Easy Mini Fruit Tartlets

This is a complete cheat of a recipe. Absolutely no baking required - just assembly. I am not ashamed - these fruit tarts are perfect for feeding the masses at a tea party when you have very little time to spare. They look fantastic and are a great mini finger food. These need to be eaten fresh - within about 6 hours of assembling them.

Caramel Apple Pie

What to do with those left over Bramley apples...crumble or pie? Husband picks pie, so here it is. This is slightly different to a traditional apple pie recipe in that the apples are partially cooked in a buttery caramel before baking in the oven. With big ole' Bramley apples being so tart, I feel that they need something a little extra to bring out their potential and make them as delicious as their sweet apple cousins.

Mince Pie Crumble Tarts

Fed up of regular old mince pies? Want to do something a little more creative with your mincemeat? This "posh" version of the classic mince pie is pretty damn yummy especially with a crumbly nutty topping. 

This recipe will make 12 mince pies, but you'll have lots of mincemeat left over to give as gifts in jars or to bake another batch later when they inevitably get eaten without even making it to Christmas Day.

Nutty Butterscotch Bars

You have absolutely no idea how difficult it was for me to restrain myself from eating these before taking the perfect picture of them. I felt like vampire Edward Cullen catching sight of the oh-so-tempting Bella for the first time.

Well now that I have uploaded it... excuse me whilst I go and consume one...

...

Delicious. They are definetely more like a sweet as opposed to a cake. Fun to make, colourful, fudgy, rich and with so many textures this will satisfy any sweet tooth. I used pecans and pistachios as they are my all time favourite nuts but you can use any nuts that you like.

Lemon & Blackberry Slices

A layer of lemon pastry, a layer of jam, a layer of frangipane with seasonal blackberries stuffed all over it, not forgetting a generous sprinkling of delicious crunchy almonds.

These slices are light yet have just the right amount of decadence to fill that "I need cake" hole. They'll also fill your house with a wonderful lemony scent.

...Now my husband always complains that I put too many nuts on my cakes, but I just can't get enough of them! You can make it as nutty or as un-nutty as your taste buds require.

Tarte Tatin, with Salted Caramel!

This tarte has only five ingredients and oh... my... word despite the slightly "rustic" appearance, it is the best pudding I have ever had (yet another recipe posted to me by my mother). I used pre made puff pastry to save time so the hardest part about this tart is the caramel. My third attempt turned out allright but I could have gone browner. It's a fine line between fudge and burnt treacle, time to invest in a sugar thermometer...

Raspberry Bakewell Tart

My mother is so thoughtful. She posts me magazine clippings of recipes a week prior to coming to stay "Thought you'd like this one Rosie", then upon arrival sits there secretly hoping that I will bake it for her. Well this time I did and I am so glad. Raspberry Bakewell Tart, it looks posh doesn't it? Surprisingly, this was my first attempt at making my own pastry. Why I had been using pre-made pastry cases I don't know. DIY (or BIY - bake it yourself!) is undoubtedly so much yummier.