Sue says: “Salty caramel, roasted pear, crisp pastry and walnuts fuse into something completely delicious in this tarte Tatin. The chocolate surreptitiously enriches the caramel without shouting about it.”

Serves 4–6

Ingredients

• 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry or 320g block
• plain flour, for dusting, if needed
• 6 Conference pears (or other small pears), about 100g each
• lemon juice, for squeezing
• 70g unsalted butter, chopped
• 70g caster sugar
• 70g runny honey
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 50g walnut pieces
• 50g dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids), chopped
• whipped cream, to serve

Method

If using block pastry, roll out on a lightly floured work surface until 3mm thick. Cut a 23-cm disc from the pastry, prick all over with a fork and chill while you prepare the filling.

Peel and halve the pears, then carefully remove the cores with a teaspoon; you want perfect halves if possible. Transfer to a bowl and toss with a little lemon juice as you go to prevent browning.

Melt the butter in a 20-cm ovenproof frying pan. Sprinkle over the sugar and cook for two minutes until it begins to dissolve, then stir in the honey and salt. Arrange all but one of the pears, cut-side up, in the pan with the narrowest end pointing to the centre – you want them to fit snugly, as they will shrink slightly during cooking. If there is a space left right in the centre, cut a round from the remaining pear half and place it, cut-side up, in the space.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cook over a medium heat for 30 minutes; the butter and sugar mixture should energetically bubble away and reduce down to a thick and syrupy amber coloured caramel. Shake the pan frequently, and now and then spoon some caramel over the pears.

Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle over the walnuts and chocolate, filling in any gaps between the pears with the nuts. Cover with the pastry disc and tuck the edges into the sides of the pan with a spoon.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Set aside for five minutes, then carefully invert onto a plate. Serve immediately with whipped cream.

Sue says: “Banish any notion that this tart tastes like it should form part of the roast dinner instead of the pudding. Using duck fat instead of butter in the caramel imbues all that sweetness with a subtly savoury richness. I’ve also made this with goose fat, with excellent results. When it comes to how much salt to use in the caramel, that really depends on your personal taste: start with the amount suggested and add more if you like.”

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the pastry

• 200g flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 50g icing sugar
• generous pinch of fine sea salt
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

For the caramel

• 260ml double cream
• 60g duck fat
• 270g caster sugar
• 75ml maple syrup
• 1 heaped tsp sea salt flakes, or more to taste
• 50ml water

For the chocolate ganache

• 250g dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids), grated or finely blitzed in a food processor
• 200ml double cream
• 1 tbsp liquid glucose
• 3 bay leaves
• sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

Method

First, make the pastry. Place the flour, butter, icing sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to a fine crumb consistency. Gradually add the egg yolks, pulsing between each addition, to make a shaggy dough. Tip out onto a work surface, shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour

On a lightly floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a circle large enough to line a 24-cm tart tin. Line the tin with the dough: use a ball of excess dough dipped in flour to press it into the fluted sides and to make a neat crease between the edges and base. Gently push some of the excess pastry hanging over the edge of the tin back into the tin – this will allow for shrinkage in the oven. Don’t worry if the pastry tears; just patch it up with excess bits of dough. Run a rolling pin over the rim of the tart tin to trim, and pull away any excess pastry. Prick the base with a fork and chill for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C.

Line the pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and the beans, then bake for a further 10 minutes until pale gold. Leave to cool in the tin.

Now, make the caramel. Place the cream and duck fat in a small pan and gently heat until the fat has melted. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the sugar, maple syrup and salt in a pan with the water and stir to combine. Simmer until the mixture turns a deep amber colour (or until the temperature reaches 150°C on a sugar thermometer). Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream and duck fat mixture with a balloon whisk – be careful, as it will splutter. Return the pan to the heat and gently simmer, stirring constantly (I use the whisk), until very thick and a rich caramel colour. Pour into the tart case and leave at room temperature to cool and set for one to two hours.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the cream, liquid glucose and bay leaves in a small pan, bring almost to the boil and then remove from the heat. Set aside to infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and reheat until very hot, then immediately pour over the grated chocolate, stirring constantly. Whisk with a balloon whisk or electric beaters until thick and creamy. Spread over the caramel and smooth the top. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Serve immediately or leave to set for two hours.

Sue says: “Making these beauties is a project, without question, but they require far less effort than you might think. The most time-consuming part is waiting for the dough to rise and prove, so you can mostly go about your business, but with a little skip in your step at the prospect of truly lovely doughnuts. The subtle savoury flavour of bay partners beautifully with caramel and chocolate.”

Makes 12 doughnuts

Ingredients

For the chocolate brioche

• 220g strong white bread flour
• 30g cocoa powder
• 30g caster sugar
• 7g fast-action dried [active dry] yeast
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 125g unsalted butter, softened (but not too soft), cut into small pieces
• flavourless vegetable oil, for oiling
• about 1.5 litres vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed, for deep-frying

For the bay caramel

• 3 medium-large dried bay leaves
• 70g caster sugar
• 50ml double cream
• 35g unsalted butter, chopped
• 2 tbsp water
• generous pinch of sea salt flakes

For the custard