Chocolate chip cookies, lemon curd tartlets, drunken prune and chocolate torte
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
150g caster sugar
170g unsalted butter, softened
2 medium-sized eggs
1 vanilla pod
170g plain flour, sifted
60g rolled oats
170g dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas four.
Combine the sugar, butter and eggs, then whisk them until smooth. Split the vanilla pod and scoop the seeds into the mixture. Add the flour, oats and chocolate chips, then fold in, so everything is well combined.
Drop generous teaspoons of the mixture on to a greased baking tray, leaving enough room for the mixture to spread out. Flatten each blob with the back of your teaspoon.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. You may need to turn the oven tray, so the cookies colour evenly. Allow to cool for five minutes, so they firm up, then transfer to a wire rack.
LEMON CURD TARTLETS
100g butter, plus a little extra
170g caster sugar
125ml lemon juice and the zest of 2 lemons
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp pine nuts
12 tartlet cases
Combine the butter, caster sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and eggs in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir until the mixture thickens, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Gently saute the pine nuts in the extra butter until golden brown. Spoon the lemon curd into the tart cases and sprinkle with the pine nuts.
DRUNKEN PRUNE AND CHOCOLATE TORTE
250g prunes, roughly chopped
50ml Pedro Ximenez sherry (or rum or brandy)
50g unsalted butter
25g cocoa powder
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
170g caster sugar
whites of 5 medium eggs
80g plain flour, sifted
Combine the prunes and the alcohol, cover with cling film and set aside for 30 minutes (overnight is even better). Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/gas five. Combine the butter, cocoa, chocolate and 150g of the sugar in a pan and add 100ml of water. Heat until smooth. Set aside.
Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, fold in the remaining sugar, then fold in the flour. Finally, gently fold in the chocolate mix. Pour the mixture into a well-greased 23-centimetre loose-bottomed cake tin. Scatter the prunes and any residual sherry on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until just firm.