Bacon, cherry and goat's cheese twists

Does anyone still 'entertain'? God knows I certainly don't... but as I was making these deliciously salty, flaky snacks I was struck by how perfect this easy finger-food would be to serve to hungry guests.

Let me just start by telling you how GOOD these are. I ate one, then went back for another, then another... they're really hard to resist. I used Rutherford & Meyer cherry paste, which I absolutely love! Fruit paste is that perfect balance of sweet and tart all in one, and I've recently discovered it's a really convenient way to add fruity flavour to baking. So quick and easy! No messing around reducing and thickening syrups or coulis only to find out when you finally come to bake with it, that you got the consistency wrong and it's turned all your baking into a soggy mess... speaking from experience here.

I wasn't actually sure if cherry and bacon would work at first - but then I thought of glazed ham, and realised it was actually a classic combo. I knew I needed a really 'meaty' bacon that could hold it's own against the strong cherry flavour, so I chose a thick cut streaky bacon. I went for Henderson's, which I hadn't seen before, but I liked the fact that it wasn't the electric pink colour that some bacons are (Hendersons has no nitrates - woo hoo! Your gut will thank you) and it was cut VERY thickly. Delish!

Try this:

Makes 12

Ingredients

4 sheets ready-rolled flaky pastry sheets, thawed

60gm Rutherford & Meyer cherry fruit paste (about half a pack)

12 pieces streaky bacon

120gm goat's cheese

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 egg

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat oven to 205c. Line a baking tray with paper. Microwave the fruit paste quickly, 20 seconds should do it - just until it's a spreadable consistency. Add the mustard to the fruit paste and mix together well, then divide the paste mix across 2 sheets of pastry and spread it evenly all the way out to the edges.

Layer the bacon on top of the fruit paste - 6 pieces onto each of the two sheets. Crumble the goats cheese and evenly sprinkle it over the bacon. Add a little salt and pepper, then place the two remaining plain sheets of pastry over the top (1 sheet onto 1 sheet), like you're making a sandwich. Now take a sharp knife and cut each pastry sandwich into 6 even strips - you should have 12 twists in total from the 2 sandwiches. Take each strip and gently twist it a couple of times, and then place it down on the baking sheet and press the ends to the sheet to stop it from untwisting itself.

Once you've twisted all the strips and arranged them on the baking tray, brush them gently with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake them for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and the bacon is crispy around the edges. Serve the twists when they're still warm - with dipping sauce if you think they need it - but they're pretty great just on their own.