Almond tuilles

Made by Maxine, during coaching (see The Cookery Coach)

100g butter, softened

100g caster sugar

100g egg whites (weighed*)

100g plain flour

15g ground almonds

Pre-heat the oven to 170C. Line two baking trays with buttered non-stick baking paper.

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale. Gradually add the egg white, a little at a time, beating it into the mixture. If the mixture starts to split, add a tablespoon of the flour. When all the egg white is added, fold in the flour and almonds. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Drop small teaspoons of the mixture onto a baking sheet, and smooth each biscuit to about 2mm thick (ovals or circles) with a palette knife.

Bake each tray for 6-9 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Leave the tray to cool for one minute, then remove the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.

A 100g mix makes about 20 tuilles.

*However many egg whites you have, just weigh them and then use equal weights of each other ingredient. For example, if you have 4 egg whites ‘left over’ from making crème brûlées, and the egg whites weigh 122g, just make a mix with 122g of each ingredient.

Crème brûlée

Made by Maxine, during coaching (see The Cookery Coach)

500ml freshly made real custard (see recipe)

100g sugar (soft brown or caster)

Divide the custard between 6 ramekins. Put them in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Remove the ramekins from the fridge. Sprinkle sugar all over the surface of each. With a blowtorch, burn the sugar. It needs to melt completely, and go brown (with black bits) but not be burnt all over. That’s the skill.  Put the brûlées back in the fridge for 15 minutes.

You might need to make 12, so you can practice on the first six (and eat them, to make sure they’re OK). You can brown the sugar under a very hot grill, but it won’t work as well and isn’t as much fun.

For variety, put some fruit in the bottom of the ramekins before you add the custard. I like stewed rhubarb or gooseberries (made a little less sweet than normal), or fresh raspberries.