Butterscotch pies (main picture)
Imen McDonnell, farmette.ie
For each and every celebration, my Grandma Ursula baked a trifecta of pies that she never seemed to deviate from: chocolate, strawberry, and my favourite, butterscotch. Over the years, I have enjoyed experimenting with her recipe for the latter, and must attest, hand over heart, that butterscotch and dark chocolate are an absolute match made in heaven. Adding in sea salt, as I do here, balances out the sweetness of the brown-sugar buttery filling so perfectly that it’s nearly impossible to have just one slice.
Chocolate and sea salt butterscotch pie
Serves 4-6
200g plain flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking powder
170g very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Ice water, as needed
For the filling
480ml whole milk
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour
2 large egg yolks
4 tbsp unsalted butter
200g soft dark brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
To finish
150g dark chocolate (75%), chopped
A generous pinch of flaky salt
1 To make the pie crust, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and butter, then blitz until the butter is cut into tiny bits and incorporated throughout the dough. Add 6 tbsp ice water. Pulse until it just comes together, adding 1 tbsp more at a time, if necessary.
2 Dust a work surface with flour and turn the dough out of the bowl. Dust with more flour, then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
3 Dust your work surface with flour and roll out the dough into a 30cm-diameter circle. Carefully line a pie dish with the dough and cut away any excess hanging over the sides. Refrigerate the case until ready to blind-bake and fill.
4 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Prebake the pie case for 12 minutes, until the crust on the rim has browned.
5 To make the filling, combine the milk and both flours in a bowl, then whisk in the egg yolks until incorporated.
6 Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat, add the sugar and vanilla. Wait until the sugar softens and melts into the butter. Take off the heat, allow to cool slightly, then slowly whisk in the milk mixture. Put back over a medium heat and cook, whisking, until smooth. Cook for 5 more minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. Pour the mixture into the prebaked pie crust and refrigerate.
7 Melt the chocolate with the sea salt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Allow it to cool slightly, then drizzle it over the butterscotch filling, swirling it in with a toothpick. Refrigerate until firm. Serve.
Variations (pictured above)
Spring: Butterscotch pie with elderflower meringue
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Whisk 4 egg whites to soft peaks, then add 200g sugar, a spoonful at a time, whisking between each addition without overbeating, until smooth and thick. Whisk in 2 tbsp elderflower cordial. Dollop spoonfuls of meringue around the edge of the butterscotch filling. Spoon the rest into the centre, swirling around with upward motions to form peaks. Put the cooled pie in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until the meringue is crisp and slightly coloured. Let the pie sit in the tin for around 30 minutes, then remove and set aside for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing. Before serving, decorate the pie with fresh elderflower petals.
Summer: Butterscotch cherry cream pie
Steep 150g fresh sweet cherries (stems intact) in 200ml kirsch for 1 hour (or overnight for a more profound flavour). Whip 250ml cream and dollop around the edge of the pie. Drain the cherries from the kirsch and put whole cherries on the whipped-cream border.
Autumn: Whisky butterscotch pie with toasted meringue
Add 100ml whisky to the butterscotch, mix. Make a meringue as in the spring variation, omitting the elderflower cordial. Bake. When the pie comes out of the oven, toast the tips of the meringue with a blowtorch or leave it under a hot grill to brown the peaks. Serve warm.
Pear, apple and miso tarte tatin
Valerie Berry, valerieberry.com
Puff pastry is often used when making tarte tatin, but I find shortcrust works best – the puff is too fragile and flaky to hold the fruit and juices when the pie is flipped. Shop-bought, all-butter, ready‑rolled pastry is all you need and cox or braeburn are my favourite apples for a tarte tatin.
Serves 6-8
1 egg, beaten
A large pinch of salt
40g white miso
80g butter, cut into small cubes
150g granulated sugar, plus 3 tbsp for sprinkling
4 apples, peeled, cored and halved
3 pears, peeled, cored and halved
1 sheet of all-butter shortcrust pastry
1 Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Beat the egg with the salt and leave aside. Mix the miso with the butter and set aside.
2 Heat a 23cm-diameter frying pan over a medium heat and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the base. When the sugar starts to melt, sprinkle another thin layer over the top. Repeat until all 150g of the sugar has been used.
3 Some of the sugar will start to caramelise before the rest has melted. Swirl the pan – do not stir – and continue cooking until you get an even golden colour. Pour the caramel into a 23x5cm nonstick cake tin and rapidly swirl around to coat the bottom and as much of the edges as possible. (Watch out, it is very hot.)
4 Arrange the halved apples and pears, round-side down, filling the gaps with chopped apples if needed. Dot with miso butter, then sprinkle with 2 tbsp of the remaining sugar.
5 Unroll the pastry directly over the apples, then trim it into a circle 2cm wider than the tin. Tuck the edge around the fruit, leaving a slight gap between the pastry and the tin for the steam to escape. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with the final 1 tbsp sugar.
6 Bake for 40 minutes. Remove and set aside for 20 minutes then, being very careful not to burn yourself, invert on to a rack placed over a tray to collect the dripping juices. Do it over the sink with oven gloves, as hot juices will splash out.
