Tibits (London)

Having had a good whinge about a nearby v*gan restaurant recently, I've nothing but good things to say about Tibits.

Though I know Soho well; the other side of Regents Street is unknown territory. Therefore, whilst I've known of Tibits existence for a number of years, I've never randomly walked past and eaten there before.

I'd planned to visit October Cafe, but it was 9am and I didn't fancy waiting around for it to open at 10. I wanted to try somewhere else new, so found Tibits' location via google.

The format is similar to Aloka in Brighton - fill a plate then get charged by weight. Everything is vegetarian and the majority marked as vegan.

I'd been up for several hours by this point, so had an early brunch, costing a reasonable £6.40:

I've a feeling that they've more hot things available at lunchtime, but I was pretty happy with what I got.

I can't remember what everything was; I had a spoonful of each thing that looked vaguely good. There was definitely a black quinoa thing, some dhal, a fig and tofu salad, cucumber and tofu, a bean thing and some pasta. It tasted pretty decent and was all very fresh.

They've put a bit more effort into decor than most places, but whilst flock damask is totally my thing, I'm not 100% sure that the overall effect is to my taste:

I didn't have room for dessert, so got an apple turnover to take away - again reasonably priced at £1.70.

I took a photo, but I was on a train by this point and the dodgy lighting makes it look a lot less appetizing than it was!

The pastry was as close to perfect as I've ever had. They could have been slightly more generous with the filling and for absolute perfection; included some custard too, but now I'm really picking!

So, Tibits hasn't wowed me enough to be in my top 10, but I'll certainly return and would suggest it to others.

The food is above average value for money - you just won't find yourself laying awake at night longing to eat there again, that's all.

Mildred's & Mrs Marengo's

When I first went to Mildred's in 2004 I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the experience. The food was so-so and service truely absymal.

I had a better experience in 2008 (including a mushroom pie which inspired me to make my own, much better version), but it's not been on my list of places to rush back too.

In all honesty, it's not a bad restaurant. The food's alright and if it were the only choice in the town I lived then I'd probably go a few times a year. London's got too much choice though, including far better value for money options.

I decided to give it another try recently, simply for dessert after visiting Beatroot for mains.

Service this time round was quite friendly. I sat at the front by the bar and despite the uncomfortable metal seating the experience was quite pleasant.

As my eyes are bigger than my tummy I ordered myself a couple of things and a soya latte.

The raspberry truffle torte was pretty good. It'd got the right balance of creamy / chocolatey / sweet:

As a big wedge on a plate with no accompaniment though the overall effect was lacking something - at £6.40 I'd expect a bit more in the way of specialness - homemade iceream, a biscuit etc.

The banana tofu cheesecake really did taste like it contained tofu (e.g. not in a good way). It was like I'd been transported back to the 80s (infact I'm pretty sure it's an adapted cheesecake recipe from Baskerville's 1986 "The Vegan Cookbook"):

The sliced banana tasted good though and appart from that unmistakable taste of silken tofu; the overall dessert was alright.

On their website they have listed "banana tofu cheesecake with coconut brittle and pina colada icecream". If it'd included the brittle and icecream it'd have been a pretty decent dessert, worth the money. Without it though it just lacked.

The bill came to £16.95 including their "optional" 12.5% service charge (which the first time I refused to pay as the service was so appalling).

£17 for 2 desserts and a coffee is understandable in a premium restaurant like Terre-a-Terre, but Mildred's isn't in the same league as far as I'm concerned. Whilst it's above average, it's still very much in the average camp.

In short: their food isn't worth the prices they charge.

As I walked back to the tube I noticed Mrs Merango's on the same street, which I'd heard about but not visited (nor realised it was located so close). I decided to get a couple of cakes to take home for @cherrivalentine.

I immediately realised that it was the same stuff as Mildreds, but at less than half the price!

I got another slice of the raspberry truffle thing and a carrot cake, both of which made it the 100 mile journey home in more or less one piece:

(at first I thought it was a slice of tomato, but was pleased when it turned out to be orange).

I really enjoyed the carrot cake and would buy it again. Both tasted better with a scoop of icecream.

My advice? Skip Mildred's and go to Mrs Marengo's for dessert. It's the same stuff, at much more realistic prices.

Beatroot (London)

I've been going to Beatroot for more than 10 years. In this time the format's remained the same....I'm not even convinced they've changed their menu.

