Banoffee martinis and other cocktail desserts

If you’re looking for something a little different to serve for dessert on Saturday (which in case you’ve forgotten, guys, is Valentine’s Day) how about a dessert martini?

OK, purists will fling up their hands in horror - these are, of course, not martinis in the strict sense of the word, merely very pretty, seductive drinks - half cocktail, half dessert - which you serve in a (preferably frosted) martini glass.

What you need is a tub of ice cream or sorbet - the flavour is up to you, a neutral spirit (vodka, white rum or silver tequila) and possibly a complementary liqueur or fruit juice (a squeeze of lime juice with mango, for instance). Don’t be tempted to skimp on the ingredients though - you don’t want these cocktails to taste cheap.

Proportions should be 1 generous scoop of ice cream or sorbet per person, 11/2-2 shots of spirits and maybe 1/2 a shot of liqueur. Simply whizz all the ingredients up in a blender, check for taste (that’s the good bit), decorate and serve.

In the past I’ve made a sublime chocolate mint martini for two with a couple of scoops of Green & Black’s mint chocolate ice cream, 4 shots of vodka and 2 tbsp Kahlua. I see they don’t make that flavour any more but you could add a few drops of creme de menthe or peppermint essence to their dark chocolate ice cream.

Fruit sorbets respond really well to this treatment. Add a couple of shots of tequila to a few fresh strawberries sweetened with a little sugar, whizz then add a scoop of strawberry sorbet and whizz again for a delicious frozen strawberry margarita. Mango sorbet is great with white rum and a dash of lime, lemon sorbet can be enhanced by vodka and limoncello and orange by vodka and a dash of Cointreau or Grand Marnier.

The trick is to add the alcohol element cautiously (you can always add a little more) and carefully check the balance between the base flavour and the booze. It's useful to have some sugar syrup (gomme) to hand to add a little extra sweetness if needed. Oh, and start with all your bottles fridge cold so your frozen cocktail doesn’t thaw too quickly.

Finally for a sure-fire winner let me give you my recipe for a banoffee martini which also makes a very effective - and easy - dinner party dessert if you make it in slightly larger quantities.

Banoffee Martinis
Serves 2
1 medium sized ripe*, peeled, sliced banana (about 100g peeled weight)
3 shots (6 tbsp) vanilla vodka
2 shots (4 tbsp) toffee-flavoured liqueur (such as Dooley's)
2 shots (4 tbsp) whole milk (i.e. not semi-skimmed)
A tiny pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
Good quality powdered drinking chocolate to garnish

Whizz the banana in a blender with the vodka. Tip the puree into a shaker full of ice cubes, add the toffee liqueur, milk and nutmeg if using and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled martini glasses and sift a little chocolate powder over the surface.

* This is important. Don't attempt this with an underripe banana or the banana flavour won't come through.

The ultimate strawberry tartlets

Before home-grown strawberries disappear totally from the shops, a re-run of what I reckon is the ultimate strawberry tart recipe from Orlando Murrin's irresistible book, A Table in the Tarn and which he used to serve at his French guest house Le Manoir de Raynaudes.

Orlando says "This pastry is so good you can eat it like a biscuit. Everyone imagines it must have a host of ingredients to give its supreme nutty crunch, but not so. The secret is in the Demerara sugar and the handling of the pastry. You really do need to need to follow the instructions to the letter. The cook who taught me this pastry, an Austrian, said she had given the recipe to a couple of my neighbours, without telling them the secret of how to handle it. How fortunate she took a shine to me!"

Makes 6

For the pastry
110g self-raising flour
25g plain flour
110g unsalted butter
2 tbsp Demerara sugar

To finish
6–10 tbsp mascarpone, cool but not straight from the fridge
icing sugar, to taste
few drops of vanilla extract
250g strawberries, not too big, halved

You will also need a marble slab or large flat board

If serving for dinner, make the pastry in the morning or afternoon. Mix the flours with a good pinch of salt and rub in the butter (can be done in the processor). Mix in the sugar until the mixture comes together into a crumbly ball. Shape into a squared-off sausage and refrigerate for about an hour until just firm.

Cut the pastry into 6 chunks and on a lightly floured surface roll out each to a thin circle about 10cm in diameter. For a professional finish use a cutter to perfect the circle. Transfer to an ungreased rimless baking sheet using a spatula or palette knife and bake at 180°C (170°C fan) for 10–15 minutes until lightly golden (neither pale nor actually browned) and just firm when you touch it.

Remove from oven, count to ten and with extreme care slide a palette knife under one of the pastry discs. Tilting the tray, slide-push the pastry disc on to the marble slab. Continue with the other discs. Nudge the discs lightly while cooling a couple of times so they do not stick to the slab or board. Leave there, covered with clingfilm, till ready to serve.

Have ready 6 serving plates. Beat the mascarpone to soften, sifting in a little icing sugar and vanilla to taste. It needs to be spreadable: too warm and it will be in danger of curdling when you beat it; too cold and it will tear the pastry when you spread it. Spread on to the pastry discs, right to the edge, then top with a tight layer of halved strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar.

You can dress up this dish further by using a lemon cream instead of mascarpone. Make some lemon curd by bringing to the boil 180g sugar, the juice of 2 lemons, 75g unsalted butter and 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest, and then whisking into 3 large beaten eggs. Return to pan and cook gently for about 5 minutes, till thickened and 71°C. This keeps for a week in the fridge. For this recipe, fold about 100ml of lemon curd into 100ml whipped cream and spread on the tartlets before adding strawberries.

Recommended wine match: I'd suggest a Gaillac doux from the area where Orlando was living but you could also drink a dessert wine from Juranon or Pacherenc-du-Vic-Bilh or a sweet, sparkling Clairette de Die from the Rhône.