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  Set the oven at 220°C/Gas 8. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

  Peel and core the apples, then roughly chop half of them and put them in a deep saucepan with a splash of water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and let them simmer until they are soft, frothy and can be crushed with a fork. Remove from the heat.

  Cut the remaining apples into small cubes and fold them into the crushed apple with the mixed spice and ground cinnamon. This will give a nice contrast of textures.

  Roll the pastry out to a rectangle measuring 36 × 23cm. Turn the pastry so the longest edge is facing you. Cut the marzipan into tiny cubes. Spread the apple over the pastry, leaving a 3cm rim on the left- and right-hand edges, then scatter the marzipan over.

  Brush the bare pastry rim with a little of the beaten egg. Roll the pastry up from right to left, press the egg-brushed edges firmly to seal, then cut the roll of pastry into twelve equal slices. Place the slices cut side up on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

  Bake in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes, then remove from the oven and brush with a little ginger syrup or honey.

  APPLES, GINGER CAKE, CUSTARD

  Wobbling custard. Soft, spiced cake.

  Serves 4–5

  sweet apples 350g

  butter 40g

  plain ginger cake 350g

  a little demerara sugar

  For the custard:

  eggs 4

  double cream 500ml

  full-cream milk 125ml

  golden caster sugar 50g

  ground cinnamon a pinch

  nutmeg for grating

  You will also need a baking dish approximately 22–24cm in diameter. Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4.

  Quarter the apples, remove their stalks and cores, then slice each quarter into three. Melt the butter in a shallow pan over a moderate heat, then add the apples and let them cook for eight to ten minutes till they start to soften. Turn them over carefully with a palette knife and continue cooking till soft.

  Make the custard: break the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat with a small whisk to mix whites and yolks. Pour in the cream and milk, add the sugar, ground cinnamon and a little grated nutmeg, combine thoroughly, then pour into the dish.

  Crumble the ginger cake into large lumps and scatter over the custard. Add the apple slices, then sprinkle lightly with demerara sugar. Bake for thirty-five to forty minutes till the custard is lightly set. It should wobble a little as you shake the dish. Leave to settle for fifteen minutes. Serve warm, though I should add it is good thoroughly chilled, too.

  APPLES, OATS, CHOCOLATE

  Deep, tender apple. Dark chocolate. Crisp oats.

  Serves 4

  sharp ‘cooking’ apples 1kg

  butter 30g

  For the crust:

  soft, fresh white breadcrumbs 60g

  jumbo oats 60g

  dark chocolate chips 70g

  butter 70g

  maple syrup 2 tablespoons

  soft, light brown sugar 2 tablespoons

  You will also need an oven dish approximately 22 × 15cm.

  Set the oven at 190°C/Gas 5. Peel, core and roughly chop the apples, then put them into a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of water and the 30g of butter and cook over a moderate heat for ten minutes or so, till the apples are turning to fluff. Transfer to the oven dish.

  Mix together the soft breadcrumbs, oats and chocolate chips. Melt the butter and maple syrup together in a small saucepan. Scatter the crumbs over the apples, then pour over the syrup and butter, soaking the crumbs as you go.

  Sprinkle the sugar on top and bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes till crisp and light gold in colour.

  APPLES, PEARS, RYE

  Soft apples. Crisp crumbs.

  Serves 4–6

  sweet apples, large 4

  pears, large 3

  cloves 6

  ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons

  an orange

  caster sugar 4 tablespoons

  a lemon

  butter 50g

  For the crust:

  dark rye bread 100g

  golden sultanas 6 tablespoons

  mixed spice 2 teaspoons

  butter 50g

  fresh cranberries 2 tablespoons

  Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Peel two of the apples, core them and cut them into thick segments, then do the same with two of the pears. Put the peeled apples and pears in a baking tray or roasting tin and add the cloves and a light dusting of the cinnamon. Remove six strips of orange peel with a vegetable peeler and tuck amongst the fruit.

  Cut the remaining fruit into segments, coring them as you go but without peeling them, then put them into a second, smaller tin. Scatter both roasting tins of fruit with the four tablespoons of caster sugar. Halve the lemon and squeeze its juice over, then dot the 50g of butter amongst the fruit. Bake both tins for about forty-five to fifty minutes until all is soft.

  Crumble the dark rye bread into a bowl and stir in the sultanas and mixed spice. Melt the butter in a small pan, add the crumbled rye bread and let it toast over a moderate heat till lightly crisp. Remove and set aside.

  Take the tray of peeled fruit from the oven. Remove the peel and spices, then crush the fruit with a vegetable masher and place in a serving dish.

  Scatter the cranberries over the pears and apples in the oven. When the fruit is golden and sticky and the cranberries are starting to burst, remove them from the oven. Spoon the roast fruit over the purée, then scatter with the toasted rye bread.

  BANANAS, BUTTER, PUFF PASTRY

  Crisp pastry. Warm banana. The scent of maple syrup.

  Makes 4

  ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry 125g

  butter 40g

  bananas 2

  icing sugar 2 tablespoons

  maple syrup 4 tablespoons

  You will need two baking sheets.

