Famous

1. RASPBERRY FRUIT PASTILLES

          Sweet and fruity raspberry and passion fruit pastilles are much easier to make than they look. Cut into small squares, toss in caster sugar and pack into pretty glass candy jars tied with ribbons and a gift tag. One batch of this recipe will make enough pastilles to fill a couple of jars, making a couple of gifts at once. As they are made with real fruit, they are better for you than most sweeties. These would be a lovely gift and (as always) any off-cuts are a little gift to yourself.

Recipe :

• 400 gr  Raspberries
• 3  PassionFruit
• 1/4 Lemon
• 300-400 gr preserving sugar with added pectin
• Caster Sugar, to serve   

Method :

• Lightly oil a 17cm square baking tin and line with non-stick baking parchment. Tip the raspberries into a solid-bottomed shallow pan. Halve the passion fruit and scoop the seeds and juice into the pan. Add the lemon juice, cover the pan and cook over a medium heat until the raspberries have softened and cooked down to a pulp.
• Remove from the heat and push the fruit through a fine nylon sieve into a bowl. Weigh the resulting purée and return it to a clean pan. Add an equal quantity of preserving sugar and stir over a low to medium heat until it has dissolved. Continue to cook for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the purée has reduced and thickened considerably to the consistency of jam and reached setting point.
• Use a rubber spatula to scoop the purée into the prepared tin and leave to set for at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Cover a baking sheet or tray with a sheet of non-stick baking parchment sprinkled liberally with caster sugar. Flip the pastille mixture out of the tin and onto the sugar-covered paper, and carefully peel off the backing paper. Cut into pastilles and toss in the caster sugar to coat completely. Leave to dry for 1 hour before packaging.

2. TOFFEE APPLE

 

Recipe :

• 8 Granny Smith Apple
• 400 gr  Golden Caster Sugar 
• 1 tsp  Vinegar
• 4 tbsp. Golden Syrup

Method :

• Place the apples in a large bowl, then cover with boiling water (you may have to do this in 2 batches). This will remove the waxy coating and help the caramel to stick. Dry thoroughly and twist off any stalks. Push a wooden skewer or lolly stick into the stalk end of each apple.
• Lay out a sheet of baking parchment and place the apples on this, close to your stovetop. Tip the sugar into a pan along with 100ml water and set over a medium heat. Cook for 5 mins until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the vinegar and syrup. Set a sugar thermometer in the pan and boil to 150C or 'hard crack' stage. If you don’t have a thermometer you can test the toffee by pouring a little into a bowl of cold water. It should harden instantly and, when removed, be brittle and easy to break. If you can still squish the toffee, continue to boil it.
• Working quickly and carefully, dip and twist each apple in the hot toffee until covered, let any excess drip away, then place on the baking parchment to harden. You may have to heat the toffee a little if the temperature drops and it starts to feel thick and viscous. Leave the toffee to cool before eating. Can be made up to 2 days in advance, stored in a dry place.