A little Italian Sweetness

Dessert, one of life’s great guilty pleasures and one we relish getting our teeth into; apart from ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ that is ladies. There is always room for a sweet ending and ‘a happy ever after’ following a meal, even if it means you can’t walk for a while or you have to put in an extra session at the gym, the pleasure and satisfaction bought from a spoonful of creamy, seductive, gooey goodness is definitely worth it.

There are no half measures when it comes to all things sweet, from chasing a Mr Whippy ice-cream van at the tender age of 25 for a ’99 flake’, to making a Mississippi Mud Pie (my Grandmother’s version of a deep-filled chocolate torte), you should never hold back! 

As much as I’m a fan of traditional English sweets - the sticky toffee pudding, a good crumble or a boozy trifle, I do love making as well as eating desserts which have originated abroad, from a chocolate fondant from Switzerland to a simple French crème brulee. However, this time of year, we are treated to some delicious seasonal fruits and come September, I couldn’t resist putting the chocolate to one side, getting in the ‘5 a day’ and presenting you with one of my favourite Italian desserts:

Fig, plum and almond tart with amaretto syllabubs

Serves 8

Amaretto syllabub

250ml double cream

25g caster sugar
80ml amaretto liqueur

Mix the sugar and amaretto together.

Whisk the cream before adding the amaretto mixture gradually until the whole lot thickens.

Place in the fridge until serving

Fig, plum and almond tart

6 figs, halved, stalked removed

5 plums, stoned, quartered
100ml amaretto liqueur
2tbsp water
30g caster sugar
125g sweet shortcrust pastry

The filling:

285g grounded almonds

60g plain flour
250g unsalted butter
260g caster sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2tsp vanilla essence
1tsp almond essence
1tsp cinnamon

28cm/11 inch tart tin

Put the figs and plums in a bowl, covering each piece with amaretto and place in the fridge for a few hours.

For the filling, cream the butter and sugar, before adding the grounded almonds, beaten eggs, vanilla and almond essences, cinnamon and discarded amaretto from the fruit. Fold until the mixture is smooth, placing in the fridge for an hour to firm up

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Grease the tart tin with butter and sprinkle with a little flour. Roll out the pastry; to fit the case - it needs to be a ½ cm width. Lay the pastry in the tin, press down round the corners, place greaseproof paper on top followed by a few pieces of sliced bread or baking beans.

Bake the pastry case for around 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Turn the oven down to 160°C.

Spoon the chilled filling into the pastry case and lightly push the figs and plums into it. Heat the sugar with the water and drizzle this syrup over the fruit and sprinkle with remainder of grounded almonds and a little cinnamon. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the mixture has firmed - it needs to be golden on the outside and soft in the middle. Allow to cool and serve with a dollop of amaretto syllabub.

For more recipes and tips, follow me on Twitter - @Shelle_Duffin or Facebook – Shelle Duffin – Food Writer/Cook