Ladies Catch Up .  .  . 

I'm a long way behind with the stories for my blog, but I'll add a few back ones for their recipes and content - just because I finally want to share lol.

We had the most wonderful catch up at Kerry's. It is always a treat when we can get together without the children everyone cares for. As usual, I'm the odd one out as I've given that lark away. However, I thoroughly enjoy listening to and contributing ideas to what they are doing with their charges. Homebased care offers such a wonderful start to any child's learning journey and these girls are the cream of the crop. Such talented and resourceful teachers, I'm in awe of each and every one of them.

We were all asked to bring a plate of goodies for a shared afternoon tea. I didn't have to think to hard about this as the request is always for my Neenish Tarts, these are certainly a favourite with the group.

Neenish Tart Recipe . . .

 

Pastry

125g Softened Butter (not melted)

125g Sugar

1 egg

225g Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

Filling

4 Tblsp butter

4 Tblsp Icing Sugar

4 Tblsp Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 Tblsp Lemon Juice

Method

Pastry - Cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat well. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Knead well. Roll out, cut circles and line patty tins. Prick and bake for about 10 minutes at 180° or until golden brown. Because the pastry often still rises I press the tartlet down again to ensure I have a good size base for the filling. this needs to be done as soon as they come out of the oven. I use silcone trays so they don't need greasing. However, if you have metal trays they need to be greased and floured to ensure that the pastry cases come out easily. 

Filling - Cream butter and sugar, add condensed milk and lemon juice. Combine well together and fill cooled pastry cases. I find a piping bag or plastic bag with the end snipped off makes this job much easier. Pop them into the refrigerator to set.

Icing / Chocolate - Traditionally, these are iced with white and chocolate icing. However, Bruce isn't keen on icing so I cover mine with melted chocolate. I melt the white chocolate first and cover one half of each tart. Placing them back into the refrigerator to set while you melt the dark chocolate. Finish them off by covering the other side of each tart. Set and enjoy. If there is any chocolate left, I pour it into chocolate moulds for an extra treat. 

While making the dough for the tarts, I doubled the recipe so I could make Bruce some custart tarts. Otherwise he would feel left out lol.

Custard Tart Recipe . . .

 

Pastry

125g Softened Butter (not melted)

125g Sugar

1 egg

225g Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

Filling

½ cup Sugar

3 eggs

500 Milk

Nutmeg

Method

Pastry - Cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat well. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Knead well. Roll out, cut circles and line tart tins. This dough is not cooked first. I use silcone trays so they don't need greasing. However, if you have metal trays they need to be greased and floured to ensure that the tarts come out easily. Having a double ended tartlet, means I can use the other end to push the pastry into the tart pans.

Filling - Combine egg and sugar, mix in milk. I do this in a jug so that it is easy to fill the tart cases. Pour mixture into tart cases and either sprinkle with ground nutmeg or grate over whole nutmeg. Bake for about 25 minutes at 180° or until custard is set. If using silicone tart pans, place in metal tins or on a tray as it is impossible to move them once filled otherwise.

Apple Pies . . .

I went on to make another batch of dough and using some apple puree from the larder with a little cinnamon, also made Bruce some small apple pies. Like the custard tarts the dough was cooked with the apple at 180° and this time I cut a smaller circle for the top of each one.

#NeenishTarts #CustardTarts #ApplePies

6th July 2024