A luscious treat that looks far more time-consuming than it actually is. To serve with dexterity, use a serrated knife and use a sawing action as you cut.

Ingredients

• 400 grams block frozen puff pastry, defrosted
• milk for brushing pastry
• icing sugar for dusting
• 500 grams (2 punnets) strawberries
• 350 grams cherries, pitted
• 300 ml bottle cream

Method

1. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured board into a 30 cm square. Allow to rest, then cut into 2 rectangles 15cm x 30cm.
2. Transfer to a greased oven tray, prick evenly with a fork and brush lightly with milk.
3. Bake at 220ºC for 13-15 minutes until well-risen and golden. Transfer to a cake rack to cool. Use a serrated knife to trim edges.
4. Decorate the nicest looking pastry sheet liberally with sifted icing sugar. Heat meat skewers over an open flameor on a hot plate until very hot. Drag them through the icing sugar in straight lines. The heat will slightly caramelise the sugar, leaving grill marks.
5. Place strawberries in a food processor with the pitted cherries and pulse until roughly chopped. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and spread generously over the bottom pastry sheet. Spoon over most of the berry mixture, then sandwich with the icing sugar decorated pastry top. Place on a serving plate and decorate the rim of the plate with the remaining berries.

Cooks Tips

- For best results, all pastries require resting for five minutes after being rolled out to allow the stretched gluten (flour protein) to relax. This will avoid any major shrinkage during cooking.