Cook's Book

James Martin’s Desserts, published by Quadrille; €17.69

This book on sweet treats and puddings from chef James Martin accompanies his BBC TV series Sweet Baby James, in which he travels Britain, cooking some irresistible dishes.

Gooseberry crème fraiche tart

Try this with new season’s gooseberries.

Serves 6-8

Butter for greasing

200g sweet shortcrust pastry (see recipe below)

Flour for rolling out

Filling:

200ml crème fraiche

4 large egg yolks

1 whole egg

100g caster sugar

450g gooseberries, topped and tailed

Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Lightly grease a 23cm, 2.5cm deep, loose-bottomed tart tin.

Heat a baking tray in the oven while you roll out the pastry. Roll the pastry on a floured surface so it is larger than the diameter of the tin. Line the tin with the pastry and prick the base all over with a fork. Brush the base and sides with some of the egg white left over from the eggs for the filling. Place the pastry-lined tin on the hot baking tray (this will make the base cook). Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is just beginning to turn golden brown. Then remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4.

To make the filling, whisk the crème fraiche, yolks, whole egg and sugar together.

Carefully arrange the gooseberries in the pastry case, pour the crème fraiche mixture over the top and return the tart to the oven for 40-50 minutes or until it’s a light golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

Rich Shortcrust Pastry

James says the best way to make shortcrust with that crumble-in-the-mouth texture is to do it by hand rather than by machine, as a blender will overwork the gluten in the flour and cause the pastry to shrink when cooked. In addition, resting the pastry in the fridge is important, as the high proportion of butter to flour makes it difficult to roll out when warm.

Makes 300g

200g plain flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp icing sugar (if making sweet pastry)

100g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp iced water

Mix together the flour, salt and sugar (if making sweet pastry). Add half the cubed butter to the flour. Gently and swiftly rub the fat into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the rest of the butter and mix until it’s the size of small peas. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.

Mix the egg with the lemon juice and water and gradually pour into the well, a little at a time, rubbing it through your fingers, until it forms a stiff dough (you may not need all the liquid). Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly until smooth. Shape into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. To line a tin or mould, roll the chilled pastry onto the rolling pin, then unroll over the tin, draping the pastry into the tin or mould. Gently press it in place.