PINEAPPLE JAM TARTS

Some things find you even when you're not looking for them. Like a little tart press. 


The little tart press worked like a charm. It stamped out smart little crimped tart shells that looked like they were about to march off the baking tray in a fine little procession. And the depressions..... they were simply waiting to be sat on by sticky ole pineapple jam.

My little pineapple tart press, the love of my life.

And the pastry..ahhhh that's yet another joy in my tart life.


I had used a combination of plain flour and custard powder and a little more than half the proportion of butter to the flour mixture. It produced the most light, the most buttery and the most crumbly pastry when baked yet it remained an obliging and workable dough in its raw form.

Without a doubt the magic ingredient was the custard powder which provided the lightness and gave that gorgeous golden glow to the finished tarts. It abolished the need for an egg wash. Magic ~ yes? 

I almost shrieked uereka. And I would have run fully floured and barefoot into the blistering sun, stand squarely in my driveway, roar triumphantly upwards, swing my hair with a jerk of my head and throw some age-tsuki-s with my powderful fists to puncture the sky, had it not been for the fact that life requires some amount of of decorum from a person my age.


So I did a milder but no less limb twisting feat which was quite difficult too. I patted myself on the back, took a few bows in front of the mirror, made a short speech, thanked myself and clapped my hands.


Ho ho ho ~


The recipe ~

5 oz plain flour
3 oz Bird's Custard Powder
5 oz butter, cold and cubed
1 T cold water

Pineapple jam like here but to which......

I have added 1/2 cup of brown sugar and cooked till drier and firmer so that you could just roll a little ball of jam between the palms of your hands easily. the sugar makes the jam firmer.


Make the pastry.....


Sift the flour and custard powder together, Throw ina pinch of salt and mix well with your fingers or a spoon to ensure that teh two flours are well mixed.


Put in the cubed butter and cut up finer with a knife or a pastry cutter and then use your finger tips to crumble it up until it resembles very fine breadcrumbs.


Pour into the flour butter mix a tablespoon of the cold water and using your fingers or the pad of your finger bring the dough together just by pressing, no t kneading. When the dough comes together and is a smooth lump chillitin the refrigerator for 30 minutes.


Roll out and using a pineapple tart press stamp out rounds until the dough is used up.

The tart press looks like a little torchlight...hehe

Roll bits of pineapple jam in your palms and press into the depressions of the tart shells. Make little slivers from the dough and fold them into little v-shapes and place on the dough. This however is completely unnecessary and time wasting.


Bake for 25 minutes or so in a 180 C oven.