centrepiece

This classic roast pork recipe with lots of delicious crackling is great for Sunday lunch with the family. Top with our tasty apple & cider gravy

Roast pork with crackling

garlic cloves,sliced into thin slivers

rosemary,broken into small sprigs

bay leaves,torn

onion,roughly chopped

carrot,chopped

Bramley apple,peeled, quartered, cored and roughly sliced

sunflower oil

tbsp plain flour

milliliters cider

stock

If you have time, rub salt in the pork skin 2 hours before cooking and leave it uncovered in the fridge. Heat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Turn the pork rind-side down and with a small knife make about 6 deep incisions along the meat. Poke a sliver of garlic, a piece of rosemary and bay in each incision and turn the pork the right way up. If you didn’t salt the pork earlier salt the skin now.

Mix the carrot, onion and apple and scatter along the middle of a shallow roasting tray to make a bed for the pork to sit on. Sit the pork on the vegetables and rub the skin with the oil. Place the pork in the oven and leave for 15 mins then turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and continue to roast for 1hr 30 mins. If after this time you don’t have brilliant crackling turn the heat up again and check every 5 mins until the skin has crackled.

Remove the pork from the roasting tray to a board to rest and pour off all but about 2 tbsp of fat from the tray. If your tray is robust enough to go on the heat then do so, if not scrape the contents into a shallow saucepan and place on the heat. Stir the flour in with the veg and cook until you have a mushy, dark amber paste then splash in the cider and bubble down to a thick paste again. Pour in the stock and simmer everything for 8-10 mins until you have thickened gravy. Strain the sauce into another saucepan pushing as much puréed apple as you can through the sieve. Simmer again and season to taste.

Carve the pork loin with crackling attached into slices using a serrated knife and serve with your favourite vegetables and the apple and cider gravy.

A dazzling dessert with bourbon biscuit base, caramel layer, creamy coconut topping and banana toffee

Chocolate coconut banoffee pie

can caramel

dark chocolate

bananas

cocoa powder,

coconut milk

tbsp caster sugar

tbsp cornflour

tbsp Malibu

pot double cream

pack creamed coconut, roughly chopped

bourbonbiscuits

To make the base, gently melt the creamed coconut in a pan, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, whizz the biscuits in a food processor (if you don&rsquo;t have one, bash to the finest crumbs you can). Mix with the melted coconut and a pinch of salt. Press over the base and up the sides of a 22cm round loose-bottomed fluted tin. Chill.

To make the coconut cream, bring the coconut milk to almost a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks, caster sugar and flours. Pour the hot coconut milk over while whisking continuously. Tip back into the pan and gently heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, smooth and glossy. (At first it will be lumpy, but keep beating and it will become smooth.) Simmer for 2 mins, then take off the heat and stir in the Malibu. Cool with a sheet of cling film laid directly on the surface so a skin doesn&rsquo;t form.

Scrape the caramel into a pan with the chocolate, broken into chunks, and gently melt together. Peel and slice the bananas, then arrange the slices over the base of the pie. Pour over the chocolate caramel and chill again to set &ndash; 1 hr at least, or up to 24 hrs.

When the coconut cream has gone cold, scrape into a bowl with the double cream and beat until just thick enough to hold a peak. Gently spoon into a plastic food bag (easy to transport) and chill until ready to serve.

To serve, snip off the end of the cream bag and pipe all over the pie. Dust with a little cocoa to finish, and eat with any extra coconut cream mixture served in a bowl.

Make this fantastic beetroot, sweet potato, chard and celeriac rainbow-layered pie as a stunning centrepiece for a vegan Christmas or dinner party

Vegan pie

olive oil,

tsp cumin

cinnamon

red wine vinegar (we used Aspall)

beetroots (about 400 grams), peeled and sliced into rounds about

thyme sprigs, leaves picked

garlic

potatoes

tsp smoked paprika

tbsp semolina

Swiss chard, leaves only (save the stalks to add to soups, stews and risottos)

coconut oil,

spelt flour

almond milk,

First, make the filling. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix together 1½ tbsp oil with the cumin, cinnamon and vinegar, and rub the mixture all over the beetroot. Put the beetroot into a small roasting tin, season well, then cover with foil and roast for 20 mins.

Meanwhile, toss the celeriac with 2½ tbsp oil, the thyme, garlic and some seasoning in a second roasting tin. Separate out the slices so they cook evenly, then cover the tin in foil. In a third roasting tin, mix the sweet potato with the remaining oil, the smoked paprika and some seasoning, and cover with foil. Once the beets have cooked for 20 mins, add the celeriac and sweet potato to the oven alongside them, and roast all the veg for 40 mins further or until tender. Remove the thyme sprigs, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and mash them in with the celeriac, then leave all the veg to cool. All the veg can be cooked the day before and kept in the fridge.

For the pastry, boil the kettle and use some coconut oil to grease a deep 20cm springform cake tin. Pour the flour into a bowl and add 1 tsp salt. Mix the coconut oil with 200ml boiling water, stir until melted (put it in the microwave if need be), then pour into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon to form a dough. Working as quickly as you can (it’s best to roll the pastry when it’s warm), cut off a ¼ of the dough and set aside under a tea towel. Roll out the rest to 0.5cm thick, then use it to line the cake tin, pressing the dough into the corners and leaving any excess pastry overhanging the sides. Don’t worry if the pastry breaks – it’s very forgiving, so you can patch it up as you go. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Now build the pie. Cover the base with chard leaves, then scatter over the semolina (which will absorb the beet juices), press in the beetroot, and season. Add another layer of chard, followed by the sweet potato, and season. Add a final layer of chard leaves, then top with the celeriac and season again.

