Gypsy tarts

This is one of my Dad's favourite desserts - an old Kentish classic. It's very sweet; the sharpness of a few fresh rasberries scattered on top and/or a few splinters of bitter dark chocolate offsets the sweetness nicely. Traditionally short crust pastry is used, but I used brik in this instance for a bit of brittle, papery crunch.

MAKES 6

Brik or filo pastry

1 400ml tin of evaporated milk

300g Dark muscovado sugar

Melted dark chocolate and/or raspberries, to serve.

1 Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Whisk the evaporated milk and sugar together for about 10 minutes until thick and creamy.

2 Use a saucer to cut out 6 circles of pastry, then line 6 brioches tins. Carefully spoon the mixture into the tins; the pastry probably won’t sit snuggly in the tins beforehand, but the weight of the mixture will help hold it down and push the pastry into the brioche tin grooves.

3 Bake for 10 minutes, checking regularly in case the edges of the pastry burn. Serves with fresh raspberries and splinters of dark chocolate. 

Butterscotch mousse

This is essentially the same way that I make chocolate mousse; beat

the cream, whisk the egg whites but fold in velvety butterscotch

instead of melted chocolate.

75g Unsalted butter

100g Light brown sugar

300ml Double cream

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

2 Eggs, separated

Slowly melt the butter in a pan on the hob. Add the sugar, vanilla and

a splash of cream. When the sugar has melted, take off the heat and

stir in the egg yolks. Whisk the remaining cream to thicken, then stir

in the butterscotch. Whisk up the egg whites; when they're fluffy

carefully fold into the creamy mixture. Spoon into teacups; chill in

the fridge for a couple of hours before serving with a sprinkle of

chocolate shards.

Shards

Chocolate, hazelnut and hogweed seed tarts

Half a 375g pack sweet pastry
200g Dark chocolate
50g Golden caster sugar
3 Eggs
3tbsp Single cream
1/2tsp Ground hogweed seeds
75g Chopped hazelnuts (wild if the squirrels haven't thieved them first; which is likely)

Heat the oven to 180C. Line 4 tart tins with pastry and blind bake for 10-15 minutes (they need to be slightly golden). Melt the chocolate before mixing in the cream and ground hogweed seeds. Whisk eggs and sugar until thick and creamy. Carefully fold in the chocolate mixture and about ¾ of the hazelnuts. Spoon into tart cases, sprinkle remaining nuts on top and bake for 10 minutes.