I like it though - it works for me: wide choice of things to eat, all piled together in the same box. By the time you're half way through they're all mashed in with one another, but that's part of the fun.

Value's good, currently about £6.50 for a large box (I didn't bother looking at price of smaller options!). They don't mark the vegan items but if you ask they'll point out those that are unsuitable. There's limited seating, but several parks near by.

I probably wouldn't go there too regularly if I spent more time in London, as I expect it'd get a bit boring after a while. It's good for occassional lunch if you're in a hurry though (or shitfaced on rum, wearing a santa suit - don't ask).

Top tip: If you want more than a couple of sausage rolls; ask for some first, then again at the end. They seem to scrimp on them otherwise.

I always go with some shepherds pie and a bit of pasta, then try other things each time.

I've had cake from there in the past, but it wasn't amazing. I'd recommend visiting Mrs Marengos for dessert after.

Madeira Guide

There's not a lot of info online about availability of vegan food in Madeira, so I'm posting here in the hope it'll find its way into Google and be useful to someone in the future.

@cherrivalentine and I visited last week and had a fabulous time.

Having spoken to various people who've been before & following a trip to portugal a couple of years ago; I felt it prudent to pack some essentials with me. The general consensus seems to be that there's nowhere to eat out. We went self catering so this didn't overly bother us.

I took non-liquid/paste/jel things to eat on the plane (such as nakd bars), then tofu, cheezly/scheese, fake meat and other things in my hold luggage that I assumed I wouldn't find when I arrived. In hindsight I'd also have taken some packets of ready made sauce/curry paste (indian, chinese etc), just to make meals easier. I'm lazy like that!

I'd recommend also taking pepper/salt/herbs/oil/ketchup etc in suitable portioned containers. Not because you won't find them on the island but because you'll end up buying full jars and not be able to take it home with you at the end.

In terms of things you can buy, I suggest you visit Funchal on the first day and stock up at Bio Locos. You'll probably want to go to Funchal at some point anyway for the cable car/toboggan (both worth doing). It's not a big town - you can walk from one side of the shopping district to the other in 10-15min.

Here's the hawl we got, costing about €85:

It included a couple of loaves of sourdough bread (the sesame seed was nicer than the plain) and this rather bizarre turd shaped thing:

(which thankfully tasted better than it looked). We ate it on bread, but you can probably cook it somehow.

They had fresh ravioli too, which was nicer than the stuff sold in the UK. We got a few things which I wouldn't recommend, like a big bag of chocolate biscuits that tasted like bourbons without the cream.

They've a mix of UK / Portuguese / other origin products, including quite a few I've not seen before. The person working there (owner?) spoke fluent english and was happy to translate ingredients lists.

Pricing is reasonable. There's obviously a premium (reflecting the fact it's been imported), but it's not outrageously so.

You can expect to find egg free dried pasta, rice, jars of tomato sauce, long life soya milk, soya desserts etc in larger supermarkets. There's a pretty big Continente half way along the on the south coast. I wasn't at all impressed by the quality of their fruit and veg though - you may be better off with markets. Also, there was a complete lack of asian foods - no indian, thai, chinese ingredients etc (other than soya sauce and rice!). I'm still not sure what 100% vegetal means, so don't assume it's 100% vegan.

There's an English supermarket in Funchal called Goodies with a reasonable amount of "accidently vegan" products (like Blue Dragon sauces), but expect to pay UK prices x3. If you're desperate for a tin of heinz spaggetti then give it a go! Otherwise I'd try to avoid.

Zeffirellis (Ambleside)

Zeffirellis is one of the largest vegetarian restaurants I've been to and it's pretty much always packed, so they must be doing something right. They've opened another vegetarian restaurant in Ambleside since I was there last it seems, though vegan choice there appears to suck.

Prices are reasonable (very good value if you go for a meal+cinema deal) and food quality generally quite good. I'm not convinced that they've majorly changed their menu since I first visited in '06 though, which could get a bit boring.

The decor is pretty garish - they've obviously spent quite a lot of money on it but for me it's only just on the right side of tasteful. Furniture is of good quality as is their cutlery (Robert Welch), but a design that feels like children's meets steakhouse (very bizarre).

Service is alright and food is mostly Italian (style). None of their pizzas are marked vegan on the menu, but all can be made vegan if you ask them to remove the cheese.

The photos in this review kind of suck - my new 3D camera takes lowsy 2D pictures at the best of times, let alone in low light.

