Step-by-step baking recipes Foolproof methods for your favourite showstoppers Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Food Step-by-step baking recipes Foolproof methods for your favourite showstoppers By You Magazine - August 23, 2020 These step-by-step recipes for our favourite showstoppers from Larousse Patisserie’s new cookbook really do make baking foolproof. Lemon meringue tartlets MAKES 6 PREP TIME: 35 minutes DOUGH RESTING TIME: 30 minutes COOKING TIME: 35-40 minutes FOR THE PASTRY 1 vanilla pod 70g caster sugar 200g plain flour plus extra for dusting 125g cold butter, cut into pieces plus extra, melted, for greasing 1 egg FOR THE LEMON CREAM 3 unwaxed lemons 50g butter 4 eggs 200g caster sugar 1 tbsp cornflour 1 tbsp water FOR THE MERINGUE 4 egg whites 100g icing sugar Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 1 Prepare the sweet shortcrust pastry: split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. In a bowl, mix the vanilla seeds with the caster sugar. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 2 Sift the flour directly on to a work surface. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 3 Make a well in the centre of the mixture. Break the egg into it and pour in the vanilla sugar mixture. Rub in with your fingertips until combined, without kneading too much. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 4 Next, press the dough together then make it into a ball shape. Wrap it in clingfilm and leave to allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 5 Brush 6 fluted tartlet tins (or a 26cm tart tin) with the melted butter. Roll out the dough on a work surface, cut out discs of the correct size and use them to line the tins. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 6 Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6. Prepare the lemon cream: zest the lemons. Squeeze out the lemon juice. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 7 Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar until it becomes pale. Stir in the cornflour diluted in the measured water, the butter, plus the lemon juice and zest. Mix well. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 8 Pour the lemon cream into the tart cases. Bake for 35-40 minutes, then leave to cool. Remove the tartlets from their tins and place on an ovenproof plate. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 9 Prepare the meringue: whip the egg whites into stiff peaks while gradually adding the icing sugar. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 10 Turn on the grill and set to high. Spread the meringue over the tartlets using a spatula to create peaks. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 11 Slide the tartlets under a grill for 2-3 minutes until they achieve a nice colour (or lightly brown them with a blowtorch). Let the tartlets cool before serving. Orange cheesecake SERVES 6 PREP TIME:: 30 minutes COOKING TIME: 5 minutes REFRIGERATION TIME: 4 hours FOR THE BASE 70g butter 130g galettes biscuits FOR THE FILLING 3 gelatine sheets 1 unwaxed orange, plus extra orange slices to decorate 2 eggs 75g caster sugar 450g cream cheese 200ml double cream Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 1 Melt the butter over a low heat. Break the galettes into pieces then put them in a blender to reduce them to crumbs. Mix the crumbs in with the butter. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 2 Place a pastry ring, 20cm in diameter, 3-4cm high, on a round serving dish. Pour in the base mixture and pack it in tightly. Refrigerate while you prepare the topping. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 3 Prepare the filling: soak the gelatine sheets in warm water, according to the packet instructions. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 4 Zest the orange then chop the zest into pieces. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 5 Squeeze the orange and heat the juice in a small saucepan. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 6 Wring the gelatine sheets between your hands, add them to the saucepan then let them slowly dissolve. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 7 Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and orange zest. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 8 Add the cream cheese, double cream and orange juice. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and even. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 9 Whip the egg whites into soft peaks, then carefully fold them into the orange juice mixture. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 10 Pour the filling into the pastry ring and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve chilled with orange slices on top. Apple strudel SERVES 6-8 PREP TIME: 50 minutes DOUGH RESTING TIME: 2 hours COOKING TIME: 40 minutes FOR THE DOUGH 100g butter plus extra for greasing 400g plain flour plus extra for dusting 1 tsp salt 1 egg yolk 3 tbsp oil icing sugar, for dusting FOR THE FILLING 1.2kg apples, peeled, cored and diced 50g butter 100g walnuts 60g light brown sugar 100g raisins 1 tsp ground cinnamon plus extra for dusting 40g breadcrumbs Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 1 Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C fan/gas 5. Grease a baking tray. Prepare the dough: sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and egg yolk to 200ml warm water. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 2 Pour the egg mixture and the oil into the centre of the flour and work rapidly to make a soft ball of dough. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 3 Knead on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover it and allow to rest for 2 hours. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 4 Prepare the filling: brown the apples over a high heat for about 5 minutes with the butter. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 5 Blitz the walnuts in a food processor then toast them. Add the walnuts, sugar, raisins, cinnamon and breadcrumbs to the apples then leave to cool. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 6 Place 2 clean tea towels, about 40cm x 100cm, on a flat surface. Dust them with flour. Roll out the dough then stretch and press it with your fingers so it comes out very thin. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 7 Cut the edges of the dough neatly to obtain a large rectangle. Melt the 100g butter and spread some liberally over the dough using a brush. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 8 Spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 3cm margin on each long edge, then roll the strudel towards you using the tea towels as an aid. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 9 Carefully place the strudel on the baking tray, bending both ends if it is very long and placing the seam underneath. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 10 Brush the top of the strudel with the rest of the melted butter, then bake for 35 minutes. Use a tea strainer to sift some icing sugar and cinnamon over it. Kouglof MAKES 2 PREP TIME: 40 minutes DOUGH RESTING TIME: 2.5 hours PROOFING TIME: 4 hours COOKING TIME: 35-40 minutes FOR THE DOUGH 100g raisins 60ml rum 3 pinches of salt 450g plain flour plus extra for dusting 75g caster sugar 2 egg yolks 120g butter 50g butter for greasing plus a little extra, melted 1 handful whole almonds 30g icing sugar, for dusting FOR THE LEAVENING 110g plain flour 20g fresh yeast 80ml milk Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 1 Soak the raisins in the rum. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 2 Prepare the leavening: combine the flour, yeast and milk in a bowl and mix well. Cover the bowl with a wet tea towel then place in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 3 After the resting time, combine the salt, flour, sugar and egg yolks in a food processor with the hook attachment until the dough comes away from the side of the bowl. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 4 Add the butter and continue to work the dough until it comes away from the side of the bowl again. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 5 Drain and add the infused raisins. Mix them in, then cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough sit for 1½ hours at room temperature, until it doubles in volume. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 6 Grease 2 grooved bundt tins. Place a whole almond at the bottom of each groove of the tins. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 7 Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and separate it into 2 equal parts. Flatten each part with the palm of your hand to return it to its initial shape Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 8 Create 2 balls by folding the edges of each ball back towards the centre. Roll each ball on the work surface by gripping it with the palms of your hands, in a circular motion. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 9 Holding each ball, push your thumb into the centres, lightly stretch the doughs into a crown and place in the tins. Cover with a damp towel and leave at room temperature for 1 hour. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 10 Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas 6. Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes. Remove them from the tins and place on a wire rack to drench them in the melted butter. Image: Olivier Ploton. Styling: Blandine Boyer, Anne Loiseau STEP 11 Let them cool, lightly dust with icing sugar and serve. To keep the cakes fresh, wrap in clingfilm. Now buy the book with £12 off Larousse Patisserie and Baking: The Ultimate Expert Guide, With More Than 200 Recipes and Step-by-step Techniques will be published by Hamlyn on 3 September, price £45. To order a copy for £33 until 6 September go to whsmith.co.uk and enter the code YOUBAKE at checkout. Book number: 9780600636205. 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