COOKBOOKS GALORE

  I love caramel and found this recipe in my magazine cuttings. Happily it's not a difficult caramel to make, as I've had many disasters with it in the past! You can make your own shortcrust pastry or use ready made, which I did. You need:  Pack of shortcrust pastry, 2 eggs, 100g caster sugar, 60g butter, 100g walnuts chopped finely  and 100g walnut halves For the Caramel: 20g butter, 100ml crème fraîche, 150g caster sugar Preheat oven 180C/gas4                 22cm tart tin For the tart: Cut the butter into pieces and melt for 1 min in a microwave. Leave to cool. Beat the eggs and caster sugar using an electric mixer or hand mixer till white and fluffy.  Add the chopped walnuts and melted butter and gently mix together. Roll out pastry to fit a tart tin which is at least 2.5cm high. Grease the tin then line with the pastry. Add the nut mixture gently. Bake for about 30 mins till golden. Caramel: Put the sugar in a pan and melt till brown. Heat the cream till b

 I love apricots, but you don't see them often, and sadly, our town market is no more. so saw some on offer in the supermarket and bought them to make this tart, another French recipe from my friend. I used ready made shortcrust pastry, as it's too hot to make my own. You need: a block of shortcrust pastry, 75g caster sugar, 75g ground almonds, 600g apricots, 75g soft butter, 1 egg, and a handful of flaked almonds to sprinkle on top. Preheat oven 200C/gas6                   Tart tin 24 - 26 cms Roll pastry out and fit into tin. Put in fridge while you make the filling. Wash and stone the apricots. Mix together the sugar, butter, ground almonds and the beaten egg - make sure it's well mixed. Spread over the pastry and top with the apricots.  Bake for about 35mins then sprinkle the almonds over the top.  You can add the flaked almonds partway through cooking, but I prefer them like this. I like the crunchy pastry, the soft filling, then the fruit and the nice crunch of the fl