Caramel CREATIONS

Three classic French sweets to round off dinner with friends

- EN BEDLOE

Apple and ginger tarte Tatin

This one-pan pud is a breeze to whip up at the end of a meal.

Serves 8 • Prep 1 hr Cook 30 min

• 320 g puff pastry, rolled slightly larger than your pan

• 75 g unsalted butter, cubed

• 175 g caster sugar

• 2 cm chunk ginger, grated

• 7-8 apples, peeled, cored and halved Crème fraiche or ice cream, to serve

You will need:

26 cm heavy-based oven/hob-safe frying pan

1 Roll out the pastry on a floured worktop. Trim to a circle just larger than the pan, then chill until needed.

2 Scatter the butter over the base of the pan, add the sugar and ginger, then nestle in the apples, rounded side down.

3 Put the pan on a medium heat and cook for 50 min, or until the apple juices, sugar and butter combine to make caramel. Be careful not to let it catch and burn.

4 Heat the oven to 200°C. Put the pastry on top of the apples, tucking in the edges. Prick the pastry a few times with a fork, then bake for 30 min, or until puffed up and golden brown.

5 Let the tart sit for 3 min before carefully inverting onto a plate. Serve with crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream.

Coffee crème caramel

Espresso and vanilla combine perfectly in this rich and creamy classic.

Serves 8 • Prep 20 min, plus at least 4 hrs chilling • Cook 1 hr 20 min

• 150 g caster sugar

• 3 medium free-range eggs, plus

• 3 yolks

• 120 g soft light brown sugar

• 1 vanilla pod, halved, seeds scraped 300 ml double cream 300 ml whole milk