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DessertFive-hour Apple Cake with Orange Zest

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 cup/200 g plus 10 teaspoons/40 g granulated sugar ¼ cup/55 ml water 10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced on a mandoline into 1/8-inch-/3-mm-thick slices2 oranges (both zest and segments)Whipped cream

Method:

To make the caramel sauce:Place a heavy based medium sized saucepan over a medium heat. Add 1 cup/200 g of sugar and ¼ cup/55 ml of water. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to asimmer, then wipe down the sides of the pan with a moistened pastry brush to removeany sugar that clings to the sides of the pan.Cook the sugar syrup without stirring for about 8 minutes or until it is light brown,occasionally swirling the pan to ensure the sugar syrup browns evenly and wiping downthe sides of the pan to remove any sugar crystals.Remove the pan from the heat and pour the caramel into a large ceramic ovenproof soufflé-style dish with a 2-quart/2-liter capacity. Using pot holders, pick up the ceramicdish and swirl the caramel around the sides of the dish to coat.Set the dish aside for about 10 minutes or until the caramel is cool. Place the dish in therefrigerator for 10 minutes or until the caramel hardens.

To assemble the apple cake:

Preheat the oven to 250°F/120°C. Arrange a neat layer of apples over the caramel on the bottom of the dish, overlapping and forming concentric circles. Each layer will consist of the slices from 1 apple.Sprinkle the layer of apples with 1 teaspoon/4 g of sugar and grate a little orange zestover the apples. Repeat the layering process with the remaining apples, sugar and orangesuntil all the apples have been used, alternating the direction of the concentric circles toincrease the stability of the cake. You should have about 10 layers of apples. The appleswill extend slightly above the rim of the dish but they will sink back down into the dishas the cake bakes and the apples soften.

Cover the apple cake with aluminum foil. Place the dish in a roasting pan. Add enoughwarm water to the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the dish.Bake the apple cake for about 5 hours or until a skewer can be inserted easily through themiddle of the cake. Remove the apple cake from the oven and allow it to cool, then placeit in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until the cake is cold.

To serve:

Using a sharp knife, remove the white pith from the reserved oranges. Cut the oranges between the membranes to release the orange segments. Set the orange segments aside.Place the dish of apple cake in a bowl of very hot water for about 5 minutes to loosen thecaramel from the bottom of the dish. Place a platter atop the apple cake in the dish.Holding the dish with one hand and the platter with the other hand, invert the apple cakeonto the platter. Remove the dish. Cut the cake into wedges and serve with whippedcream and the reserved orange segments.

Pot of Melted Chocolate

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pot of melted chocolate:2 cups/473 ml heavy whipping cream10 ounces/300 g good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Accompaniments:

One 1-pound/454-g basket fresh strawberries with stems, halved lengthwiseOne 6-ounce/170-g basket fresh blackberriesOne 6-ounce/170-g basket fresh raspberries2 bananas, peeled and cut crosswise into thick rounds4 almond biscotti

Method:

Place the chocolate in a bowl and set the bowl of chocolate over a saucepan of barelysimmering water and stir until the chocolate melts. Heat the cream in a small attractivesauce pan over a medium heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from the heat.Add the melted chocolate to the cream and stir until the mixture is well blended andsmooth. Arrange the fruit and biscotti on a platter and serve with the pot of chocolate,

allowing diners to skewer the fruit with a fork and dip the fruit and biscotti into themelted chocolate.

Apple and Pear Upside-Down Caramel Tarts

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the tarts:1 cup/200 g granulated sugar 1/4 cup/60 ml water 4 ounces/113 g unsalted butter, room temperature½ teaspoon/about 1 g ground cinnamon2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into ½-inch-/1-cm-thick wedges2 Comice or Anjou pears, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into ½-inch-/1-cm-thick wedges1 frozen puff pastry sheet (half of 17.3-ounce/490-g package), thawedFor the caramel sauce:1/2 cup/100 g granulated sugar 2 tablespoons/30 ml water 1/2 cup/115 ml whipping cream

Method:

For the tarts:Stir the sugar and water in a heavy based medium sized saucepan over a medium heatuntil the sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a simmer, occasionally brushing downthe sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to remove any sugar that clings to the side.The sugar that clings to the side of the pan has a tendency to crystallize and ruin the silkyconsistency of the caramel, so wiping the sugar off the sides of the pan will help preventthis from happening.Allow the sugar syrup to boil without stirring, brushing down the sides of the pan andswirling the pan occasionally to ensure it cooks evenly, for about 8 minutes or until it begins to turn golden brown. You will need to watch the syrup closely as it can burnquite easily.Remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter and whisk until the butter melts and themixture forms a caramel sauce. Stir in the cinnamon. Pour the caramel sauce into four 4-inch-/10-cm-diameter cake pans with at least 1 3/4-inch-/4.5-cm-high sides, dividingequally. Allow the caramel to cool.Arrange a layer of the apples and pears decoratively over the caramel, then stack the