We ordered a couple of starters, one of which was great, the other not so. A mixture of sweet and standard potato wedges with salad and tomato sauce:

was pretty good. Not the best wedges of all time, but above average. Tomato sauce was a bit boring and tasted like it was from a jar (they've a choice of other things but most are non-vegan). The salad was well dressed.

Never have I had focaccia that's tasted so like Tesco value white sliced bread. Both of us agreed that it was terribly underwhelming. Olives were alright.

I had a puy lentil rissole thing, because I remember it being really good in the past:

This time round though it was less so. It was too dry and the dish just really lacked something.

I didn't think their pizza was up to scratch compared to previous visits either, but Cherry loved it and I didn't get to eat much of it!

We shared a dessert of summer pudding and hummous:

Only kidding - it's "cashew cream". It tasted OK and it's nice that they've made an effort to have a vegan cream, but it could have done with being smoother as it was very hummous like in consistency. The summer pudding itself was very good indeed - one of the best I've had.

The bill came to £33 exc drinks. Slightly higher than average, but not painfully so.

It's a shame that they've only one vegan dessert (exc sorbet - groan) and the menu doesn't change much, but if you're in the area it's well worth a visit. If it's raining outside then the cinema deal is totally worth taking advantage of. As the weather was stunningly gorgeous during our visit however it'd have been a crime to have been sitting in the dark watching a film.

The Lakeland Pedlar (Keswick)

Less of a review, more of an endorsement for a sensibly priced vegetarian cafe I'd totally recommend.

Unfortunately it's far, far away.

Despite having once lived in Scotland, when I first travelled up to Cumbria from The Midlands in '06 it felt like I'd passed the edge of the earth and kept going. I quickly got used to the journey after a few visits however and it's since become one of my favourite parts of the country.

The Lakeland Pedlar is a no frills type cafe in Keswick; a short stroll from Derwent Water and some rather stunning views. I've probably been about 8 times over the years and it's pretty much a given that I'll end up there each time I visit.

Service is fast! Not suspiciously fast, but they've obviously got a pot of chilli on the go etc and plate up to order. Pricing is reasonable and portion sizes decent. It's located underneath a bike shop so probably picks up trade from cyclists as well as vegetarians (there's a large carpark next door for us unfit people).

It seems we arrived at just the right time for a choice of tables for Saturday lunch; people were queuing by the time we left. We ordered their nachos:

which could possibly be improved to the standards of Chesters with the inclusion of sour cream/guacamole/melty cheese, but is pretty decent all the same. We also had a 3 bean chilli wrap, which comes with a variety of salads:

Not being the world's greatest fan of salad, it's always refreshing to see a mixture of different types (pasta/couscous etc) rather than a few leaves.

Their garlic bread (ciabatta) is possibly the best in the UK (better than Terre-a-Terre - cheaper too):

Their chocolate cake IS the best I've tasted from a shop (better than Infinity) and the inclusion of icecream is welcome too (no prizes for guesses of which brand). The icing could be improved with use of this fudge icing, but again I'm picking now.

I generally find it difficult to get excited by flapjack, but I'm informed that it was very good.

Total bill was less than £25.

A welcomed difference from many vegetarian places is that they've generally a choice of desserts. They'd several cakes available when we were there. From memory their crumble isn't so great though (not to my taste).

I'm not used to this overly positive reviewing malarky - I'll write a scathing one about somewhere else soon, I promise.

Demuths (Bath)

Demuths' existance has been at the back of my mind for a while now. In a minority of vegetarian restaurants that don't seem to cater too well for vegans however; I've not made an effort to check it out before.

That said, when I asked twitter for a list of restaurant suggestions a few weeks ago I realised that it's one of the few "good" vegetarian places I've not been to yet. We were planning to drive down the M5 on Easter Saturday (for a few days in Dorset) anyway, so a detour via Bath made for a welcome break to the journey (as opposed to Welcome Break, which is quite the opposite for vegans!).

Given that we were still in bed in Warwickshire at 10am, it's a miracle we made it there at all. What was meant to be getting on the road at 10.30 somehow warped into 11.30. We weren't the only people who thought of going to Bath that day either: once we hit the outskirts we sat in a 20 minute queue. Parking was a bit of a challenge too, the best onstreet I could find was 2 hours.

We eventually found Demuths at 2pm, fully expecting there to be no tables free. As they don't allow you to book for Saturday lunchtimes and it was over Easter we didn't fancy our chances at all.

