Summer Fruit Tart

Mmm.. this tart just tasted of summer (despite the weather...)Its a base similar to a cheesecake, pressed into a tart tin and then filled with a creamy mascarpone filling and topped with peaches, I only used peaches because I had them, but you can use whatever fruit you have or indeed a mixture.

The contrast of the fruit with the creamy mascarpone and crunchy base is just perfect. I followed a Nigella recipe for this ( the black and white tart in How to be a Domestic Goddess) but found I had too much of the mascarpone mixture left over, so we had it with strawberries later in the week with some biscuits crumbled on top in a ‘deconstructed’ version of the tart. I’ve changed Nigella’s recipe and decided to use half greek yoghurt, half mascarpone and have done away with the egg – makes a quicker, more cost effective pud. Also, the limoncello is obviously optional, I only used it because I have it and it goes so well with mascarpone.

Ingredients

250g digestives
75g butter, melted
250g mascarpone
250g greek yoghurt
75g icing sugar
Squeeze of lemon
1 tbsp limoncello
Enough fruit to top

Blend the biscuits to a rubble and mix in the melted butter. Tip into a tart tin and press the mixture onto the base and sides. Leave in the fridge to set. Meanwhile whisk the mascarpone until smooth and add the icing sugar, beat until combined, add the limoncello and yoghurt and beat until smooth. Spread this mixture over the base and top with the fruit.

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Blackberry and Limoncello Trifle

Oh my god. This is seriously my favourite dessert in the whole world. I cannot begin to describe the joy of eating this. My friend Jamie gave me a bottle of limoncello, a key ingredient in this recipe a few weeks ago and since then I've been dreaming of this trifle.

This is of course, based on a Nigella recipe and naturally Jamie introduced me to it, but now I can't remember who decided to change the trifle sponges for brioche, but either way, this only adds to amazingness.

This time I also decided to change the recipe further and use half double cream, half mascarpone. The only real disadvantage with this recipe is that the ingredients are pretty pricey. Seen as though I bought most of the ingredients in Waitrose, I couldn't bring myself to spend all that money on mascarpone. Plus, I think the double cream adds a lightness to the rich intense mascarpone.

As with most Nigella recipes, this makes a loooot, but it actually improves with age, so I wouldn't worry about making the whole batch, the leftovers can often be the best part. the picture is of an individual trifle that i made, mostly because I found these dinky dessert glasses. Otherwise I've been dreaming of this trifle dish

Ingredients

1 loaf brioche
200g blackcurrant jam
750g blackberries
1 200g packet amaretti biscuits, blended to a rubble
250ml limoncello
juice ½ lemon
100g sugar
2 x 250g mascarpone
½ pint double cream

Using half the jam, make sandwiches with the brioche, cut in half and squish into the bottom of your trifle dish. Sprinkle over half the amaretti biscuits and drizzle over 150ml of the limoncello.

Add the lemon juice, remaining jam and blackberries to a pan, simmer gently until for a minute or so until the juices start running. Now pour this over the liquer drenched brioche.

Whisk the double cream until its in stiff peaks and set aside. Now whisk the mascarpone with the sugar until smooth, slowly whisk in the remaining 100ml limoncello, then fold in the double cream. Dollop this delightful mixture on top of the berries. Now cover with clingfilm and allow to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight so that the flavours can mingle. Take the dish out of the fridge about 30mins before you want to eat and sprinkle over the remaining amaretti biscuits.

Try not to eat it all yourself....

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Yoghurt Cake

This is possibly the easiest recipe for a cake ever, and perhaps my favourite cake. The idea is you use a small carton of yoghurt to flavour the cake and then use the empty carton to measure the rest of the ingredients. Genius! no scales, no cups. Using oil and yoghurt also means that the cake in wonderfully moist and lasts for days, although what cake ever last for days?

Also, as this recipe is so easy to make, its perfect to make with children.

Below is the basic recipe.

Yoghurt Cake

• 1 individual pot of yoghurt
• 1 pot of flavourless oil
  
• 2 pots of sugar
• 3 pots of self raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Whisk the yoghurt, oil and sugar together. Add the eggs and mix thoroughly. Stir in the dry ingredients. Transfer to a lined cake tin and bake at 180°C for 30-40mins or until a skewer comes out clean.

The beauty of this recipe is that there are endless variations, both with the flavour of yoghurt, icing and shape of tin used. I like to use a Black Cherry yoghurt, baked in a loaf tin for a delicately flavoured plain tea cake. This also works very well if you substitute one carton measure of flour for ground almonds.


I made this cake to use up some blueberries that were past their best in the fridge. I followed the recipe using plain yoghurt, and 1 carton measure of ground almonds instead of 1 measure of flour. I then stirred the blueberries in at the end before baking.


I made this cake for my sister's birthday. I used raspberry yoghurt and baked it in sandwich tins, then filled it with fresh raspberries and mascarpone mixed with icing sugar. I like to use mascarpone as a cheat's (and a fatty's) version of whipped cream as it only needs gently beating with a wooden spoon to look like whipped cream. Read more...