  Set the oven at 220°C/Gas 8. Place one of the baking sheets upside down in the oven and line the other with baking parchment.

  Roll the pastry thinly into a rectangle large enough from which to cut four discs of pastry 12cm in diameter. Using a large cookie cutter or small plate as a template, cut out the four discs and transfer them to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and slice the banana into pieces as thick as a pound coin.

  Divide the banana slices between the pieces of pastry, placing them, overlapping, in the centre of the discs of pastry. Brush the bananas and pastry with melted butter, then sift the icing sugar over them.

  Place the baking sheet on top of the hot sheet already in the oven and bake for about eighteen minutes until the pastry is golden. Spoon the maple syrup over the tarts and return to the oven for five minutes. Remove from the baking sheet with a palette knife or fish slice.

  • Very finely sliced apples will work in place of the bananas, though they do need to be thoroughly basted with butter before baking. My favourite for this treatment is fresh apricots (they need to be exceptionally ripe), and I should perhaps mention that the canned variety, for which I retain a certain affection, are perfect candidates for a spot of high-speed baking.

  • Little tarts such as these benefit from singed edges. The contrast of the almost burned pastry with the sweet fruit and fridge-cold cream is a delight in the way they are in a tarte Tatin. That said, it is worth keeping a close eye on them during their time in the oven. Once the pastry is brushed with syrup and returned to the oven it will be ready in the blink of an eye.

  • The sheets of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry are the ones to look out for. The thick blocks take an age to thaw and are generally too large unless you are making tarts for a party.

  CHOCOLATE, DRIED FRUIT, PISTACHIOS

  Chewy chocolate clusters.

  Makes 6

  dark chocolate 100g

  soft dried prunes 60g

  dried apricots 60g

  skinned hazelnuts 40g

  golden sultanas 40g

  For the pistachio sugar:
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br />   shelled pistachios 15g

  mint leaves 10

  caster sugar 10g

  Line a baking sheet with parchment. Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl, place over a small saucepan of simmering water and leave to melt. Try to avoid stirring, just occasionally push any unmelted pieces into the liquid chocolate. Remove the bowl from the heat.

  Roughly chop the prunes and apricots. I like to slice them into small strips, each slightly thicker than a match. Roughly chop the hazelnuts, then add to the chocolate with the apricots, prunes and sultanas and stir lightly.

  Place large spoonfuls of the chocolate-coated fruit and nuts on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

  Put the pistachios, mint leaves and sugar into the bowl of a food processor and blitz to a fine and pale green powder. Sprinkle over the chocolate clusters and leave in the fridge until set.

  CHOCOLATE, DULCE DE LECHE, CANTUCCI

  Fragile crust. Oozing chocolate.

  Serves 2

  dark chocolate 100g

  dulce de leche 2 tablespoons

  eggs 2

  caster sugar 100g

  cantucci, to serve

  Set the oven at 160°C/Gas 3. Break the chocolate into small pieces and leave to melt, without stirring, in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water. As the chocolate melts, gently stir in the dulce de leche and turn off the heat.

  Break the eggs into a large bowl, add the sugar and beat until thick and fluffy. Doing this in a food mixer with a whisk attachment will give the best results. Stir the chocolate and dulce de leche into the mixture.

  Transfer to two ramekins, using a rubber spatula. Put the ramekins into a roasting tin or baking dish. Pour enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins, then bake for twenty minutes until the surface is lightly crisp and the inside thick and creamy.

  Serve with a teaspoon and, if you wish, cantucci biscuits.

  • You need only two three or three stirs to incorporate the dulce de leche into the chocolate. Any more and you might over-mix it.

  • A soft crust appears on these puddings as you bake them, whilst the inside stays rich and fondant-like. It will stay like that for an hour or two, should you wish to make them a little ahead of time.

  • Heatproof china ramekins are ideal for these, but you can bake them in ovenproof cups too, or even metal tali dishes.

  • I have baked these chocolate puddings and eaten them the following day, when they are like thick, fudgy chocolate mousse.

  CHOCOLATE, ORANGE ZEST, CANDIED PEEL

  Warm scones, nuggets of chocolate, a spritz of orange.

  Makes 12 small scones

  plain flour 500g

  baking powder 3 teaspoons

  chilled butter 75g

  caster sugar 1 tablespoon

  an orange (medium-sized)

  candied orange peel 75g

  dark chocolate 75g

  milk 300ml

  a beaten egg

  Set the oven at 220°C/Gas 8. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

  Sift the flour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes, then rub into the flour with your fingertips until you have what looks like soft, fresh breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Finely grate the zest from the orange into the flour, taking care not to include any of the bitter white pith underneath.

  Chop the candied peel into tiny, gravel-sized pieces and add to the bowl. Chop the chocolate into small pieces, a little larger than the cubes of peel, and stir in, together with the milk, and mix to a soft, but rollable dough.

  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and pat into a thick round. Using a 6cm biscuit cutter, cut out twelve scones and place them, a little way apart, on the baking sheet. Brush the top, but not the sides, of the scones with a little of the beaten egg and bake for 10–12 minutes till golden. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack and serve when still slightly warm.