First impressions? It's really small. Quite a lot smaller than I imagined, with only about 10 tables in total. It was also half empty!

The weather on Saturday was unseasonably warm and sunny. I've not been to Bath before and the experience was reminiscent of the French summer holidays I had in the 80s. The restaurant too had similar proportions to ones I've visited in France, with small rooms, high ceilings, wood panelling and large sash windows. We negotiated a table by an open window and with a small breeze and bottle of chilled water; bliss was achieved for a few moments at least.

The lunchtime menu seems to consist mainly of the evening menu's starters, re-branded as "light bites". Luckily the majority of these were vegan, compared to the main courses where the only choice was a curry. Given that it was the hottest day of the year so far (that I've not been stuck in work anyway), this really didn't appeal.

We ordered 3 "light bites" and 2 sides, which seemed to be a reasonable amount of food for 2 people:

Roast Red Pepper Bruschetta (vg) £6.95
roasted red pepper & creamy cannellini beans with toasted sourdough bread.

Coconut & Lentil Kebba (vg/gf) £6.95
with date puree, coriander & salad.

Purple Sprouting Tempura (vg) £6.75
with rhubarb ketchup & tamari reduction.

Balsamic Red Onion Bread (vg) £3.95
with garlic & herb oil.

Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary & Garlic (vg/gf) £2.95

Service was friendly and waiting time reasonable. As usual we ordered things we both liked the looks of and shared them out between us:

Being the brocolli hater I am, it was with extreme pleasure to find they'd run out and had substituted it with asparagus instead:

Where as the asparagus tempura from Terre a Terre (review and photo here) was exceptional, this attempt was more in the OK bracket. The batter was heavier than usual and asparagus not yet in season. I'm not sure what the rhubarb ketchup bought to the dish, but it looked pretty overall.

We both agreed that the Kebba was by far the best thing we experienced there. We weren't entirely sure what it was when we ordered it and the best description I can really give is large bhaji meets curry kiev. We ate it far too quickly to take a photo, but the inside was potato based with coconut curry in the centre. I'd certainly order this again and will probably have a go at making it sometime soon.

I wasn't really looking forward to the bruschetta. It didn't look overly appetizing either (I shalln't say what it reminded me of):

It was pleasantly nice however. The beans were really creamy and overall taste good.

The red onion bread appeared to be flatbread with caramelised onions on top. It tasted pretty good. Not outstanding, and there wasn't enough of it (maybe I'm just greedy though? :)

The big bowl of roast potatoes were just that: a big bowl of roast potatoes.

I'd have paid a pound more for them to be crispier and have sea salt, rosemary and cloves of roasted garlic included, to make them a bit more interesting. I think they may have missed a trick here.

In the name of research, we ordered the 2 vegan desserts they currently offer:

Cashew Cream & Coconut Praline (vg/gf/n) £6.75
with toffee almonds & berry compote.

Rich Chocolate Mousse (vg/n) £6.75
on a chocolate sponge with a bitter orange sauce & a coriander & pink peppercorn tuille.

It's really difficult to gauge this one, as it's quite unlike anything I've had before. I was expecting panna cotta, but it was more like coconut ice. It was pleasant but odd - we ate it all but I'm not sure I'd order it again.

I normally groan when I see vegan option of mousse on restaurant menus, but this one was a lot more decent than a pot of tofu tasting cocoa sludge.

The layer of sponge and puree on the side complimented it well and it was overall a good dessert. Whilst the tuille had novelty appeal, I'm not sure it added anything beyond aesthetics.

I've read several reviews that complain the food's overpriced. Our bill was 50% higher than we normally pay for a similarly sized meal at other vegetarian places.

Was it 50% better? Probably yea. It wasn't outstanding like Saf or Terre a Terre, but it's pretty decent food and the overall experience was an enjoyable one. I can see how they came up with their pricing and I think it's reasonable for what you get.

If they increase their choice of vegan options and/or change their menu then I certainly expect that we'll return.

I noticed on Google that there are 2 for 1 vouchers available on mains, so if they have more than 1 vegan main in the future then it'll be pretty good value.

Outdoor Summer Eating

I love being outdoors, and I love food. It isn't often warm and dry in the UK (at the same time), so I try to make the most of every opportunity I get.

