MAKES: 24
EQUIPMENT: 24 individual pie tins or two 12-hole non-stick muffin trays, star-shaped cookie cutter
INGREDIENTS
Fruit mince
500g green cooking apples, such as granny smiths, peeled and diced into 5mm cubes
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
250g (1 cup) butter
350g raisins
225g sultanas
225g (11/2 cups) currants
225g mixed peel
350g brown sugar
50g slivered almonds
25g mixed spice
30g good-quality ground cinnamon 50g brandy
Pastry
1kg (3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
200g caster sugar
40g good-quality ground cinnamon 750g (3 cups) cold butter
110g (approx 2) whole eggs
80g (approx 4) egg yolks
To garnish
Icing sugar
Dried cinnamon myrtle leaves, crushed
METHOD
For the fruit mince, combine all the ingredients except the brandy in a large baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and allow to macerate until the apples have given off their juice and the dried fruit has plumped (ideally overnight). Occasionally turn over the mix with a spoon.
When the dried fruit has expanded, heat the oven to 130˚C (120˚C convection oven), replace the plastic wrap with foil and bake for 2 hours until the mix has darkened but before the diced apple has fully dissolved. Remove from the oven and immediately add the brandy and mix through. Allow to cool, transfer to a clean ceramic or plastic container, seal and refrigerate until needed.
To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on medium speed until well combined, about 3–4 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl and push out any unmixed butter from the paddle. Continue to mix until all the butter is mixed into the dough.
Add the eggs and yolks and mix well until combined, about 1–2 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is cold and hard, about 1 hour. The dough will be light in colour, brittle-looking and crumbly when handled.
Return the bowl to the mixer and mix again with the paddle until the dough is smooth, pliable and has deepened in colour. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, approximately 1 hour.
To assemble the tarts, spray the individual pie tins or the muffin trays with a light film of oil. Preheat the oven to 160˚C.
Dust your benchtop with flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of 3mm. Cut out twenty-four circles 8cm in diameter. Re-roll the pastry and cut out twenty-four stars using the star-shaped cookie cutter.
Carefully line the circles into the tins, pushing any air bubbles out from the bottom. The pastry should extend above the top of the tin – shape this into a ruffle. This decorative feature also makes removing the finished tart from the tin easier. Gently pinch together any cracks in the pastry to create a watertight surface. If the pastry has become warm, refrigerate again until rigid.
Fill the tart cases to the top with fruit mince, around 60g per tart. Apply a pastry star to each tart and sprinkle over a little chopped cinnamon myrtle.
Bake the tarts for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is a deep brown colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the tins, dusting with icing sugar and sprinkling with some extra cinnamon myrtle leaves.
Edited recipe extract from Modern Australian Baking by Christopher Thé, published by Hardie Grant Books.
