Adam Byatt's Black Fig Tart with Mascarpone

Create's Consultant Chef, Adam Byatt, shares another of his tried and tested dessert recipes with us. This dessert is so delicious and simple to make you may find yourself making it again and again. it Adam has designed a range of seasonal menus for Create, as well as offering his culinary expertise and presence at a selection of tastings and events.

Give it a go and let us know what you think at @createfood. We'd love to see what you make!

Ingredients: Makes 8 

500g puff pastry (preferably made with all butter)
12 slightly firm, black Italian figs
60g butter
30g icing sugar
200g mascarpone, to serve

Preparation: 
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is the size of an A4 sheet of paper and about 2mm thick. Place the pastry on a baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Slice the figs.
Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/gas 8.

Method
1 Remove the pastry from the fridge and prick it all over with a fork – the holes should be about 1cm apart (this is called ‘docking’). Now crimp the edges with your thumb and forefinger, and chill the pastry again in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2 Lay the figs over the pastry in lines, overlapping them slightly so that they completely cover the pastry. Leave the tart to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3 Melt the butter and brush it generously over the figs, then sift over the icing sugar. Bake the tart for 30 minutes or until the edges are crisp.

4 Remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares and topping each square with a spoonful of mascarpone. Serve warm.

Adam Byatt's cappuccino crème brulee

Create's Consultant Chef, Adam Byatt, shares another of his tried and tested dessert recipes with us. Adam has designed a range of seasonal menus for Create, as well as offering his culinary expertise and presence at a selection of tastings and events. This is one of his favourite autumn recipes, so give it a go and tell us what you think at @createfood.

Ingredients: Makes 6

9 egg yolks

50ml cold espresso coffee

75g caster sugar

450ml double cream

Milk Foam

5g leaf gelatine

200ml milk

20g caster sugar

To Serve

icing sugar, for sprinkling

1 bar dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)

Choc Chip Cookies 

Preparation:

Turn the oven on to 130°C/110°C fan/gas ½. Take a shallow roasting tray that is big enough to hold six 150ml coffee cups. Pour cold water into the tray until half full, then place the tray in the oven for the water to heat up.

Method

1 Put the egg yolks, espresso and sugar into a bowl and mix together well with a wooden spoon.

2 Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan over a high heat. Pour the cream over the espresso mix and stir well. Pass this mix through a fine sieve and pour into a jug.

3 Pour the mix into the coffee cups, filling them three-quarters full. Place the cups in the tray in the oven and cook for 40 minutes. Test them by shaking the tray gently, the cream should be nearly set with a slight wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least an hour until firm.

4 Meanwhile, make the milk foam. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Bring the milk and sugar to the boil in a pan. Lift out and squeeze the leaves, then add them to the milk and stir until dissolved. Pour the milk into a siphon canister (the same contraption used to whip cream in high-street coffee shops), screw the lid on and place the canister in the fridge. Leave for an hour to allow the gelatine to set.

5 When you are ready to serve, remove the chilled creams from the fridge and sprinkle the tops with icing sugar. Using a blow touch or a hot grill, burn the sugar evenly until dark brown. Allow to cool for 2 minutes.

6 Now check that the lid of the siphon canister is screwed on tightly, charge it with 2 gas cartridges and shake well. Gently squeeze the trigger to form a small ball of foam over the brûlées. Grate chocolate over the foam and serve straight away, with cookies.  

The Ultimate Dessert from Adam Byatt

Create's Consultant Chef, Adam Byatt, shares his tried and tested chocolate hot pot recipe with us - it's easy to make and the utlimate crowd pleaser, so give it a go and tell us what you think at @createfood.

Adam says, "Over the years, we've had a number of complex desserts on the menu at Trinity Restaurant - soufflés, parfaits and so on - but these posh desserts were not hitting the spot for me. We worked on this recipe tirelessly, eliminating the flour completely in order to produce a warm, decadent chocolate soup that delivers the ultimate chocolate hit, and it's stayed on the menu ever since!"

Ingredients - Makes: 10 
255g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
255g butter 4 eggs
4 egg yolks
125g caster sugar 

Preparation 
Roughly chop the chocolate and butter and place the pieces in a bowl.

