Recipe One

Pear and plum cardamom tart

For the base:

375g of plain flour, sifted

1 tsp of baking powder

150g of caster sugar

200g of cold butter, chopped

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp of sour cream

For the filling:

5 large pears (washed, peeled and grated using a large grater)

3 plums (washed and sliced, remove the pip)

2 tbsp of soft brown sugar

15g of vanilla sugar or 2-3 drops of vanilla essence

Pinch of ground cardamom

You will need:

26cm springform, base lined with grease-proof paper. (Note: the base will need to be refrigerated 40 minutes prior to baking)

Oven: preheat to 200°C

1 To make the base, sieve the flour and the baking powder. Mix the egg yolks with the sour cream. Rub the butter and sugar into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs (you can also use a food processor), then add the egg yolks mixed with sour cream.

2 Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Divide the dough in half and put one half into the freezer for 40 minutes. Knead the other half to fit into the baking tin, including the sides (about 1cm in depth), and place in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

3 Remove the tin from fridge, prick the base with a fork all over and bake for about 10 minutes.

4 For the filling, put the prepared pears and plums in a bowl and pour over the brown and vanilla sugars, the vanilla essence and ground cardamom. Leave for about 20 minutes, or until the fruit releases its juices. Remove the juice into a separate bowl. Transfer the fruit onto the pre-baked base, evenly spreading it out. Take the dough out of the freezer, grate it and sprinkle evenly over the cake. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and bake the tart for about 50 minutes.

5 Whip 250ml of cream and as it starts to stiffen, add the retained fruit juice. Serve the tart warm with a dollop of cardamom-flavoured cream.

Coffee and cherry white chocolate tart

For the base:

170g of plain flour

1 tsp of cinnamon

20g of cocoa powder (100% cocoa)

50g of soft brown sugar

120g of butter

2 egg yolks

For the filling:

1 tsp of coffee powder

2 tbsp of warm milk

200g of white chocolate (broken into pieces)

100ml of fresh cream

35g of butter

150g can of cherry filling in thick syrup

60g of cherry conserve

You will need:

23cm round springform, base lined with baking paper

Oven: preheat the oven to 160°C

1 To make the base, sieve the flour, cinnamon and cocoa powder together. Then add the sugar and butter, and rub them together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and knead until a dough ball forms. Using your hands, knead the dough into the base and sides of the springform (about 2cm high). Bake for 15-20 minutes. Take the base out of the oven to cool.

2 For the filling, dissolve the coffee powder with milk. In a saucepan place the white chocolate, cream, butter and coffee mixture, and warm over a very low heat. When the chocolate starts melting, remove it from the heat and keep stirring until the mixture is smooth. Separately mix the cherry filling with cherry conserve. Spread the cherry mixture over the cooled tart base and cover with the warm coffee and chocolate mixture. Leave for about 20 minutes to cool and then transfer the tart into the fridge for about two hours to set.