Last colours of summer on the horizon, and a beautiful dessert to say goodbye to the greens and pinks of summer, and say hello to the oranges and reds of autumn.
The fruity-caramel cups are made of three ingredients, or layers, if you will. First comes the crispy buttery cup - preferably not too sweet, as a neutral base to hold the richer filling. Click here for a recipe for the dough, which can be formed into any shape - ranging from mini tartalettes, largers tarts and huge tartosauruses.
Next, oh how so predictably, comes the dulche de leche cream. For beginners, dulche de leche is a type of caramel sauce, traditionally home made from condensed or fresh milk boiled with sugar until it thickens. I’ve made this before for the blog, so here’s once again a link to the recipe, and mouthwatering photos for the brave.
You could also be as lazy as Nigela, and simply purchase a pre-made caramel/dulche de leche sauce, and combine it with a few spoons of butter, to thicken the cream and give it a smooth velvet finish.
Place a generous spoon-full of the gooey golden goodness into each pastry cup, to allow a soft peak, yet not for the dulche de leche to overflow down the sides. Wouldn’t want to force the whole party into a frenzy of plate licking.
And lastly, go imaginative with the fruit. You can use whichever summer, autumn, winter or spring fruits you find. I’ve opted for strabwerries, blue and black berries, as well as plum slices and mint leaves. Every fruit may be chopped up, placed whole, or even pureed and splashed on top.
You’ll find that a crispy green accent of mint or strawberry stalk adds an unbelievable amount of sophistication to the dish. The magic of the mint lays in its transcience - it’s as fragile and quick-to-collapse-or-bend as one of those paper Zara bags. The whole swag of a dish is how fresh it is, and how specially made and preserved for the occassion. Funny how all that’s embodied by a green blade.
Here’s a last idea if you’re aiming for a colour overload - to decorate the plate on which the dish’s set out, a fruit-flower creation. any round fruit may be nicely sliced into 8 equal pieces, keeping them joined at the bottom. Make sure the leaves/fruits you place inside are smalled than the main fruit structure, and play with the colours!
