Strawberry Mille-Feuilles

Ingredients

500g ready-made puff pastry

300mls double/whipping cream

400g strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

Caster sugar and icing sugar

Method

Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 9 rectangles, each measuring about 12 x 8cm.

Bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden brown.

Whisk the cream until thick, adding a little sugar to taste.

Slice each piece of pastry in half horizontally so you have 18 rectangles.

Place one piece each on 6 serving plates. Top with some of the cream, then some sliced strawberries. Add another pastry slice and layers of cream and strawberries, then place a piece of pastry on top of each.

Dust with icing sugar, and serve.

Baileys Cheesecake

Ingredients

Base

250g digestive biscuits
100g margarine, melted

600g soft cheese
225mls double cream
175g sugar
2 tbsps cornflour
2 eggs
100mls Baileys

Method

Crush the digestive biscuits and mix with the melted marge. Press into a cake tin and refrigerate.

Beat together the soft cheese, sugar, cornflour and cream. Whisk in the eggs and Baileys.
Pour this mixture over the base and bake at 180 for 45 minutes or until it starts to set. Keep refrigerated.

If you find the Baileys taste a bit too subtle - like I did - my serving suggestion is to simply drizzle Baileys over your slice!

Chocolate, Rum and Raisin Cake

Ingredients

100g marge
150g dark chocolate chips
4 eggs, separated
200g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
100g sr flour

Rum & Raisin Ganache

75g raisins
1 1/2 tbsps rum
1 1/2 tbsps cherry liqueur
175mls single cream
25g sugar
350g dark chocolate chips
25g marge

Method

Put the raisins, rum and cherry liqueur in a small bowl and leave to soak overnight.

Melt together the marge and chocolate in a saucepan, then leave to cool slightly. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Mix in the flour and ground almonds, then the melted chocolate. Finally, fold in the whisked egg whites.

Pour into a greased, lined cake tin and bake at 180 for 50 minutes.

For the ganache heat the cream and sugar in a saucepan, and stir in the chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Stir in the marge followed by the raisins.

Turn the cake out onto a plate and pour the ganache over it, keeping some to serve on the side.