Gooseberry and elderflower pies

I love the ease of a free-form fruit pie. No need for a tin or dish; just gather up the sides of the pastry and carefully press around the filling. You've essentially created a scruffy-looking pastry bowl; one that looks all the better for it's irregularity and absence of uniformity. Gooseberries are at their best right now; there's a wonderful Pick Your Own just down the road from us, and these little jade marvels were half the price of the Strawberries a few rows down - always a bonus. Makes 4 small pies.

700g Gooseberries
100g Granulated sugar
A generous splash of Elderflower cordial
600g Shortcrust pastry
1 Egg, beaten
Demerara sugar

1 Heat your oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Simmer the gooseberries on a low heat with the sugar and elderflower cordial for about 5 minutes; the berries need to soften slightly but still retain their shape.
2 Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until approximately 3mm thick. Place a dinner plate onto the pastry before trimming to leave a circular disc of pastry. Gently position a smaller, saucer-sized plate in the centre of the disc, then use the blunt back edge of a knife to lightly score an inner circle.
3 Spoon gooseberries into the inner circle, taking care not to go over the score line. Bring the pastry sides up around the sides of the filling, then shape around the fruit. If the filling sits a bit low in the pie once the sides have been brought up, spoon in a few more gooseberries. Brush the pastry with beaten egg, then sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
4 Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crumbly. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whatever takes your fancy.

Poached plums in spiced rum syrup

Recipe: The Hairy Bikers (check out Good Food Oct '12 issue for recipe)
Food styling: Sara Buenfeld
Prop styling: Sue Rowlands

Key Lime Pie

Recipe: Janine Ratcliffe

Food styling: Val Barrett

Recipe >>> HERE <<<

Baked custard & raspberry pots

Shot for Leith's  School of Food & Wine
Food styling: Andrea Ayre 

Gypsy tarts

This is one of my Dad's favourite desserts - an old Kentish classic. It's very sweet; the sharpness of a few fresh rasberries scattered on top and/or a few splinters of bitter dark chocolate offsets the sweetness nicely. Traditionally short crust pastry is used, but I used brik in this instance for a bit of brittle, papery crunch.

MAKES 6

Brik or filo pastry

1 400ml tin of evaporated milk

300g Dark muscovado sugar

Melted dark chocolate and/or raspberries, to serve.

1 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Whisk the evaporated milk and sugar together for about 10 minutes until thick and creamy.

2 Use a saucer to cut out 6 circles of pastry, then line 6 brioches tins. Carefully spoon the mixture into the tins; the pastry probably won’t sit snuggly in the tins beforehand, but the weight of the mixture will help hold it down and push the pastry into the brioche tin grooves.

3 Bake for 10 minutes, checking regularly in case the edges of the pastry burn. Serves with fresh raspberries and splinters of dark chocolate. 

Blackberry cheesecake mini-pots

An orange sun slumped sulkily in the sky as I left the house, dipping quickly towards the horizon as I gathered a bowlful of blackberries in the fading light. In accordance to tradition I was consumed by mosquitos with great abandon; dessert was sorted though, which was ideal. Makes 4 - 6 pots, dependant on size of receptacles.

6 Hobnob biscuits, crushed

20g Melted unsalted butter

150g Blackberries

2Tbsp Caster sugar

A squeeze of orange juice

250g Mascarpone cheese

6Tbsp Double cream

4Tbsp Icing sugar

1 Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin, pour the crumbs into a bowl and stir in the the melted butter. Divide and squash the mixture into the bottom of each pot. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

2 Heat the Blackberries, caster sugar and orange juice in a pan for a few minutes; until the sugar has dissolved and the berries have softened and released some of their juices.

3 Whisk the cream until it starts to thicken, then fold in the mascarpone and icing sugar.

4 Add a layer of blackberries to the bottom of each pot, then fill with the creamy cheesecake mix. Top with more blackberries and a drizzle of juice.

Strawberry and wild rose petal pavlovas

Another flower recipe - what the hell, the summer months are quite a lean time for the forager, we might as well enjoy these fragile festoons along the hedgerows while we still can. Serves 4.

4 egg whites
200g Light muscovado sugar
1stp Cornflour
1tsp Rosehip vinegar
500g Strawberries
1tsp Rosewater
A few tablespoons of granulated sugar
A large handful of wild rose petals
A large pot of double cream, whipped

1 Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks; slowly whisk in the sugar, then the cornflour and vinegar. Spoon 4 meringues onto parchment covered baking sheets, bake for 1 hour and turn the oven off. Leave to cool.
2 Roughly chop 250g of the strawberries. Place in a pan with the granulated sugar, a splash of water and simmer for 10 minutes. When the strawberries have broken down, add the petals and rosewater. Keep on the heat for a further 5 minutes, then pass through a seive into a bowl.
3 Whisk the cream until thick. Take a few tablespoons of the strawberry syrup and fold into the cream, only briefly so that the syrup streaks the cream. Spoon the cream onto the meringue nests, then arrange chopped strawberries on top. Finish with and extra drizzle of syrup.

Butterscotch mousse

This is essentially the same way that I make chocolate mousse; beat

the cream, whisk the egg whites but fold in velvety butterscotch

instead of melted chocolate.

75g Unsalted butter

100g Light brown sugar

300ml Double cream

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

2 Eggs, separated

Slowly melt the butter in a pan on the hob. Add the sugar, vanilla and

a splash of cream. When the sugar has melted, take off the heat and

stir in the egg yolks. Whisk the remaining cream to thicken, then stir

in the butterscotch. Whisk up the egg whites; when they're fluffy

carefully fold into the creamy mixture. Spoon into teacups; chill in

the fridge for a couple of hours before serving with a sprinkle of

chocolate shards.

Cranberry clafoutis

I've made clafoutis' before, but with sweeter fruit such as blueberries,

blackberries and plums. In this instance I offset the sharpness of

the Cranberries by macerating them in a little warm honey first.

400g Fresh cranberries

1 tbsp Honey

75g Plain flour

100g Golden caster sugar

75g Ground almonds

1 tsp Ground cinnamon

2 Eggs

150ml Whole milk

100ml Single cream

Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Warm the honey in a small

saucepan, take off the heat and stir in the cranberries. Sieve the flour

into a mixing bowl, then stir in the sugar, almonds and cinnamon.

Whisk the eggs, milk and cream together in a seperate bowl, make a

well in the centre of the dry ingredients and slowly whisk in the liquid.

Mix well, until the batter is smooth and lump free.

Butter a shallow dish, add a spoonful of sugar and tap at an angle,

rotating slowly to coat the bottom and sides of the dish. Spoon in the

honeyed cranberries, then pour in the batter. Bake for 25 minutes,

after which the clafoutis should be risen and golden. A skewer should

come out clean when poked into dish.

Pumpkin pie

2 x 375g packs sweet shortcrust pastry

4lb chopped pumpkin
150g sultanas
400g light muscovado sugar
Zest 1 large orange
300ml orange juice
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp Allspice
1/2tsp Nutmeg
1 bay leaf
A large knob of butter
A good slosh of brandy

Preheat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tip the filling ingredients into a large bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. Pour into a large dish and cook in the oven for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly. While this is cooking, line a 23cm springform cake tin with shortcrust pastry, making sure that you have enough spare for the lid. Add the pumpkin mixture to the lined tin, cover with pastry lid and pinch round the edge to create a seal. make a couple slits in the top with a knife. Brush with milk, sprinkle with muscovado sugar and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for a bit before removing tin.