Dairy-free Chocolate Cheesecake

I know, that sounds terrible, right? It's actually amazing. And all I needed to make it was a small aubergine... (well in my case, a large aubergine, because my cake pans were a different size to what they suggested!) I don't know how many people this serves, but it's so rich that we were eating it for lunch-dessert and real-dessert for about a week!

Ingredients

• 3 small or 1 large whole aubergines (weighing roughly 600g)
• 450g best dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), broken into squares
• 75g good quality cocoa powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 4 large or extra-large eggs (could substitute tofu to make this vegan)
• 300g clear honey (could substitute sugar or agave syrup to make this vegan)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp brandy

Line two 8″/20cm springform tins with baking parchment and lightly brush the base and sides with a little oil. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Peel the aubergine(s) using a vegetable peeler and place in a large microwaveable bowl, then microwave on high for 8-10 minutes until soft and collapsed. Roughly dice and pour away any thin watery fluid. Blend/puree using an electric blender. Again in a microwaveable bowl, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave, this time on a medium setting, for 5 minutes, stirring several times. As soon as the chocolate and aubergine are less than 50C, combine with the pureed aubergine, then add all of the other ingredients and mix well (no need to worry about overbeating as this recipe has no flour!)

Divide the mixture equally between the two tins and bake for 30 minutes. A skewer probably won't come out clean, as the final texture is more like a cheesecake or mudcake than a spongecake.

Hot Cross Buns (in the breadmaker)

I've reached the third trimester, and find myself constantly hungry. I'm getting pretty bored of just eating 10% larger meals... and it's also sometimes just not enough. So -- time to make some tasty, carb-tastic snacks which are also apropos for the time of year :) It's still 30C here during the day so I didn't really feel like kneading a lot of dough, so I searched for a bread machine recipe for hot cross bun dough. It's an American site so everything's in cups, but it has a handy metric conversion... if you don't mind measuring out something as nonsensical as "77.84 ml of butter", or "3.23 ml of ground cinammon". So here's my best shot at the same recipe in weight-based units, so you can whack the pan on a set of scales and get going.

Ingredients
For the dough:

• 1 egg and 1 egg yolk
• 200ml milk
• 70g butter
• 80g sugar
• zest of half a lemon
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 600g plain white flour
• 1 tbsp dried yeast
• 75g sultanas or raisins

For the glaze:

• 55g icing sugar
• ~ 1 tbsp milk

Break the egg and separate the yolk into the bread maker (save the white for another meal). Put the rest of the ingredients in, except for the raisins, cutting the butter into smaller pieces. Put the raisins in the nut dispenser if you have one; otherwise set a timer so you can add them just before the second knead. Put the bread maker on the dough setting.

When the timer has finished, take the dough out cut it into 18-24 pieces (I used a pair of scissors and the divide-by-two or three each-time method). Line a 23x33cm (or thereabouts) baking tin with greaseproof parchment, or oil well. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and arrange in the tin about 1 cm apart. Don't worry if they look crowded.

Cover with another sheet of greaseproof parchment or oiled clingfilm, and put somewhere warm to rise for an hour. (I used the 'warm' function of my oven on a 40C setting.) Using a very sharp knife, slice the traditional cross in each one, then bake at 190 C for 12-15 minutes until golden on top. (I erred on the shortest time and got great results -- don't leave them in too long or they'll go tough!)

Mix up the glaze by adding a little milk at a time to the icing sugar until it reaches a pourable but thick consistency. Once the buns have cooled for 5-10 minutes, use a spoon to drizzle the icing into the crosses, and leave to cool for a further few minutes. Then serve with a cup of tea :)

Apple Turnover

One of my colleagues at work regularly buys enormous decadent pastries for "lunch dessert", from the local patisserie. He let me try a bite of his apple turnover, which was taller than it was wide! It consisted of a puff pastry base, then inch-thick layers of pie apple, custard, and whipped cream, topped at least with a puff pastry hat. It was amazing.

I knew that sitting at home was a bag of extremely cheap apples, which had not turned out very good for eating. I resolved to make apple turnovers to use them up and satisfy my craving for such an awesome dessert. While you could add custard and cream to these, they're more of a simple quick dessert that you can serve hot, with an added side of ice cream. I've written instructions for just two turnovers, but they're easy to make in large batches, as long as you have enough oven trays.

