icing sugar.

Note: You can also cook the rhubarb in a tablespoon of water in a pan on the stove and drain.

Leave a comment below to let me know if you liked this recipe I love feedback ♥