Method 
1 Slowly melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure they do not get too hot. Remove the bowl from the pan, and stir the chocolate and butter together well with a spatula. Allow to cool slightly, but keep warm.

2 Put the eggs and egg yolks into a separate bowl and whisk slowly with an electric mixer. Add the sugar gradually, a few spoonfuls at a time (this will help aerate the eggs), and continue whisking until the mixture turns pale yellow and holds a ribbon trail when the mixer is lifted.

3 Using the spatula, gently fold the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture (taking care not to collapse the aerated eggs). Transfer to a container, cover and leave to relax in the fridge for an hour (or up to 3 days).

4 When you are ready to bake the hot pots, preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/gas 61/2. 5 Spoon the mixture into 10 small ovenproof pots, coffee cups or medium-sized ramekins placed on a baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the centres are warm.

Serve with good quality vanilla ice cream - the combination of hot and cold takes this dessert to another level.

Create Venue Dinner 2013

Welcome to the virtual tour of 
create's 2013 Venue Dinner!

Set up is underway at Banqueting House, here's a sneak peek...

create are taking inspiration from the fascinating history of Banqueting House and the origins of a party at the prestigious venue. Our team of food and party designers have devised an evening based on a journey through typical hospitality of the Stuart era; farm and field peasant life, an opulent banquet with a “royal roast” and finishing with (create's homemade) damson gin cocktails in James I’s original drinking den.

The Undercroft Market Stalls
Once you have bustled passed Adam's Byatt's seafood station and picked up some delicious crab mayonnaise on baby gem leaves and tasted the freshly shucked oysters, make sure you get involved in James I pie and pint station from Alan Lucas and the create chefs and warm up with a little pint of beef consommé with horseradish foam. Why not ask the chef to carve you a slice of quails egg gala pie or wild boar and apple amongst others?

Now quickly get to the bar and have a mini tankard of warm spiced apple cider and grab a quail and pineapple lollipop, you can regale to your friend that pineapples symbolise hospitality and in the ol be hired by the hour to show off to your guests!

Next, the glorious canapés...

Adam Byatt on Saturday Kitchen

There's not a single person at create food and party design who won't be attempting Adam Byatt's 'Coq au vin with parsley mash' as seen on Saturday Kitchen this weekend. Deliciously hearty, packed full of seasonal ingredients and a certain winter warmer in this cold weather spell. Give it a go too, with the recipe below...

 

Click here for Adam Byatt's recipe

Adam Byatt is exclusively available to create's clients at tastings and events. Click here for further details.

Raymond Blanc at Adam Byatt's Trinity Restaurant

A legend of the culinary world, Raymond Blanc, visited create's Consultant Chef's Trinity Restaurant recently, regarding his experience there as "exceptional" on his blog. Here at create, we have long been fans of Trinity and indeed Adam Byatt and are delighted to be in partnership with him, offering our corporate and private clients the opportunity to enjoy Adam Byatt's exclusively designed British menus and presence at tastings and events.

We agree with Raymond in his blog post below, if you haven't been to Trinity, you must go!

Raymond said, "Yesterday I was treated to lunch by my good friend James Steen. He took me to Trinity, a restaurant in Clapham, London, to which I hadn't been before. What an exceptional lunch, full of seasonal ingredients, beautifully cooked and beautifully presented in a lovely and comfortable environment.

Here is a young British chef, Adam Byatt, cooking with great verve and flair. It is wonderful to see young and talented chefs observing the guidelines of sustainability, the best ingredients and offering great value too. Trinity is a lovely restaurant with very much its own style. I loved the way the food was presented, at one with its surroundings: hare and partridge served on a beautiful amber-coloured piece of burnished wood. A truffle from Perigord - the very essence of the season - allowed to speak (I should say to sing!) for itself. 

I will post the whole menu later, but for now I must say thank you to James for a wonderful lunch and to Adam and his team! I can only urge you all to go yourselves."

If you would like a 'create with Adam Byatt' menu at your event, perhaps the celebrated Chef himself at your tasting or awards dinner, call our sales team on 020 8944 4900 to discuss create's exciting new partnership.

Read Raymond's full blog post here