Mad about dessert

For those who believe dessert is the most important part of a meal, our take on these classic favourites will hit the right spot!

Apple tarte tatin

SERVES 8 PREP & COOK TIME 1 HOUR 40 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION TIME)

1 ROUGH PUFF PASTRY: Place flour and salt in a medium bowl. Rub in butter with your fingertips until almost combined but leaving small lumps of butter. Add ½ cup (125ml) ice-cold water; mix gently with a butter knife to a streaky dough. Roll dough on a lightly-floured surface into a 20cm x 40cm rectangle, with the short side in front of you. Fold dough into thirds by bringing the top third down over the middle third, then the bottom third up to cover the folded dough. Turn pastry a quarter turn to the right; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Place the dough in the same position it was before refrigerating. Repeat rolling, folding and the quarter-turn, two more times. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).

3 Stir 60g of the butter and ¼ cup (55g) of the sugar in a 24cm ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Add apples; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until lightly coloured. Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt; stir to combine. Bake apples for 8 minutes or until softened slightly. Transfer apples to a large plate; leave to cool completely.

4 Meanwhile, roll pastry between sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Cut a 28cm round from pastry. Refrigerate until needed.