Ingredients

• two eating apples
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• a sheet of ready-made puff pastry

Core, peel and dice the apples, dropping into the lemon juice as you go, to prevent browning. Stir in the sugar and cornflour, then microwave for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apple has softened and the cornflour has thickened the juices.

Preheat the oven to 200C and lay out a greased or silicone-lined baking tray. Cut the sheet of pastry into two rectangular halves. Lay out one half and spoon half of the apple mixture onto one side of it. Fold the other side over the top and press the edges together all around, so the pastry sticks together. Prick the top a couple of times with a fork. Do the same for the other piece of pastry, with the rest of the mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes or so, until risen, golden and crispy. Serve immediately, with vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Cheesecake

I had a sudden, inexplicable craving for lemon cheesecake. Not just the kind where the cheese has some lemon in it, but the kind with a delicious layer of lemon curd on top. I haven't made a cheesecake in over a decade, and had a minor panic when I found out there are actually two kinds: a "no-bake" version that you simply chill, and a baked version, which when I considered I decided was the kind I had bade before, and roughly knew how to do. I googled around until I found a good recipe, and ended up following this one, from a supermarket website, no less! I used block Philadelphia though; I've found the supermarket versions here have a weird plasticky texture, which is probably so they remain unmelted even when it's 40 C outside.

Ingredients:
Cake

• 200g plain biscuits
• 125g butter, melted
• 500g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• Zest of a lemon
• 2 eggs

Curd

• Zest of a lemon
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup Caster Sugar
• 40g butter, cubed
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan. Grease a 20cm springform cake tin. Pulse biscuits in a food processor, or bash with a rolling pin until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter: stir until combined. Spoon biscuit mixture into prepared cake tin and press evenly on base and sides. Cool in the fridge for at least 30 min.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, until combined. Pour mixture into tin and place on a baking tray. Bake for 25-30 mins, or until just set in the centre. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar for a couple of hours or until oven is completely cool. Chill in the fridge for two hours.

For the lemon curd, combine lemon zest, juice, sugar, butter and eggs in a saucepan or double boiler over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5-10 mins, or until mixture thickens. If you like, strain through a fine sieve onto a dinner plate or flat tray -- I usually don't bother. Pour the curd over the cheesecake and chill until ready to serve. Scatter with a little more lemon zest if you like.

Nigel's Lemon and Demarara Cake

Almost every year, I forget to celebrate my own birthday. It's just so close to Christmas and New Years, but not close enough that everyone is still on holiday. This year I finally got round to baking a cake only three days late. Just like the last birthday cake I baked, I once again wanted a lemon cake. This time I used Nigel Slater's recipe from his excellent Kitchen Diaries II, and at first I was a bit nervous about the topping of simmered lemons, but after trying it I'm a total convert. Every lemon cake I make from now on will have this topping.

Ingredients:

• 2 large lemons
• 200g butter
• 200g plus 4tbsp demerara ("raw") sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 90g plain flour
• 90g ground almonds
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• extra demerara sugar

Line a loaf tin (about 25x11x7cm) with baking parchment. Finely slice one of the lemons and put it in a small saucepan with 4 tbsp of water and 2 tbsp demerara sugar. Bring to the boil, then watch closely for 5-10 minutes, until the water has almost evaporated, and the lemon slices are sticky.

Preheat the oven to 160 C. Beat the butter and 200g of sugar together (Nigel has a fancy food mixer; I have GOOD ARMS), until they are light and fluffy. Zest the other lemon into the mixture, and beat the eggs in one at a time. Combine the dry ingredients, then fold them into the butter mixture, keeping the air in it as much as possible. Scoop the mixture into the lined tin, then lay the simmered lemon slices on top. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

In the saucepan in which you simmered the lemons, add another 2tbsp of demerara sugar, and the juice of the zested lemon. Stir until dissolved, then pour over the finished cake.

