Manchester Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Butter a 22cm round loose-bottomed tart tin, then use the sheet of pastry to line the tin. Prick the base with a fork, then lay a sheet of baking parchment on top and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 mins. Remove the beans and baking parchment and cook for a further 5 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
• To make the custard, put the milk, custard powder, sugar and vanilla extract in a pan on a medium heat and keep stirring until smooth and thick, around 5-10 mins. Leave to cool and cover with cling film to stop a skin forming.
• Once the base and custard have cooled, spread the jam over the pastry and sprinkle with half the coconut. Pour in the custard, then sprinkle with the remaining coconut and chill. Decorate with raspberries and a final sprinkle of coconut, and serve.

Steps:

• To make the pastry, put the flour and butter in a bowl and rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar and a pinch of salt, followed by the egg yolk, and bring it together into a dough. If the pastry is too dry to come together, add 1-2 tbsp cold water. Tip onto a work surface and form into a rough ball. Knead briefly.
• Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking parchment into a roughly 28cm circle. Chill for 20-30 mins until firm, then use it to line a 23cm tart tin. Push the pastry into the corners, then trim the edge so there's 1-2cm pastry overhanging the rim (don't worry if it breaks slightly, as it can be patched with any off-cuts). Prick the pastry base several times with a fork, then chill for 45 mins. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Line the chilled pastry case with a sheet of baking parchment, then fill to the top with baking beans, uncooked rice or lentils. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the beans and parchment and bake for 10-15 mins more until the pastry is golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin, then trim the excess pastry using a small serrated knife.
• Meanwhile, make the custard. Bring the milk and vanilla to the boil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Beat the egg yolks, caster sugar and custard powder together in a medium bowl until well combined.
• Slowly pour the hot milk mixture over the egg mixture, whisking continuously until everything is smooth and well combined. Tip the custard mixture back into the pan and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring continuously, for 2-3 mins until very thick. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
• Spread the jam over the base of the cooled pastry case. Carefully pour over the custard and smooth with the back of a spoon or spatula. Sprinkle over the coconut and dot the maraschino cherries around the edge in a circle. Chill for 2-3 hrs, or until set.

Steps:

• If you are making your own pastry dough, aerate the flour by sifting it together with the salt and sugar into a large bowl. Add butter in pieces and rub it in with your fingertips until you reach a texture similar to fine bread crumbs. (Try to keep your hands cool). Add cold water gradually, mixing only enough water as you need to make the dough form. Form the dough into a disk (for ease of handling), and place it in a bowl covered with plastic or a clean damp towel, and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. When rested, roll the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, to a thickness of about 1/8-inch and line a well buttered 9 1/2-inch flan pan with a removable bottom. Trim away any excess pastry hanging over the edge of the pan. Place pastry shell into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Line the base of the chilled pastry shell with parchment paper. Then fill with ceramic pastry weights (or dried beans) and place on a baking tray in the oven and partially bake ("blind bake") for 25 minutes. Remove the weights/beans, prick the base of pastry to prevent bubbling-up of base, and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base. Remove pastry shell from oven and allow to cool. Also allow oven to cool to 350 degrees F.
• While the pastry shell is cooling, prepare the sponge cake batter:
• Heat the milk over low heat. Add the butter and let it melt into the milk. Set the pot aside temporarily. Beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl with an electric beater until it is about triple in volume and is the consistency of soft whipped cream. Return the pot with the milk to the stovetop and heat until hot. Sift cake flour and baking powder together several times to aerate. Sift the 1/3 of the flour and baking powder into the bowl of beaten eggs and sugar, and fold together. Repeat for each remaining third of the flour mixture, folding together after the addition of each third. Then, add the hot milk and butter all at once and fold in.
• For the filling and topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spread the jam over the base of the cooled pastry shell and pour the cake batter over the top of the layer of jam. Then sprinkle the surface of the cake batter with coconut. Bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the surface springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then while wearing oven mitts, push base of tin upwards from bottom to release tart from sides of pan. You may want to use a spatula to also slide the tart off the base onto your serving plate; however, if it starts to break apart, the nearly invisible base of the flan pan enables you to use it for service with little consequence to your presentation.