Tucking into a large dish of creamy, cheese-topped potatoes is hard to beat, especially when you’ve made them from scratch.

Not to be confused with potatoes au gratin, which are slices of pre-cooked (usually boiled) potato cooked in cream and topped with cheese, dauphinoise is made from thinly sliced, uncooked potatoes that sizzle away in a creamy sauce.

This classic French dish makes for the perfect side to almost any meal, and one that cooking extraordinaire Mary Berry has a foolproof recipe for.

Sharing the dish from her cookbook Mary Makes It Easy, the baking icon described the potatoes as “a joy” to make.

She swaps a traditional large baking dish for individual dariole moulds so they’re even more likely to impress on those special occasions.

How to make dauphinoise potatoes

Mary’s method is as simple as the recipe with just six simple steps required to make the dish.

First, ensure everything is prepared – peel and slice the potatoes into very thin rounds (a mandolin slicer can be used for this) and preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/ Gas 6.

Grate the cheddar cheese then source eight metal dariole pudding moulds. Melt the butter and grease the moulds, then cut eight small squares of baking paper and place one in the base of each ramekin.

Now, mix the double cream with the crushed garlic in a jug and season generously with salt and pepper.  Take half of the grated cheese and place some in the base of each mould, then arrange a slice of potato on top.

Follow by pouring some of the garlic cream over the top, then continue to layer the moulds with potatoes and cream (no cheese), seasoning between each layer until all the mixture has been used up.

Cover the tops of each mould with kitchen foil and seal them tightly, then place the moulds on a baking tray, foil side up.

Allow to bake in the oven for 30 minutes before removing the foil lids and sprinkling the tops of the potatoes with the remaining cheese.

Bake the ramekins uncovered for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are tenderly cooked and the cheese is golden.

Remove the tray from the oven and allow the moulds to stand for a few minutes until any bubbling has stopped, then slide a palette knife around the edges of the moulds and invert them onto a plate.

Carefully remove the mould and paper before serving the potatoes hot.