Festive Tart

It began with list…  in late November 2013, a list containing every imaginable festive bake, from yule log to panettone, was created by one ambitious baker. The list was long, extensive & full of ideas (& the occasional doodle). Over the coming years, the list became ever shorter as recipes were completed & added to her repertioire.

The list has now become a sort of tradition for me, every year, without fail, I pen down my ideas & inspirations for Christmas (whilst still working off the orginial). Everything flavour combinations to recipe tweaks & improvements.

Every year I strive to come up with a new festive recipe, something that I have yet to create in previous years & something that I can add to my collection for years to come. As you may have guessed by now, Christmas in my house is pure gluttony.

This year is no exception. I wanted to create something that was simple, festive & not a cake (I have far too many gingerbread recipes than I ought). With an abundance of mincemeat in the kitchen, a true flavour of Christmas that I adore, my decision was made. The spiced, sweetened fruit was to play a starring role.

Mince pies are essentially Christmas condensed into a mouthful of sugar, spice & all thing’s nice (if they’re good enough for Saint Nick). Stricly speaking my own mince pies are anything but small, it is my opinion that there should be more filling than pastry, but this year I thought that I’d take it up a notch with a festive tart.

I’m really pleased to add this recipe to my festive recipe collection & have no doubt that it will make an appearance in Christmases to come.

FESTIVE TART
(makes one 25cm tart)

Ingredients:

For the pastry:

• 200g plain flour
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 100g butter
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

For the filling:

• 550g homemade or quality mincemeat

For the frangipane:

• 85g butter
• 85g caster sugar
• 90g ground almonds
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp almond extract

For the topping:

• 70g marzipan, grated
• 1 1/2 tbsp flaked almonds

Method:

• To make the pastry sift together the plain flour & icing sugar, add in the cubed butter & rub together using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
• Add the cold water 1 tbsp at a time, using only enough so that the dough comes together
• Shape the dough into a flattened disc, wrap in cling film & leave in the fridge to chill for at least an hour
• Once the pastry has chilled, roll out to approximately 3mm thick and use it to line the base & sides of the tart tin, leaving any excess hang over the edge of the tin
• Use a fork to pierce holes in the bottom of the pastry
• Line the pastry case with baking parchment & fill with baking beans
• Blind bake the pastry case for 10 minutes at 180°C
• Remove the baking beans & parchment & return the case to the oven for a further 5 -10 minutes, until it starts to turn golden
• Remove the case from the oven & leave to cool for 5 minutes, before trimming off any excess around the edge
• Once trimmed, evenly spread the mincemeat over the pastry
• To make the frangipane, add all of the ingredients into a bowl & beat together, it will be loose
• Use the frangipane to evenly cover the mincemeat
• To top, sprinkle over the grated marzipan followed by the flaked almonds
• Bake the tart at 180°C for 30 – 35 minutes, until an even golden brown in colour
• Remove from it’s tin & leave to cool before lightly dusting with icing sugar