Simon King, chef/proprietor at restaurant 1861 near Abergavenny, believes we should treat ourselves to puddings

A little of what you fancy can do no harm!

Most people enjoy puddings, and at the restaurant, very few people choose to leave without enjoying one.

I love puddings too, and I think people appreciate a home cooked dessert to round off things off when they’ve been to your home for a meal.

After a day at work, it can seem tempting to buy a pudding rather than have the bother of making one from scratch.

In reality, however, many puddings are very quick and easy to make, and your guests will certainly appreciate it.

Cold puddings can be made the day before you need them, giving you the satisfying feeling of being one step ahead on the day you are having a dinner party.

And a fruit salad, crammed with delicious summer produce, is mouth-watering, refreshing and healthy.

The apple tart tatin featured below is very simple to make, yet looks totally luscious. The puff pastry can be bought rather than made by you, adding to the ease of preparation.

Serve the tart with ice cream or some lightly whipped double cream.

Apple tart tatin

Ingredients

300g caster sugar

100mls water

8 Golden Delicious apples

4 puff pastry discs rolled into 15cm circles, 3 to 4 mm thick

Method

Dissolve the sugar in the water in a copper pan, bring to the boil and boil hard until an amber coloured caramel is achieved. Then quickly pour the hot caramel into 15cm blinis style pans, (alternatively any deep oven proof dish or frying pan will suffice, but cut your pastry discs accordingly.)

Peel and core the apples, arrange neatly in the pan ( on top of the caramel, bearing in mind that your display will eventually be upside down). Cover the apples with the pastry disc. Pierce a couple of holes in the pastry to allow steam to escape and place in a pre heated oven at 200oc and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until bubbling at the edges and the pastry is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a minimum of 1 minute.

Turn the tart out onto a plate and serve with a scoop of rum and raisin ice cream or fresh cream.