Homemade Chocolate-Chip Ice Cream

I must write up my mint ice cream, but in the meantime, here is a very successful vanilla, which we (of course) spiced up by adding shaved 70% dark chocolate. Totally yum yet strangely elegant.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup thickened cream
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• dark chocolate

Chill the ingredients well, then pour into the ice cream maker and mix until thickened. Freeze again for 3-4 hours, then churn again and serve, topped with finely chopped or grated dark chocolate.

Lemon Drizzle Cake

It was my lovely husband's birthday at the weekend, and I booked a show at the Perth International Comedy Festival - The Pajama Men. As I clicked 'buy', I had a strong sense of deja vu. Checking my email inbox, I found we'd gone to see their show at almost exactly the same time last year. I guess I'm getting stuck in a rut -- but they were hilarious, all over again!

I asked the SO what he'd like for his birthday cake, and he didn't have a strong preference, so I went for something I'd been craving - LEMON CAKE. Mmmm, just typing it is making me salivate. I went for the lemoniest recipe I could find, and then added more lemon. Unlike their picture, my lemon drizzle ended up soaking into the cake, so I've changed the icing to make what you see on my own photo.

Ingredients:

• 225g unsalted butter softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• finely grated zest 2 lemons
• 220g plain flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• juice 1½ lemons
• 4 heaped tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter and sugar together with a whisk and a strong arm, or a food processor. Break in the eggs one at a time and whisk to combine. Add the grated lemon zest and stir again. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the liquid mixture, and use a wooden spoon to fold in, being careful not to overmix and make the gluten strong. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Combine the lemon juice and icing sugar until you have a slightly thick but still drizzle-able topping, then drizzle it all over the cake.

Pear and Almond Tart

We bought a huge bucket of pears last weekend and they have been sitting sullenly in a bowl, failing to ripen. So today I decided to use them in the best way possible - baking a beautiful French pear and almond tart. The recipe, according to my dad, is not French at all, but if you google it you'll find hundreds of examples of how to make it. I used this nice blog entry as it talked about all the different subtleties and, crucially, explained how to poach the pears. I won't rehash every single point since the post is worth a read in its own right, but I'll post how I made this wonderful tart... with metric weighted quantities!

My pastry isn't quite even but I'm working on it :)

Ingredients:
For the pears:

• two large or three small pears
• water
• sugar
• a couple of cloves
• a wedge of lemon

  
Halve, core and peel the pears then place them flat-side up in a saucepan. Cover with water, drop in the cloves and lemon, and add about a third as much sugar as you have pears. Bring to a simmer; while you do so, use the lid of the pan to trace and cut out a circle of greaseproof paper; cut a hole in the middle and place on top of the pears. Simmer for 6-10 minutes, until the pears are perfectly tender.


You can either chill and marinade the pears at this point, or use them as soon as they're cool enough to handle. The poaching liquid can be reduced down to a drizzling sauce, or frozen in an ice cube tray for another recipe. To slice the pears ready for the pie, place flat-side down on a board and, using a very sharp knife, slice diagonally through so that the pears will be able to fan out in that classic shape. Leave them on the board or a plate until the rest of the pie is ready. (If you chop savoury foods, especially onions, on the same board, make sure to line it first with cling film.)


For the pastry:

• 110g unsalted butter
• 80g granulated sugar (halve if your pastry-handling skills are not strong)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 225g plain flour

Line a 9" pie or tart pan with butter and greaseproof paper. Briefly cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in the egg yolk and the vanilla. Add the flours and mix until well combined—the dough will form clumps and all the flour will have been absorbed. Form the dough into a thick disk. On a lightly floured board gently roll dough out to a thickness of 3-5mm. Brush off the excess flour and transfer the dough to a greased tart pan. Ease the dough into the pan, being careful not to stretch it or break it (the more sugar you use, the more fragile it will be); press it against the sides of the tart pan. Use a pair of scissors to gently cut the dough a 5mm taller than the edge of the tart pan.

For the almond filling:

• 85g slivered or ground almonds
• 85g sugar
• 85g unsalted butter
• 1 whole egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 20g flour

Blitz the almonds, sugar and butter together in a blender, then crack in the egg, egg white and almond extract. Whizz for a minute or so, then gently fold in the flour. Using a spatula, spread evenly over the pastry shell. Drop any excess from the spatula scraprings right into the middle of the tart. Using a metal or sharp-edged spatula, lift the sliced pears and gently slide into the pie in the classic pattern: into four, six or eight 'fans' depending on the size of the pears.

