Tarts for hearts

A (very brave) friend, Natalie is participating in The Great North Run. To raise funds for her chosen charity, The British Heart Foundation she decided to do a bake off style competition, named Tarts for Hearts and then get eager work colleagues to pay for the privilege of sampling the goods.

I didn't have much time so I made a (cheats) no bake chocolate tart. This really simple recipe uses a cheesecake style base which you press along the bottom and up the sides of the tin to create the base. The filling was delicious, very chocolatey and indulgent so you do not need a big slice. I used strawberries (instead of the recommended raspberries) to decorate and skipped the creme fraiche, neither of which took away from how tasty it was.

For the savoury one, I made a filo pastry tart (again short on time and couldn't be bothered to make pastry) filled with blue cheese, ham and pine nuts. This looked impressive due to the filo pastry being too high and opening out like flower petals, plus I love blue cheese and this had a great balance of flavours which didn't overpower the pine nuts and ham.

The other tarts I tried were amazing - Lisa's salmon heart shaped tart, Nat's classic quiche lorraine and Helen's individual caramelised onion tarts. Myself and Lisa won star bakers and shared out some Chanel goodies - fancy!

All the tarts went down really well and sold out within in 20 minutes which meant the slow pokes in the office missed out, Natalie raised an amazing £200. If you fancy sponsoring Nat - you can here.

Both the recipes are from the BBC Good Food Website.

No bake chocolate tart

Ingredients:

• 200g pack all-butter biscuits

• 100g butter

• 1 tbsp golden syrup or honey

• 100g bar dark chocolate

• 100g bar milk chocolate

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 tbsp icing sugar , plus extra for dusting

• 200ml whipping cream

• 3 tbsp crème fraîche, to decorate

• 200g raspberries , to serve

Method:

• Crush the biscuits by putting them in a large, strong, plastic food bag and bashing with a rolling pin. Melt the butter with the syrup or honey in the microwave, then stir in the biscuits. Press onto the base and up the sides of a 12 x 36cm rectangular tin (or 23-25cm round flan tin) and chill while you make the filling.

• Break up the two chocolate bars and put in a large bowl. Melt in the microwave for 2-3 mins on Medium, stirring halfway through. Stir in the vanilla extract, then sift in the icing sugar. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape, then fold into the melted chocolate. Pour into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Chill for at least 2 hrs or for up to 2 days.

• Just before serving, remove the tart from the tin and slide it onto a flat plate (loosen edges first with the tip of a small pointed knife). You will find it easier to remove the tart if you leave it at room temperature for 30 mins. Put a few tsps of crème fraîche along the centre of the tart (or around the edges if the tart is circular) and top each with a raspberry, then dust lightly with icing sugar. Cut into thin slices and serve with extra raspberries on the side.

Blue Cheese and Ham Tart

Ingredients:

• 6 large sheets filo pastry or 10 sheets if small

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 100g sliced ham , chopped

• 1 bunch spring onions , sliced

• 2 eggs , lightly beaten

• 300g tub soft cheese , room temperature

• 2 large handfuls rocket leaves

• 50g blue cheese , crumbled

• 2 tbsp pine nuts

Method:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Brush each filo sheet with a little oil and layer into a 20cm springform or loose-bottomed tin, overlapping each sheet at a different angle.

• Mix together the ham, spring onions, eggs, soft cheese and rocket, then pour into the filo case. Sprinkle with blue cheese and pine nuts, then bake for 30 mins until just set. Cool slightly, slice and serve with a salad.