Pears Poached in Caramel with Toasted Brioche and Creme Fraiche

This lovely dessert is simpler than it sounds, and is a variation on a rather more elaborate recipe by Raymond Blanc, where he encases the poached pears in a 'charlotte' of brioche and bakes it.  He suggests the simpler version of poaching the pears in caramel sauce and serving it with a slice of toasted brioche with a spoonful of creme fraiche, so this is the route I took.  We had more of the perfect little baby Williams Pears from Riverford this week, so peeled them and poached them in the rich caramel sauce which is made thus: dissolve 5 tablespoons of caster sugar with 2 tablespoons of water in a heavy pan over a low heat.  Turn up the heat, and cook to a good golden caramel, not quite as dark as you would for a creme caramel but a good dark colour all the same.  DON'T stir it whilst this is happening, else the sugar will crystallise and be ruined.  If necessary, just swish the pan occasionally.  When the correct colour is attained, take off the heat and immediately add 100ml of double cream - take care as it will spatter.  When it has all subsided, return to a low heat, add 25g of butter and a tablespoon each of lemon juice and either Calvados, Cognac or Poires William if you have it.  Now submerge 8 small or 4 larger peeled pears in the sauce, cover, and simmer until tender.  This depends on size and ripeness, but our baby pears were done in about 8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool with the lid on, then transfer the pears with all their delicious caramel sauce to a bowl and refrigerate.  You can eat them as they are with vanilla ice cream, toasted nuts, shortbread, whatever floats your boat.  Or, if you have some brioche knocking about (as you do), toast a small slice per person, and serve the sweet bread with the pear, some sauce and ice cream or creme fraiche.  Perfect.

Caramel Cardamom Apricot Cake

It has been a weekend of caramelised upside-down food, what with yesterday's beetroot Tarte Tatin and this cake today.  This is a hybrid recipe based on Bill Granger and Rachel Allen versions, and it is delicious served with vanilla ice cream or clotted cream - or possibly both - I won't tell!  You make some caramel in an oven-proof cast iron dish or pan with 30g of butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, the zest and juice of half a lemon and the crushed seeds from 3 cardamom pods - heat all together over a medium heat and allow to bubble and turn a deep golden brown.  The smell is amazing.  Halve about 12 ripe apricots (the Riverford apricots from the south of France have been superb this year), and place them, cut-side down, on the caramel.  Now, make a sponge with 75g each of soft butter and caster sugar, 2 egg yolks, 90ml of milk and 160g self-raising flour.  Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold through the sponge batter.  Dollop onto the apricots, spread out, and bake for around 40 minutes at 170C - check after 30 minutes, depending on the depth of your tin.  Leave to sit for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cake stand or platter.  Tidy up any apricots that might have dislodged, and tuck in.  The tart apricots, sweet lemony, buttery caramel and fragrant cardamom are a taste of heaven.

Chocolate Peanut Caramel Flapjack

OK, so I have a bit of a baking head on.  I start a secondment next week (finally, as I've been trying to do two jobs for the last few weeks) and am nervous about 2 things: first, that I'll be rubbish in the new post - they have such high expectations about me and I feel a little fraudulent; and second, that my replacement is so good, they might not want me back in my old post when the 12 months is up!  Gulp!  So, I am seeking solace in baked goods with lots of chocolate.  First up, this obscene lump of solid sugar and fat.  I take some comfort that the oats will help reduce some of the cholesterol being ingested.  This is a layer of squidgy flapjack (100g butter, 30g granulated sugar, 70g soft muscovado sugar, 2 tablespoons golden syrup and 175g oat flakes, all melted together, flattened in a parchment-lined 20cm sq brownie pan and baked for 10 mins at 160C - no longer, or else it is too hard).  Allow this to cool, then mix half a tin of Carnation Caramel condensed milk - make sure it is the ready-caramelised one - with 100g of roasted peanuts - your choice whether salted or unsalted, but the salt goes really well with the caramel!  Also, it is up to you to decide what to do with the remining half tin.  It is calling to me from the kitchen.  "Hello? Psst!  Maggie, EAT me!" it is saying.  Spread this over the cooled flapjack, and set in the fridge for a few hours.  Then gently melt 75g each of dark and white chocolate together with a tablespoon of flavourless oil, stirring very gently.  Pour this over the cold caramel layer and return to the fridge.  Leave to set, and then cut with a big sharp knife dipped in boiling water, wiping the knife between each cut.  This is best done on a board, out of the tin.  Use the parchment paper to help lift out of the pan.  Try to keep chilled, so the caramel doesn't seep out too much.  The bulk (I use the word advisedly) of this is going into work on Monday, otherwise we'd scarf the lot. These taste good.  Very good.  Like a Marathon bar with oats in.  (I refuse to call them Snickers - stupid name)

Caramel Cabinet Pudding

I make this every year around this time, ostensibly to hoover up all the remaining dried fruit left over from Christmas, but it is so delicious in its own right.  It is like bread and butter pud, but made with Madeira cake instead of bread.  I line the base of the dish with some caramel - a couple of tablespoons of sugar heated over a high flame until it darkens, melts and liquifies into lovely caramel.  Then I build layers of cubed Madeira cake, raisins and sultanas soaked in Marsala wine, and chopped mixed peel.  Then a couple of eggs beaten with half a pint of creamy milk, a tablespoon of sugar and some vanilla are poured over.  The whole thing is steamed for an hour and a half or baked, covered, in a bain marie, and then inverted so the lovely dark caramel top is uppermost.  Spoon any caramel juices from the base of the dish around the pud as you serve, with some chilled cream if liked.......who am I kidding, if liked?  As if...........this will serve four or possibly 6 after a big meal, so not as wicked as you'd think.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares

I made this for a cake-sale fundraiser at work today, and they went down pretty well - the caramel flavour perhaps could have been a wee bit more pronounced?  Never mind, they looked fantastic.  This is a recipe I've had my eye on for a while, and it has cropped up on many brilliant blogs, including Smitten Kitchen and Annie's Eats.  It consists of a base of crushed digestives and butter (about 80g and 40g respectively) baked in a foil-lined 8" square square tin for 10 mins.  Whip up 250g of mascarpone, a tin of Nestle Caramel, 60ml of single cream and two eggs.  Pour this over the cooled base, and bake, prefereably in a bain marie at around 160 degrees for 35 minutes.  Chill well, then top with a 'glaze' of 100g dark chocolate, not too bitter, 50g butter and 2 teaspoons liquid glucose, gently melted together and poured over the top.  When set, cut with a sharp long-bladed knife, dipped in hot water and wiped after each cut, to give dinky bite-sized portions.  This recipe yielded 36 squares, so great for gifts, buffets, after-dinner treats.

Raymond Blanc's Tarte Tatin

photo by Jean Cazals

Oh, rarely has a dish been so badly abused than the Tarte Tatin.  Common mistakes are: too little caramelisation and too few apples, with a pale, flabby puff pastry layer.  The apples should be halved and packed, upright, into the buttery caramel base, and the pastry should be cooked until crisp and flaky, to provide contrasting textures.  I was privileged, many years ago, to watch a live cookery demonstration by the demi-God, Raymond Blanc.  From what I can remember, dragged out of  memories obscured by sheer lust and awe, he produced a Tatin of utter brilliance (I also remember him tasting olive oil by pouring it onto his palm and licking it off - I didn't recover from that for several weeks).  So, I have followed his recipe every Autumn for our annual treat, probably for the last 20 years or more.  The recipe works, so I shall simply point you to it to follow too, along with a picture from his cookbook that shows what perfection should look like.