7 Serve warm, drizzled with the some of the collected juice and a dollop of creme fraiche.
Variations
Spring: With strawberries and cardamom. Core, peel and halve 6 apples. Hull and halve 250g large strawberries. Crush the seeds of 8 cardamom pods and mix with 2 tbsp sugar. Arrange the apples (round-side down) over the caramel, then put the halved strawberries on top. Dot with the butter and sprinkle with the cardamom sugar, following the recipe above.
Summer: Nectarines and rosemary. Coat the cake tin with caramel, then scatter 2 tsp rosemary needles over it. Halve and stone 4 nectarines. Peel, quarter and core 4 apples. Arrange the nectarine halves around the tin (cut-side down) and some apple quarters (round-side down) in the centre, filling the gap around the nectarines with apple slices. Dot with butter and sugar as above.
Autumn: Figs and raspberries. Halve 6 figs. Peel, quarter and core 4 apples. Arrange the apple halves around the tin (round side down) and pile the figs in the centre (cut side down). Fill the gaps with 100g of raspberries. Dot with butter and sugar as above.
Apricot frangipane crumble tart
Jeremy Lee, quovadissoho.co.uk
This beautiful tart (based on an old Joel Robuchon recipe) and frangipane became a great favourite when I cooked with Alastair Little in his Frith Street restaurant. He illuminated for me the path to great British cooking, using fine produce in the most unassuming and delicious manner.
Serves 6-8
125g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
225g plain flour, sifted
50g icing sugar
A pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
For the crumble
150g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
150g plain flour
150g whole almonds, coarsely ground
150g soft dark brown muscovado sugar
For the frangipane
1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk
200g caster sugar
200g whole almonds, coarsely ground
200g unsalted butter, softened
300g dried unsulphured apricots, cut into coarse pieces
50g pistachios, shelled
1 To make the pastry, put the butter, flour and sugar in a bowl with the salt. Work this with your fingertips or use a food processor to create a fine crumb. Add the egg and gently knead until smooth. Roll into a ball and flatten lightly. Wrap and refrigerate.
2 To make the crumble, put the butter and flour into a bowl and work with your fingers for a fine crumb. Tumble in the ground almonds and muscovado sugar. Mix gently but thoroughly.
3 To make the frangipane, beat the whole egg and sugar for 1 minute, then add the egg yolk and the almonds.
4 Have ready a fluted, 25cm tart case with a removable base. Roll the pastry out to about 3mm. Line the tart case with the pastry, then put in the fridge for at least an hour prior to cooking.
5 Set the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Heap the frangipane into the tart. Scatter the apricot pieces and pistachios over the frangipane. Tumble half the crumble on to the tart, press, then add the rest. Bake for 90 minutes.
6 Cool on a wire rack, then serve on a handsome plate with a jug of properly good, thick Jersey cream. Custard is vital, too, and ice-cream is sort of a must, really.
Variations
Spring: 12-15 Agen prunes, stoned, and steeped in 1-2 cups of Armagnac.
Summer: 300g blackcurrants, picked from their clusters (keep any leaves to flavour an accompanying custard or ice-cream).
Autumn: 6-7 jonagold, cox, pippin or russet apples, thickly sliced and cooked gently in caramel until coloured a rich amber.
Apple and quince galette
Mark Diacono, otterfarm.co.uk
A rough-and-ready dessert that is nevertheless elegant at the same time, this wonderfully adaptable galette is a favourite whatever the season.
Serves 4-6
200g plain flour
100g spelt flour
1 tsp flaky salt
45g caster sugar
250g chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
75ml cold water
For the filling
20g caster sugar
½ tsp ground cloves
600g cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 quince, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
80g ground almonds
1 egg, lightly beaten and loosened with a little milk
10g demerara sugar
1 Whizz the flours, salt, and sugar in a food processor to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water, a little at a time, in a thin stream – stop when the dough begins to hold together, even if you have water left. Flatten the dough, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2 Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine half the caster sugar with the ground cloves, add the apples and quince, then toss until covered.
3 Warm the rest of the caster sugar in 10ml water to make a syrup.
4 Roll out the pastry into a rough circle 5mm thick and lay it on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Scatter the almonds over the pastry, leaving a 6cm border. Arrange the fruit evenly over the nuts. Fold the pastry border over the edge of the fruit, creating pleats as you go. If you can give the galette an hour in the fridge before cooking, it retains its shape better when cooking.
5 Preheat the oven to 170C/340F/gas mark 3½. Brush the pleated pastry with the egg and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Brush the fruit with half of the syrup and bake. After 20 minutes, brush the fruit again with the remaining syrup. Cook for 15 minutes or so, until the pastry is just golden and the fruit tender. Let it cool a little before serving with yoghurt or double cream.
Variations
Spring: 500g rhubarb, 6 tbsp elderflower cordial syrup in place of the syrup. Omit the ground cloves.
Summer: 400g nectarines, 300g raspberries, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground cloves.