This post is an introductory guide of ideas for anyone planning a vegan picnic/bbq. It'll be useful for me in the future too - my memory's terrible at the best of times.

Picnics

The main reason why my partner and I have National Trust membership is so that we can make use of their grounds for regular picnics. Equally, when I go walking I try to include a picnic on the route (preferably on the top of a hill, with a good view). We even have picnics in our garden in the evening after work (sitting on the grass is sometimes nicer than at the table).

Investing in a set of watertight plastic containers (such as Lock'n'lock) is highly recommended. Thermos now sell freezer boards (as opposed to blocks), which are cheap and fit rucksacks better. Picnic baskets look nice, but aren't overly practical. Always remember to take some bin bags, both for waste and to stop hummous from getting smeared inside your rucksack!

Make:

• Sandwiches - left over fajitas can be good too
• Corination 'Chicken' - mix 'chicken' pieces in mayo, curry powder and apricot jam (sultanas are optional). It's less gross than it sounds!
• Sausage Rolls - cut Linda McCartney sausage rolls into 3 and brush with soy milk before cooking
• Pasta/Couscous/Noodle Salads - Jar of sauce, chopped pepper (if feeling healthy), job done
• Pizza - cold can be better than hot. Use puff pastry as an alternative to dough if you fancy
• Indian Snacks - You can often buy samosas, bhajis and pakoras in packs that require little or no cooking
• Cake!! - how could I forget? Biscuits too. Scones + jam + cream are quintessential
• Chocolate Mousse - there's a recipe on here somewhere, but it's basically soya whipping cream + melted chocolate + booze. Careful it doesn't melt thou
• Vol Au Vents - Jusrol sell ready to bake cases. Fill with left overs :)
• Potato Salad - boil new potatoes, chop and stir with mayo, mustard and chopped clives.

Buy 'ready to eat':

• Fruit Salads - Though I'm aware that it's possible to make these yourself; I can rarely be bothered.
• Desserts - They do exist occassionally - things like jelly and summerpudding are sometimes suitable
• Dips - Hummous, salsa, gucamole etc. You can make these too, but they're generally cheap to buy.
• Sausages - Redwoods sell a few varieties of ready to eat ones
• Pasties - H&B sell ready to eat pasties in various flavours, which are semi edible
• Quiche - now sold in H&B. It's alright, but not amazing
• Scheese & Crackers - scheese works better than cheezly
• Crisps / Nachos - not the world's biggest fan myself, but can be good for dipping
• Nibbles - olives, sundried tomatoes, antipasti etc
• Nice bread - I love making focaccia, but it doesn't happen often!
• Oil & Vinegar - infused oils and balsamic vinegar, for dipping bread into
• Interesting Salads - Tesco / Morrisons / Asda tend to be a bit shit when it comes to vegan pre-prepared salads that may actually want to eat. Sainsburys, Waitrose and M&S score much better.

Drinks:

• Cold - I normally make up a smoothie, but juice works too. A thermos + ice helps.
• Hot - Tea, coffee, hot chocolate - more useful on autumn walks than summer picnics
• Booze - I generally end up driving later in the day, so tend not to include this

BBQs

BBQs are great. I use a gas one at home and the disposable charcoal type when visiting non-vegans. I can't really tell the difference in taste between the two, but gas is a lot more convenient (and less wasteful).

There are lots of vegan burgers available that really don't BBQ well at all. Tofu based ones like Beannies do work, but will often split in two and need rescueing half way through cooking! I bought a vegan BBQing book a few years ago which is utter crap - it suggests using a baking tray on the BBQ with all recipes - what's the point?

You can get hickory chips that you throw on the coals to create smoke. It's a bit of a gimmick though and doesn't make a lot of difference. I've heard people say that various brands of liquid smoke are vegan, but I've not been interested enough to pursue it.

There are lots of great marinades available in UK supermarkets. Sainsburys have several that are labelled vegan - I generally use their TTD brown ale stuff on kebabs.

• Fake burgers/sausages - Frys works the best (by far). Serve with plenty of relish, mayo and salad in a warm ciabatta roll (Sainsburys sell the best ones)
• Kebabs - I usually do mushrooms, peppers, onion, smoked tofu, courgette. If you put a mushroom at either end then it stops the other things coming into direct contact with the grill and hence they're less likely to stick when marinaded
• Mushrooms - Large mushrooms can be cooked on their own, either marinaded in source first or just in a little oil, soy sauce and mixed herbs. Press them down a few times during cooking to release excess moisture
• Tofu - You can marinade firm tofu and cook directly on the grill if you fancy. It probably will stick though, so don't be surprised if it does!
• Potato Waffles - BBQ remarkably well. Plus the leading brand is no longer owned by Unilever! :)

Steamed Cocktails

I realise that I'm probably missing the point of having an espresso machine.

