Yes, it’s time to get on with the Christmas baking. The koels are waking us at 4 am, the channel-bill cuckoos are causing havoc amongst the local birds and the cicadas are drumming. Tinsel is appearing in the shops and gift catalogues in our letterboxes. All signifiers of summer and the approaching festive and holiday season.
My first task is always to prepare the fruit mince for the Christmas tarts. I could have made it months ago but I don’t seem to be motivated until the pressure is on.
So chop chop it is. And when you read the recipe you’ll get the double meaning. So, sharpen the knives and get cracking.
Caren
Christmas Mince Tarts
Fruit Mince - Caren's version
185 gm raisins, finely chopped
250 gm sultanas, chopped
250 gm currants
100 gm mixed peel, chopped
50 gm dried sour cherries, chopped
125 gm glace ginger, finely chopped
100 gm blanched almonds, finely chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely grated
200 gm brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ lemon, both juice and zest
½ orange, both juice and zest
60 ml brandy
65 gm butter, melted
Sterilise 3-4 glass jars.
Mix the raisins, sultanas, currants, peel, cherries, ginger, almonds and apples. If you would like a finer fruit mince then place half the mix in a food processor for a few seconds, being careful not to turn it into a paste. Return this mix to the other half and add the remaining ingredients. Using gloved hands work the mix until it is well combined.
Spoon the mix into the glass jars, seal tightly and store in the fridge for up to 3 months, turning and mixing every week.
Revenge Shortcrust Pastry
Makes approximately 20 tarts in 2 tablespoon capacity tiny tartlet tins
125 gm white rice flour
65 gm almond meal
60 gm cornflour
85 gm caster sugar
65 gm unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 whole egg
½ lemon, finely grated zest only
1 pinch salt
1 whole egg extra for sealing pastry (optional)
Place dry ingredients and lemon zest into a food processor and process for a couple of seconds to combine. Add cold butter cubes and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until the pastry comes together into a ball. You may need to add some iced water, a teaspoon at a time
Place pastry onto plastic wrap and pat into a disc approximately 1cm thick. Refrigerate for an hour.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.
Roll out pastry 3mm thick. Using a round cutter of suitable size, cut out rounds to fit your tart tins then line each of the tart tins with the pastry rounds. Cut out rounds or different shapes to form the tart tops. Refrigerate both until firm.
Fill the pastry lined tartlet tins with fruit mince, cover with pastry tops/shapes.
Place in the oven on the hot baking tray (this will ensure the pastry on the bases will cook through) and cook for 10 minutes on the bottom oven rack. Transfer to the middle rack and cook a further 10 minutes or until light golden.
When cool enough to handle, remove Christmas Mince Tarts from the tins and allow to cool completely on a rack. Dust with icing sugar to serve.