  • The best candied peel is that which you buy in the piece from Italian delicatessens and food halls. It is by far more juicy and sweet-sharp than the little nuggets of ‘candied peel’ you buy ready-chopped.

  • Despite the chocolate, I do think these benefit from being spread with butter as you would any scone. But no cream and jam. A splodge of marmalade might be fun though.

  DAMSON, ALMOND, SUNFLOWER SEEDS

  Sweet homely crust. Juicy fruit.

  Serves 4–6

  damsons 750g

  caster sugar 2 tablespoons

  For the crumble:

  butter 90g

  plain flour 75g

  ground almonds 75g

  caster sugar 40g

  sunflower seeds 3 tablespoons

  cream, to serve

  Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Wash the damsons, then put them, still wet, into a baking dish approximately 20 × 22cm. Sprinkle them lightly with the two tablespoons of sugar.

  Cut the butter into small cubes, then rub into the flour and ground almonds with your fingertips, until it resembles fine crumbs. Alternatively, do this using the food processor, in which case it will be done in seconds. Stir in the 40g of caster sugar and the sunflower seeds.

  Shake a few drops of water over the crumble, then shake the bowl so some of the crumbs stick together in larger pieces. You get a more interesting crust that way.

  Pile the crust on top of the damsons and bake for about thirty minutes until the fruit is bubbling around the edge of the crust. Serve with cream.

  GINGER CAKE, CARDAMOM, MAPLE SYRUP

  Hot cake, spice cream, sweet syrup.

  Serves 2

  double cream 250ml

  cardamom pods 8

  caster sugar 1 tablespoon

  ginger cake 150g

  butter 30g

  maple syrup 2 tablespoons

  Put the cream in a small saucepan. Break open the cardamom pods and crush the seeds to powder in a spice mill or a pestle and mortar. Stir the powder into the cream, add the sugar, then simmer for three minutes and remove from the heat.

  Cut the ginger cake into four slices 2cm thick. Warm the butter in a frying pan, add the ginger cake and cook for a couple of minutes until thoroughly hot. Remove and divide between two dishes. Pour the cardamom cream over the ginger cake, then trickle over the maple syrup.

  • I say ginger cake, but to be honest any open-textured cake would do. A lemon cake is good here, as are spice cakes and those made with golden syrup. Madeira cake is a bit too dry and tight-crumbed.

  • Cardamom has an affinity with sweet baking and is I think perfect here, but you could use a little cinnamon instead if you like. You will need barely a half teaspoon.

  • If maple syrup evades you, the syrup from a jar of preserved ginger will work too, bringing a little extra warmth as well as sweetness.

  HAZELNUTS, BLOOD ORANGES, RICOTTA

  The warmth of nuts and honey. The brightness of oranges.

  Serves 6

  For the base:

  butter 150g

  icing sugar 60g

  ground almonds 80g

  plain flour 75g

  skinned hazelnuts 50g

  pine kernels 40g

  poppy seeds 10g

  sesame seeds 10g

  flaked almonds 30g

  shelled pistachios 40g

  small lemon 1

  blood oranges 4

  double cream 150ml

  ricotta 200g

  For the syrup:

  honey 3 tablespoons

  thyme leaves 2 teaspoons

  Set the oven at 160°C/Gas 3. Using a food mixer with a flat beater, cream the butter and icing sugar together. Fold in the ground almonds and plain flour. Chop the hazelnuts in half, then mix with the pine kernels, poppy and sesame seeds, flaked almonds and pistachios. Finely grate the zest from the lemon, then fold, together with the seeds and nuts, into the shortbread dough.

  Bring the mixture together with floured hands, put on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then lightly pat into a rectangle roughly 22 �
� 24cm. Bake for twenty-five to thirty minutes until pale biscuit-coloured. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for ten minutes, then slide carefully on to a cooling rack and leave until cold.

  Remove the peel from three of the oranges with a sharp knife, then slice the fruit thinly and place in a small bowl. Put the cream in a mixing bowl and beat until thick, but not so firm it will stand in peaks. Fold in the ricotta and refrigerate.

  Put the juice of the fourth orange, the honey and thyme leaves into a small pan and warm over a low heat until the honey has melted. Slide the shortbread on to a serving plate or board, spoon the chilled ricotta cream over the surface, then cover with the sliced oranges. Spoon over the orange and thyme syrup and serve.

  ICE CREAM, CHOCOLATE, SHERRY

  Cold ice cream. Hot chocolate sauce. The deep, sticky sweetness of sherry.

  Serves 2

  flaked almonds 1 tablespoon

  dark chocolate 75g

  vanilla ice cream 4 balls

  Pedro Ximénez sherry 2 tablespoons

  crystallised orange

  Toast the flaked almonds in a dry, shallow pan over a moderate heat till patchily golden. Take great care not to get distracted – nuts burn in seconds.

  Break the chocolate into a small heatproof bowl suspended over simmering water and leave to melt.

  Place the balls of ice cream in two bowls, pour in the Pedro Ximénez, then spoon in the melted chocolate. Finish with the flaked almonds and a tiny slice of crystallised orange and eat immediately.