I'll blog about coffee another time. In the meantime, I've found that various soya milk based cocktails work rather well when steamed.

The above was tonight's:

• 1 shot Kahlua
• 1/2 shot Frangelico
• So Good (fresh)

Steamed directly in a whisky glass (foamed to 40^oC, then plunged and heated to 60^oC creating microfoam). It could probably be improved by adding some grated chocolate to the top - the foam's a bit bland otherwise.

A while ago I poured a little creme de menthe into shot glasses, then topped with steamed chocolate alpro, topped with froth. Works really well.

I'll keep you updated :)

Bakewell Tart

I've tried many bakewell tart recipes from the interweb over the years and none have been quite right. Too stodgy, too moist, not almondy enough; just plain nasty.

Commercially available vegan cherry Bakewells exist in the UK, but they're also gluten free, overpriced and come with disgustingly cardboard-like pastry. It's been years since I've had a good tart (no pun intended).

Therefore, I started again from scratch.

I'm not really used to my recipes not working within 1 or 2 attempts, but this one took 7 iterations to get right.

I started with my basic sponge recipe: adding ground almonds and replacing vanilla with almond essence. The result wasn't nearly almondy enough though, and consistancy far too sponge like (funny that?).

By attempt 4 I'd really cut down the amount of flour and increased the almond content. Whilst this gave great flavour; I'd essentially created marzipan - too wet with soggy pastry underneath.

Eventually I came up with a set of ratios that actually work, give good flavour and the right consistancy (moist, but not too moist). It's effectively a sponge, but with the maximum amount of ground almond you can get away with and almond essense to boost the flavour.

Filling Ingredients:

• 100g Ground Almonds
• 60g White Sugar
• 80g Self Raising Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Power
• 2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
• 100ml Water
• 3 tsp Almond Essense

Other:

• Shortcrust Pastry
• Fondant Icing
• Half a Glace Cherry
• Raspberry Jam

Start by making a pastry case. I use blocks of frozen Jusrol shortcrust; they're cheap, convenient, in every UK supermarket and certified vegan. Blocks are better than pre-rolled as they're cheaper and you can roll the pastry a bit thicker.

If you've too much time on your hands and want to make pastry from scratch; I assume that adding some ground almonds to the dough will improve the flavour.

Roll out the pastry, prick, cover with greaseproof paper and rice/beads, then bake in a greased pie dish for 25 mins at 200^oC (180^oC fan).

Allow to cool slightly, then carefully remove and place on a baking tray. Spread raspberry jam over the pastry (warming slightly if required); thicker than you would on toast but not insanely so.

Mix the dry filling ingredients together, then add the wet. It should come together in a nice semi-stiff batter that tastes almondy. Add a spoon more flour/water if required to get the consistancy right.

Add to the pastry case (ensuring that all jam is covered and the top is smooth), then bake for a further 25-30 mins at the same temperature as before.

It's done when the top starts to go golden and an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean. The pastry should be nicely golden, but not burnt.

Give the pastry a trim with a sharp knife, knock the surface of the cake slightly to give a smooth top, then allow to cool.

When cool, roll out fondant icing to about 5mm (using icing sugar to stop it sticking to the pin / board). Tescos own brand fondant was vegan when last checked/purchased (a few months ago). Again, you can make your own fondant if you've too much time on your hands.

Carefully place the fondant sheet over the top of the cooled tart, then use a sharp knife to cut it in place. You should cut as close to the edge of the pastry as you can (rough cutting a cm larger first will help). Push any rouge fondant up against the edge once complete with a blunt knife.

Place a single glace cherry half in the centre and push down. Keep extras on standby incase there's a fight over who gets the cherry.

You can make a non iced version by increasing the filling ingredients to 100g sugar, 150g almonds, 125g flour, 1/2 tsp baking power, 3tsp essense, 150ml water and 50ml water, then sprinkling with sliced almonds before baking (push them down slightly first). This is more traditional, but not as nice IMHO.

The whole thing will serve 8-10 people and it should be easy to adapt for individual sized tarts.