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Cookery: Classic desserts
by Deanna Baynes
CLAFOUTIS is a dessert made with a rich, sweet batter, traditionally using cherries. I use pears instead, and in winter it is delicious served warm. Serves 8. Roll out the pastry and line the flan tin. Chill. Make the syrup by bringing the ingredients to the boil and then simmer for 3 minutes. Peel the pears and cut in half — leave the stalks on, but core them. Poach them in the sorbet mixture for 10 minutes, switch off the heat, and leave. Make the batter by whisking the eggs and sugar till creamy. Heat the milk, cream, and vanilla in a saucepan, pour this into the egg mixture and whisk. Put the oven on 400°F/200°C/Gas 6. Pour the batter into the pastry base and lay the pears in, core side down and stalks to the middle. Trickle about a teaspoonful of the syrup on to each pear, put the tart into the oven for 25 minutes, trickle a little more syrup on to the pears, and serve warm. You should have some sorbet syrup mixture left over — about 2 pints. Use this to make Pear sorbet. You will need an ice-cream maker and 6 ripe William pears. Peel, core, and de-stalk the pears. Put them into a food processor, and mush them to a pulp. Add them to the syrup. Pour the mixture into the ice-cream maker, switch it on, and after 10 minutes it will be ready. Custard is a real comfort-food. Baked custard tart Set oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Roll out pastry. Butter a 20cm-round pop-up tart tin. Line it with the pastry and bake blind for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 120°C/250°F/Gas 1 or 2. Heat the cream until it boils. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, and grated nutmeg. Add the hot cream and whisk. Sieve into the cooked pastry. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Grate more nutmeg over. Custard sauce
Whisk the yolks and sugar together, put the cream and vanilla into a bowl, and mix the egg mixture in. Place this over a saucepan of boiling water, and whisk until it thickens. |
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