Roll out the pastry you set aside to a thickness of 0.5cm to use as the lid. Put the lid on top of the pie and, using a fork, press together the overhanging pastry to create a crimped edge. Make a steam hole, then brush the top with a little almond milk mixed with a spoonful of oil (this will help to colour the pastry). Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 mins until the pastry is a deep golden brown. Leave to cool for 15 mins, then remove from the tin and serve in the middle of the table. Will keep for up to three days in the fridge (the pie is also delicious cold).

Good enough to impress any crowd, this can be made ahead and whipped out of the fridge an hour before serving

White chocolate, raspberry & hazelnut marble torte

hazelnut

golden caster sugar

self-raising flour

tsp bicarbonate of soda

eggs

butter

milk

white chocolate

leaf gelatine

raspberry

tbsp Frangelico hazelnut liqueur

icing sugar

white chocolate, to make chocolate curls (see know-how below)

For the sponge, heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4, then grease and line the base of a deep 22cm springform cake tin. Finely chop the toasted hazelnuts in a food processor, then tip into a bowl with the sugar, flour and bicarbonate of soda. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then quickly stir the butter, milk and yolks into the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, stir in one-third of the egg whites, then gently fold in the rest. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, bake for 40-50 mins until the cake is golden andspringy to touch, then allow to cool.

For the mousse, melt the chocolate in a glass bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then let it cool slightly. Soften the gelatine in water, squeeze out, then put in a small pan with 100ml of the cream. Gently warm over a low heat until the gelatine is melted (you shouldn’t be able to see any clear streaks in the cream), then tip into a bowl with the remaining cream and egg whites. Make sure you thoroughly scrape out the pan so no gelatine is left behind. Beat until it holds its shape, then spoon a quarter of this creamy mixture into the melted chocolate. Mix briefly until smooth. Fold in the remaining cream mix and raspberries, swirling the mixture so the berries begin to marble the mousse, then set aside until the cake is cool.

To assemble, split the sponge in half and re-line the base of the cake tin with baking parchment. Use a long continuous strip of baking parchment to wrap around and line the inside, as this will help to make the sides of the finished torte look smooth. Press the bottom half of the cake back into the tin, sprinkle with half of the liqueur, then gently spoon over the mousse. Sprinkle the cut side of the top cake with the remaining liqueur and put this, liqueur-soaked side down, on top of the mousse. Press down gently, wrap the entire tin in cling film, then chill overnight.

To serve, remove the torte from the fridge about 1 hr before you want to eat it, release from the tin, then gently peel off the baking parchment. Lightly dust the top of the torte with icing sugar, then pile on the chocolate curls (see box, below) and a few raspberries.

With a dark chocolate digestive base and nutty cream cheese topping, this frozen dessert has a winter twist

Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake

dark chocolate digestive biscuits

chestnut pieces, roughly chopped

can chestnut purée

tbsp dark rum

vanilla extract

tub soft cheese

For the base, blitz the biscuits in a food processor or bash in a bag to make crumbs. Stir in the butter, then press into the base of a 22cm springform cake tin. Chill.

For the praline, line a tray with baking parchment and lightly oil it. Tip the caster sugar into a frying pan and place over a high heat. Cook for 5 mins, without stirring, until dissolved and you have a dark amber caramel. Throw in the chestnut pieces, then quickly tip onto the baking parchment and leave to harden. Break or chop into small pieces and set aside.

For the filling, blitz the chestnut purée in a food processor with the icing sugar and 1 tbsp of the rum. Set 3 tbsp of the mix aside. In a large bowl, whisk the cream with the caster sugar and vanilla until it holds its shape, then whisk in the soft cheese. Beat in the pieces of praline, then gently fold through the chestnut purée so that it ripples the cream. Spoon onto the biscuit base. Bang the cake tin gently on the work surface to level and smooth over the top. Cover with cling film and freeze for at least 12 hrs or up to 1 month.

For the drizzle, mix the remaining rum with the reserved chestnut purée and enough water to make it just runny. If serving the cake within 2 days, chill the drizzle; if keeping for longer, freeze and defrost when needed.

Put the cheesecake in the fridge to thaw a little 30 mins before serving. Using a sandwich bag with a corner tip cut off, pipe the drizzle over the top of the cake in a zig-zag pattern. Carefully remove from the tin and serve in small wedges – with a glass of rum if you fancy it.

This whole baked fish looks impressive on a platter for sharing, served simply with potatoes and greens

Lemon sole with crab & tarragon butter sauce

tarragon leaves

crab

lemon

lemon sole

white wine

tbsp caper

tbsp double cream

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. In a small bowl, mash the butter with the tarragon, crabmeat and zest, and season. Make a few deep slashes across the fillets on both sides of the sole, then place the fish, dark-skin up, in a large roasting tin. Season, then stuff the crab butter into the cuts, spreading any remaining butter on top. Lay a few lemon slices over the fish, then pour over the wine.

Bake for 15-20 mins, depending on the size of the fish – the flesh should flake away easily from the bone when gently pushed with a knife.

Carefully remove the fish from the tin, place on a warm plate or platter and cover with foil while you make the sauce. Set the tin over a low heat, add 2 tbsp water and bring to the boil. Let the sauce bubble for a few mins, then stir in the capers and cream. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve with steamed potatoes and a green salad.

Top 6 centrepiece recipes from across the web

The most viewed centrepiece recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Roast pork with crackling

Chocolate coconut banoffee pie

Vegan pie

White chocolate, raspberry & hazeln...

Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake

Lemon sole with crab & tarragon but...

Top 6 centrepiece recipes from across the web

The most viewed centrepiece recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Roast pork with crackling

Chocolate coconut banoffee pie

Vegan pie

White chocolate, raspberry & hazeln...

Iced chestnut ripple cheesecake

Lemon sole with crab & tarragon but...

The most viewed centrepiece recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine