Sweet treats (+recipes)

Chocolate tart with a cream cheese pastry base. Photo / Janna Dixon

Tarts and crumbles make sweet ends to any meal, writes Grant Allen.

I must be New Zealand's worst baker. I simply cannot get a decent muffin or scone out of the oven. Baking cakes and slices? Sorry, I pass that on to those who can.

Successful sweet food depends on the fine art of precise measurement and timing - I'm always trying to do too many things at once, resulting in many culinary crashes in this branch of kitchen science.

My usual solution for dessert at home (apart from asking someone else to make it) is a tart or flan of some kind. I can do pastry and have found this cream cheese recipe to be a winner. It is soft to work but if you rest it between handling, it is not too hard to manage. As it has no sugar content it cooks to a crumbly texture and can be used for sweet and savoury bases.

Cream Cheese Pastry

1. Cut 100g of butter and 100g of cream cheese into chunks.

2. Process with a heaped cup of flour and a pinch of salt until blended.

3. Add ¼ cup of cream to pull the pastry together.

4. Remove from the processor, wrap in clingfilm and chill for an hour.

5. Before using, bring to room temperature. Roll out and fit into your flan dish or pie tin, prick the base with a fork and return to the fridge to rest for ½ hour.

* Grant Allen has been a professional cook for 30 years. He works as a caterer in Auckland. Check out his Facebook page here.