Bake in a preheated 175 C oven for 30-40 minutes, until the frangipangi is risen and golden-brown.

A Special Someone's Birthday Cake

I'm a terrible wife! I planned out a lovely surprise for hubby's birthday, but didn't know that his work colleagues were expecting him to bring in a cake on his birthday. So the poor long-suffering man had to make his own birthday cake. On the plus side, that meant he got exactly what he wanted: a cake that combines chocolate and beer. He did a great job, making a couple of rounds and then sandwiching them together with goobery icing. He even kept this little ramekin-sized one back for us to share :)

Then for his birthday, I took him out to see Tripod, and he broke a rib laughing. Literally. I really am a terrible wife >.<

Banana Split

MONSTER CRAVING!! I blame the afternoon swim plus a light vegetarian meal :) This is a couple of bananas sliced lengthwise, some really excellent Italian-style gelato, some stewed plum juice, and a chocolate sauce from melting a couple of squares of Whittakers dark, whisked together with a little milk. Totally decadent and delicious :D

Serves two!

10th Anniversary Dinner: Crème Brulee

I love this dessert, and since I got a kitchen blowtorch for Xmas, I've been looking forward to making it for some time! I followed this recipe, swapping the vanilla bean for vanilla extract, but found that it didn't set. Still delicious, and the crispy brown sugar worked wonderfully with the cold custard, but it was just not jelly-like enough. From Molecular Gastronomy, I know that egg yolks harden when they reach 57 C. So whether it's my oven, or the latent heat of the dish I used for the bain marie, or the cream not being hot enough, I know that the reason they didn't set was that the custard did not reach and stay at 57 C. That seems quite incredible given that the oven was at 120 C, and the water I put in the bain marie was boiling, and that the cream was beginning to bubble in the pan before I added it to the eggs... but it must have been the case! When I get this recipe right, I'll post again with how I did it! Maybe I should hint that I'd like a kitchen thermometer as an anniversary present ;)

Nectarine Clafoutis

This dessert goes a little way toward explaining how our family managed to eat one egg each, per day, over the Christmas week! It's also totally delicious, and wonderful timing for an Australian Christmas as the stone fruit season is very much in swing. It's good to cook it in shallower, wider pan than shown here, as we had to keep it in for an extra 20 minutes to cook through the centre.

Ingredients:

I like how the empty bowls are crowded around
waiting for their turn to be filled :)

• 300g nectarines (about 5-6)
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup honey or caster sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/4 cup flour

Heat the oven to 180C and make sure there is space in the centre. Grease the dish you're using, and slice the nectarines into medium-sized wedges, dropping them in as you finish.

Whisk the eggs and honey (or sugar) together using a hand blender, until well-combined and a little airy. Add the milk and cream, and whisk again, then carefully combine in the flour, stopping as soon as the flour is no longer visible. Pour the batter over the fruit, and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes.

Christmas Eve Down Under

Following a tradition established years ago in our family, we tend to make an exciting and rather gourmet meal for Christmas Eve, usually trying out something new, often related to the region we're in. In France, we had bouillabaisse, in Norway, reindeer, and here of course, we have kangaroo!

Starters are a selection of oysters au nature, with parsley, lemon, Tabasco and Pernod ready to add. Even mum bravely downed a couple, and we enjoyed a few glasses of bubbly to go with.

Next came the kangaroo, which we seared on the BBQ for just 50 seconds per side, leaving it beautifully rare and tender. We served it on a bed of lentils, bacon and parsley, with our 'classic' (i.e. we've been making it every Christmas for three years now) red pepper & pomegranate salad, and mashed potatoes with mustard.

To finish, we had a delicious flourless chocolate cake, the recipe for which I googled around for until I found something that looked almost right.

I should have taken a better photo, as it was an absolutely wonderful cake, moist and delicate, with a delicious almondy aroma from the almond meal. But we certainly couldn't have decorated it, as it was very rich and needed to be served with nothing more than a cup of strong coffee. Next time I make it, I'll try to get a nice photo of a single slice with a strawberry or other cheeky photographic aid for contrast. In the meantime, here's the recipe, which we found served 12, rather than 8!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of strong coffee
• 100g butter
• 150g dark chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs at room temperature (eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
• 170g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 200g almond meal (ground almonds)

Make a espresso for your tablespoon of strong coffee. Drink any leftovers.

Grease the side and base of a 20cm diameter (inside top measurement) round, preferably springform, cake pan. Line base and side of the pan with non-stick baking paper. (Mum showed me an awesome method for this; I must post photographs next time I do it.) 

Place butter, chocolate, vanilla and coffee in a pyrex bowl and microwave, stirring every minute, for five minutes, or until chocolate and butter have melted. Set aside to cool.

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks, taking care not to break the yolks. Using electric hand-held beaters or an electric mixer, beat egg whites with about half the sugar in a large, clean bowl. Beat until soft peak stage (when the beater is lifted, a peak will form and then droop over). Or slightly more, if you're not ready with the other stage.

Gently fold the yolks into the cooled chocolate mixture. Break up any lumps of almond meal before stirring it into the chocolate mixture. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg white mixture and fold gently to combine, stopping as soon as you can see no further large pockets of pure egg white. (Don't burst all of the lovely bubbles!)

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and cover with a clean tea towel, allowing it to cool in the pan. Serve slices of the cake with whipped cream, berries, ice cream, chocolate sauce or simply dusted with icing sugar. Or just with more coffee.

Scones

Between getting married and moving house, I foolishly didn't have time to submit this post before I left the UK! So it's a little out-of-date, but still a great recipe :)

It's a tradition at my workplace to bring in cakes or other delicious goodies on your birthday, or when you have an important event to celebrate. With around fifty people who might bring in a cake at any moment, that can mean quite a lot of cake to eat over a week! I have a rule so I can still get through doors at the end of the day: never eat anything that isn't home made. So of course when I bring in my own celebration cakes, I always bring in a product of my kitchen, some things more successful than others!

To say farewell to the group after nearly six years, I thought it a good plan to make a traditional English high tea mainstay, scones. It's summer and these go wonderfully with lots of summer fruits like raspberries and strawberries; in winter they're more seasonal with dollops of thick sweet jam. I popped by the market and bought several punnets, and made a quadruple recipe of scones. They went down wonderfully, and it turns out a pint of cream is a lot, even for fifty people!

Ingredients:

• 225g self-raising flour
• 75g butter
• 45g sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 tbsp buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 210 C. Blend the flour and butter together in a food mixer until finely crumbed. Whoosh in the sugar, then turn into a large mixing bowl. Combine the egg and buttermilk in another bowl, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir together until a thick dough is formed; if necessary to wetten, add another tbsp or two of buttermilk.

Using  your hands, roll the dough into a large ball, then roll out flat. Use a cookie-cutter or the top of a glass or mug to make 2"-diameter circles, about 1" thick, and lay them on a baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve within a few hours, as they are best warm.

English Apple and Blackberry (Birthday) Cake

This started life as a Nigel Slater recipe which I employed to use up the large number of Newton Wonder apples which fell from a tree in our garden. Every day of October, one could pick up 10-15 fallen apples, most in good nick but a few with bruises or pecked by the birds or worms. These latter apples would be used up in delicious cakes and crumbles, or frozen for later. I ended up bringing extra cake to events at college and in to work!

I'm trying to run down the freezer at the moment and I remembered I still had a few frozen apples. I didn't have quite enough for this cake so I went halves with some frozen blackberries, and it worked perfectly. So my advice would be to experiment and try different kinds of fruit; you're bound to make something new and exciting every time. The occasion of the cake today was my lovely fiancee's birthday :)

Ingredients:

• 130g butter
• 130g golden caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 130g plain flour
• 1 large eating apple, cored and sliced
• 100g blackberries
• ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line the base of a square 20-24cm cake tin with a piece of greaseproof paper large enough to come up past the sides. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and again beat well. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Scrape the mixture into the lined tin, and cut off any excess paper from above the sides. Drop the apples and blackberries on top and scatter with a dash of ground cinnamon and the demerara sugar. Bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes and then serve warm; eat within 2 days for best flavour.

Brandy Bananas

Dessert posts are like buses... none for the whole blog and then two come along at once! The SO and I went for a run this evening so we were extra-hungry after our leftover guinea fowl. So I sliced a couple of (Fairtrade) bananas lengthwise, and improvised along the theme of yesterday's dessert, but this time with alcohol and fire, which of course only make things even better. The first time we set fire to the pan we had a magnificent fireball and I nearly lost my eyebrows; I ran to get my camera and we repeated the experiment. (Apologies for the focus being out; I forgot to reset it). The second fireball, while safer, was not quite as impressive. In either case... be careful at the flambé stage!

Ingredients:

• two ripe Fairtrade bananas
• a thin slice of butter
• 1 tsp demerara sugar
• a shot or two of strong rum or brandy

Peel and slice the bananas lengthwise. Drop the butter into a heavy-based (not non-stick) pan and melt over a moderate heat. When it begins to froth, add the bananas flat-side down and sprinkle over the sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the flat sides have caramelised, then turn over.

Pour the brandy into a cap or shot glass. Light a long match and get it burning. In a swift movement, pour the brandy into the pan, stand back, and hold the match just over the pan. If it was suitably hot, you'll get a nice fireball! If it was a little cool, the brandy will burn in the pan; either is fine. Immediately remove from the heat and serve over vanilla ice cream or yoghurt. If your timing is good, and you use plenty of brandy, you have every chance of serving this to guests while it's still on fire. Shiny!

Honey-glazed Pears

Dinner tonight was a simple affair of sweet smoked mackerel from the fishmonger, cauliflower salad, and a rough aioli made from a small minced clove of garlic, a few tbsp of mayonnaise and a handful of finely-chopped dill. We also put together a pumpkin lasagne for later in the week, but I'll post that tomorrow!

For dessert tonight, I finally got around to using up a couple of conference pears; I had put them in the fridge as a last-ditch attempt to keep them from decomposing after they ripened spontaneously a few days ago. Luckily they were salvageable and after a quick trip in the frying pan they toasted up beautifully.

Ingredients:

• Two ripe conference pears
• a thin slice of butter
• 1 tbsp of runny honey
• ground cinnamon

Peel and core the pears, and slice them into long finger-sized pieces. Melt the butter in a heavy-based non-stick pan over a medium heat; when it begins to froth, add the pears. Sautee each side gently for a few minutes, until the edges are golden and caramelised. Turn the heat off, and drizzle the honey into the pan. Sprinkle with the barest tough of ground cinnamon. Serve over vanilla or natural yoghurt, or with a dollop of crème fraîche.

Quick Roast Rhubarb

Mmmm, the first rhubarb is out: tiny pink stems which cook very quickly and are full of vibrant astringent juices. I make the most of this season; by the time the first English berries are out, I'm sick of rhubarb, but it's glorious when the season starts. It matches perfectly the cool bright days of spring.

Crumble is a fairly classic way of preparing rhubarb, but it is much more effort and not something I tend to whip together midweek. Roasting the rhubarb, especially these gentle first stalks, retains the flavour and texture, without weighing it down with oats, cinnamon and butter. For two people for a midweek dessert, you'll need:

Ingredients:

• Five ~10inch-long thin stalks of rhubarb
• 1 tbsp granulated or demerara sugar
• Optional flavourings such as:
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence, or
• 2 blood oranges, segmented, or
• 2 star anise, lightly pounded to break apart

Top and tail the rhubarb and slice into inch-long pieces. You can divide the fat end in two if it makes the pieces evenly-sized. Put in a pyrex baking tray: do not use metal, non-stick or even ceramic, as the rhubarb will react with these materials. Sprinkle over the granulated sugar and a flavouring if desired, and add just enough water to thinly cover the bottom of the dish.

Roast at 200 C for 20 minutes or until the rhubarb gives effortlessly when poked with a fork or knife. The water will have become a pink and delicious syrup. Remove the anise if used, and serve on yoghurt, with a little more sugar or honey to taste.