There’s something frugal and maybe a little dull about a dessert called “Baked Fruit”, but it’s a real cracker. I was intrigued to try it because there must be a recipe for the dish in almost every trendy cookbook available these days. I know Jamie and Nigella certainly have them.
I had some nectarines to hand but you can experiment with whatever fruit you like (I believe rhubarb and figs work very well).
Halve and stone one large nectarine per person. Arrange (cut side up) in a baking dish. Dust each piece fruit of with a little caster sugar (I used vanilla sugar) and add a few drops of brandy over the fruit. Bake in the oven at 240°C for about 12 minutes. It’s excellent served with rich mascarpone, sweetened with some vanilla sugar.
Strawberries and vinegar might not sound like a likely combination, but this makes a fantastic and easy dessert. Take a large punnet of strawberries, enough for two people. Wash, hull and slice the berries into a bowl. Mix a teaspoon of caster sugar with a teaspoon of good balsamic vinegar and add to the sliced strawberries. Mix gently then cover with cling film and allow the berries to macerate for an hour or so.
Serve with a blob of mascarpone, sweetened with a little vanilla sugar.
Serves 2.
Fans of ‘afternoon tea’ will be pleased to hear that clotted cream is available to buy in Marks & Spencer. Good old Marks. This 150g packet cost €2.50. I’ve kept an eye out for clotted cream for years but none of the ‘Irish’ supermarkets stocked it. Get baking those scones!
Ingredients
- 350g oat flakes
- 150g soft brown sugar
- 225g butter
- 40g golden syrup
- 150g mixed nuts and fruits, chopped
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Melt butter, sugar and golden syrup over the hob or in the microwave.
- Add oat flakes, nuts and fruit and mix well.
- Transfer mixture to a baking tin (20cm X 30cm) lined with baking parchment. Ensure mixture is flat and covers the entire base.
- Bake for 25 mins and allow to cool in the tin.
- While the mixture is still warm, mark the flapjacks into squares, but leave in the tin until fully cooled before removing.
