Prep Time : 45 Minutes | Cook Time : 20 Minutes | Total Time : 2 hours | Difficulty : Moderate
Hello my lovelies! We’re taking a step back towards Christmas today. Now I don’t know if you’ve heard but there are people out there who don’t like fruit mince pies. I know I know. Who are these people? Because I think everyone should be able to have pie let’s make something small and tasty that everyone can enjoy. This is a bit of a two for one recipe. The jam filling is delicious on it’s own so go ahead and scale up the recipe to make sweet Christmassy gifts. Just make sure you follow good food safety procedures as per this recipe (or any of my other jam recipes).
You can make the pastry up to a week in advance and keep it in the fridge so you can make the components and throw these tarts together at the last minute. Use any leftover filling as a treat on a buttery piece of toast. Or a croissant. You need to take a moment for yourself at this time of year.
Lets get our shortcrust pastry together first so we can get it chilling while we make our jam. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Grate the cold butter in and rub it thoroughly into the flour. If you prefer you can do this bit in the food processor or a standing mixer.
Whisk the egg and vinegar together in a small bowl and add it to the flour and butter. Mix as quickly as you can to bring the dough together. Tip the dough out and use your hands to bring it together into a uniform disc.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or pop it into an airtight container and chill in the fridge for an hour.
Onto the filling. Pop the cranberries, zest and juice into a medium saucepan. Over a low heat cook the cranberries until they start to break down. Use a wooden spoon to encourage them. It will only take a few minutes.
Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Turn the heat up and boil the jam until it is thick – about 5 minutes. Cranberries have a ton of pectin so it will set up well. It’s hard to test a batch this size for temperature so use the visual clues to see that it’s done.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cinnamon. Transfer the jam to a clean dry jar or bowl to cool.
When the filling is cold and the pastry has chilled it’s ready to assemble our tarts. Heat the oven to 200C. You shouldn’t need to grease the tartlet pan unless you know it sticks a lot – shortcrust has a lot of butter of its own.
Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. It will rise a little so don’t worry that it’s thin. Cut out 24 circles slightly larger than the top of each tart/muffin well.
Bring the scraps together and roll out again. Cut out decorative stars or other Christmas shapes for the tops.
Line each tart well with a circle of dough and top with a small spoonful of cranberry filling. Don’t overfill them as they will bubble over. Pop the tops on and press them down gently.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the pastry is golden on the outside – you will be able to see the edges colouring. Let the tarts cool in the pan for a few minutes so you don’t burn yourself getting them out.
Use a thin knife to help you lift them out and transfer the tarts to a wire rack to cool completely.
When they’re cold dust with a little icing sugar and tuck in!
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Cranberry, Orange + Cinnamon Tarts
Prep Time : 45 mins | Cook Time : 20 mins | Total Time : 2 hours | Difficulty : Moderate
Makes : 24 mini tarts
Golden buttery shortcrust filled with sweet, tart, lightly spiced cranberry goodness.
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
- 1 and 2/3 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 9 tablespoons (125 grams) very cold butter
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
For the filling:
- 250 grams fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- Juice of one orange
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Bowls and spoons
- Medium saucepan
- 24 well mini muffin or tartlet pan
Directions:
Lets get our shortcrust pastry together first so we can get it chilling while we make our jam. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Grate the cold butter in and rub it thoroughly into the flour. If you prefer you can do this bit in the food processor or a standing mixer.
Whisk the egg and vinegar together in a small bowl and add it to the flour and butter. Mix as quickly as you can to bring the dough together. Tip the dough out and use your hands to bring it together into a uniform disc.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or pop it into an airtight container and chill in the fridge for an hour.
Onto the filling. Pop the cranberries, zest and juice into a medium saucepan. Over a low heat cook the cranberries until they start to break down. Use a wooden spoon to encourage them. It will only take a few minutes.
Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Turn the heat up and boil the jam until it is thick – about 5 minutes. Cranberries have a ton of pectin so it will set up well. It’s hard to test a batch this size for temperature so use the visual clues to see that it’s done.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cinnamon. Transfer the jam to a clean dry jar or bowl to cool.
When the filling is cold and the pastry has chilled it’s ready to assemble our tarts. Heat the oven to 200C. You shouldn’t need to grease the tartlet pan unless you know it sticks a lot – shortcrust has a lot of butter of its own.
Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick. It will rise a little so don’t worry that it’s thin. Cut out 24 circles slightly larger than the top of each tart/muffin well.
Bring the scraps together and roll out again. Cut out decorative stars or other Christmas shapes for the tops.
Line each tart well with a circle of dough and top with a small spoonful of cranberry filling. Don’t overfill them as they will bubble over. Pop the tops on and press them down gently.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the pastry is golden on the outside – you will be able to see the edges colouring. Let the tarts cool in the pan for a few minutes so you don’t burn yourself getting them out.
Use a thin knife to help you lift them out and transfer the tarts to a wire rack to cool completely.
When they’re cold dust with a little icing sugar and tuck in!
Cook’s Notes:
- The pastry and the filling both keep well in the fridge so you can make the components up to a week in advance and assemble and bake when needed.
- I get my frozen cranberries from Moore Wilson but you can get them from the odd supermarket.
– These tarts will keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days but the crust will soften over time –
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