Sunday Recipes

Fig & Frangipane Tart

375g pack ready rolled short crust pastry
100g (3 1/2oz) butter
100g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
100g (3 1/2oz) ground almonds
8 fresh figs, halved
200g (7oz) raspberries
3tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C (for fan assisted) gas 7.
Unroll the pastry onto a floured work surface and roll a little thinner. Line a 33cm x 12cm (13in x 4 1/2 in) rectangular fluted loose bottom flan tin with the pastry, then place baking parchment on top. Fill this with baking beans and bake 'blind' for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake in the oven for a further 5 minutes, then remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 200C/180C/gas 6.

In a bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, then the ground almonds and combine until you have a soft paste. Spoon the paste into the pastry case and place the figs on top, then bake for 20-25 minutes until the paste is set and golden and the pastry crisp.

Place the raspberries in a sieve over a pan and push them through the sieve with a spoon, then stir in the sugar. Place the pan on the hob and heat for 2-3 minutes until the sauce is a jam consistency. Drizzle the sauce over the tart and serve.

Instead of figs, you can spread the pastry case with raspberry jam and then add the frangipane topping, back and drizzle with icing. You could use apricots or pears instead of figs.

Each Sunday I am going to put a recipe or two on my blog to share with you all. This one has been taken from The Mail on Saturday Weekend Magazine. I hope you will enjoy them and perhaps even make them and I would love to see your finishes on your blogs.

Pear and Blackberry Pie

I saw this recipe in the Saturday paper the other day, so decided to write it up on my blog. I have a few more to write up, so you can enjoy some British recipes :)

8 firm, ripe pears
Juice of 1 lemon
100g (3 1/2 oz) caster sugar (very fine sugar, but not the powdered kind for those of you abroad) plus 1 tbsp
2 tsp ground cinnamon
200g (7 oz) blackberries
375g readymade shortcrust pasty
1 egg white

Preheat the oven to 90 C/170C fan/gas 5. Peel, core and quarter the pears. Place them in a bowl and toss in the lemon juice to prevent the fruit from browning. Sprinkle the caster sugar and the ground cinnamon on top.

Pile the pears with the blackberries into a large 1.5 ltr (2 3/4 pint) pie dish and pour over any lemon juice left in the bowl.

Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface until large enough to drape over the pie dish. Trim a 1cm (1/2 inch) strip of pastry and press onto the rim of the dish. Brush with water and then drape the pastry over the top. Crimp the edge of the pastry and cut a cross in the top. Beat the egg white with a fork and brush over the top. Sprinkle the top with the last 1tbsp. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until golden brown.

Cooking apples such as Bramley's make a great alternative to pears.