Crave: Brilliantly Indulgent Recipes

Mango and prawn filo cups (#ulink_523f1766-e059-5faf-8964-107c71d1aa42)

Fruit complements savoury flavours really well, especially in bite-sized canapés, where they offer a burst of freshness among rich, heavy platters. Of course, pairing sweet and savoury is not revolutionary; we’ve embraced the retro delight of cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks for years.

Using filo pastry to create cups makes a great base for a range of different canapés as you can fill the cup with whatever you like. I fill mine with juicy mango, homemade sweet chilli sauce and prawns for a little mouthful with big, powerful flavours.

MAKES 24 CANAPÉS

PREP TIME: 8–10 MINS

COOKING TIME: 10–12 MINS

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× 270g pack filo pastry (pack cut in half)

50ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing, or melted butter

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 tbsp runny honey

Juice of

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lime

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small ripe mango, peeled, stoned and cut into small chunks

200g cooked shelled prawns

1 tbsp soy sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season

You will also need a 24-hole mini muffin tin.

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and use a pastry brush to brush a 24-hole mini muffin tin with oil.

2 Lay the 6 filo sheets on top of each other on the worktop and cut them into 16 squares. Brush each square with oil or butter and lay it in the muffin tin until each hole has 4 layers of filo. Push the filo down into the hole to form a little cup.

3 Bake the filo cups for 10–12 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

4 Place the chilli in a small saucepan, add the honey and lime juice, and stir briefly. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for a few minutes, then add the mango to the pan along with the cooked prawns and soy sauce. Cook for a further 5 minutes, making sure the prawns are heated through and well coated in the glaze. Remove from the heat, season well, then spoon into the filo cups just before serving. The cups can be served hot or cold.

Honey scones with rhubarb compote (#ulink_fc8af88b-50d7-5f00-9320-7e216b088ea8)

While visiting Scotland and Northern Ireland, I found that the humble scone is quite the centre of attention. Our simple jam-and-cream offering, with the occasional raisin thrown in, doesn’t quite cut it compared with the likes of treacle, cinnamon or cherry scones. This is a simple scone with a bit of a makeover: glazed with sticky honey and generously smothered in clotted cream and tart rhubarb compote.

MAKES ABOUT 9 SCONES

PREP TIME: 30 MINS

COOKING TIME: 12–15 MINS

RHUBARB COMPOTE

200g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into small pieces

50g caster sugar

100ml orange juice

HONEY SCONES

300g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting

75g cold butter, cubed

25g caster sugar

2 tbsp runny honey, plus extra for glazing

125ml whole milk

Clotted cream, to serve

You will also need a 6cm-round pastry cutter.

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

2 Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with the sugar and orange juice. Simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb pieces have completely broken down and the mixture is thick and sticky. Spoon into a small jar or ramekin and leave to cool.

3 To make the scones, place the flour in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter. Quickly rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and make a well in the centre.

4 Pour the honey into the centre of the well, then gradually add the milk, stirring it into the mixture using a round-ended knife. A soft, rough dough will form. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured worktop and knead very briefly to smooth out the dough. Over-handling the dough will make your scones tough and flat, so knead as little as possible.

5 Gently roll the dough out to a thickness of around 3cm. Cut into rounds using a 6cm pastry cutter, cutting straight down and not twisting, as twisting prevents the scones from rising properly. Very gently re-roll the remaining dough, taking care not to handle it too much, and punch out more scones – you should get 9 in total. Arrange the scones on the lined baking tray and brush the tops with a little extra honey.

6 Bake for 12–15 minutes or until risen and golden brown. Serve warm from the oven, split in half, with big dollops of clotted cream and rhubarb compote.

Peaches and cream cupcakes (#ulink_d12ea10b-97e3-5f49-bef6-65a0a832f7b5)

One of the things I love most about summer is biting into ripe, juicy peaches that drip down your chin in an undignified manner. Adding fruit purée to sponges locks in moisture, which makes for a delicious soft sponge, but if you prefer you can leave the peaches in small chunks for a different texture. You can use fresh or tinned peaches to make these, but fresh will have a superior flavour.

MAKES 18 CUPCAKES