Walnut And Candied Peel Tartlets

Walnut And Candied Peel Tartlets

A fragile alternative to the mince pie, rich with candied peel and spice. I like to serve these warm, with a jug of cream.

Makes 18.

INGREDIENTS:

For the pastry:

cold butter - 150g
plain flour - 300g

For the filling:

golden syrup - 200g
walnuts - 100g
candied orange and lemon peel - 50g
dried cranberries - 50g
mixed spice - a pinch
soft amaretti - 4, or 90g cake crumbs
an egg, lightly beaten

You will need 24 jam tart or shallow bun tins measuring 7.5 cm in diameter and 1 cm deep

METHOD:

Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can add a tiny pinch of salt if you want to. Drizzle in a very small amount of water - I would start with just a teaspoon or two - bringing the mixture together to form a soft, but not sticky, rollable ball.

Pat the pastry into a fat sausage the same diameter as your tart tins, cover with clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes. This will give the pastry time to rest, making it less likely to shrink when it's in the oven.

Set the oven at 180°C/gas 4. Warm the syrup in a small pan set over a low heat. Add the walnuts, roughly chopped, the finely diced peel, the cranberries and the spice, then crumble in the amaretti or cake crumbs. Remove the pan from the heat, leave to cool for five minutes then quickly and lightly stir in the beaten egg.

Cut the roll of pastry into 18 thin slices, then use them to line the tart tins. Trim the edges with a small knife.

Divide the mixture between the tartlet cases (you don't want to overfill them) then bake until golden and bubbling, about 15-20 minutes.

As the pastry is particularly rich, the finished tarts are very fragile, allow them to cool a little before attempting to remove them from their tins. Serve with cream.

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