Finish off dinner with a delicious pudding from chef Jason Atherton’s latest book, says
Keeley Bolger
brown on top. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. The scones are best eaten freshly baked and generously filled with clotted cream and jam. Once cooled, they can be frozen on the day of baking; thaw before serving, then cut the scones in half and toast them, or reheat in a 140C/gas Mark 2 oven.
APPLE TARTE FINE
SERVES SIX TO EIGHT
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled 50g caster sugar 300g home-made puff pastry (or shopbought butter puff pastry) 3 eating apples (such as Pink Lady, Jazz, Braeburn or Royal Gala) sifted icing sugar, for dusting (optional)
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4. Line two large baking sheets with silicone mats or baking parchment. Brush the lined sheets with a little of the melted butter, then sprinkle over half of the caster sugar. Set aside. 2 Divide the pastry in half. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece to 2-3mm thickness. Place the pastry bases on the buttered and sugared baking sheets. Keep the baking sheets in the fridge while you prepare the apples.
3 Peel and core the apples, then cut into 3mm slices. Remove the pastry bases from the fridge and arrange the apple slices on top, in overlapping rows, leaving a 1.5cm margin clear around the pastry rim. Brush the apples with melted butter and sprinkle over the rest of the caster sugar.
4 Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes or until the apples are cooked: there should be no resistance when you pierce them with the tip of a knife (if the apple topping has not browned, sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar and place under a hot grill for one to two minutes – watching closely – until the sugar caramelises). Cool completely before cutting into slices and dusting with icing sugar. Social Sweets by Jason Atherton is published in hardback by Absolute Press, priced £25. Available now
Like many chefs, the Michelin-starred Jason Atherton has war wounds from his time in the kitchen. Worst of which is the “big scar” on his leg, the scene of a skin graft “many moons” ago.
“I dropped a pan of reduced veal stock and it stuck to my feet. I was only young, it was 1999, and I got rushed to hospital,” explains Atherton, who appeared as a judge in Sky Living series My Kitchen Rules, alongside model-turned-chef Lorraine Pascale, last year.
After six months off work, he went back to the kitchen on crutches and has, since then, avoided staff changing hot pans of oil “like the plague”. But as painful as the injury was and as much as it gave him “nightmares” afterwards, the 43-year-old also missed being in the throng of the restaurant.
Born in Sheffield, Atherton’s foodie journey began after he moved to London when he was 16, and landed a job at a Michelinstarred restaurant as a pot washer. He worked his way up, eventually becoming a pastry chef, then head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Maze, and has since set up the popular Pollen Street Social in London’s Mayfair, and a string of other restaurants all over the world.
His workload shows no sign of stopping either, with a new eatery opening in New York and his latest book, Social Sweets, coming out in the space of a few months earlier this year.
Putting out a book about desserts was a “logical step” for the chef, being as “99.9 per cent of people have a sweet tooth and like to finish off a meal with a dessert,” he says.
Clearly Atherton is in that number.
“Even though they’re really cheesy to look at, one of my favourite things as a child was a Mr Kipling Bakewell Tart,” he explains. “I used to love having those, so being able to make a grown-up version of it is cool.”
Committed as he is to perfecting his pudding recipes and bettering the service he offers in his restaurants, he admits his ambitions are only feasible thanks to the support of his wife, Irha, who works in the restaurant’s head office.
“Without my wife, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” says Atherton, who lives in London with Irha and their two daughters. “Her support and understanding of the journey we’re on together and as a family is unbelievable.
“Everything in life is a compromise. Running a successful restaurant business is timeconsuming and on top of all that, pushing Pollen Street Social to be one of the best restaurants, not just in the UK but hopefully in the world, takes time and dedication.
“That and the travel, and being a father and writing cookbooks... You’ve got to be super-dedicated, so her support is massive. I couldn’t live without her.”
Tempted by the sound of Atherton’s sweet treats? Why not try these three delicious desserts from his new book?