The tart and the tea ring are key features in any afternoon tea session worth its salt.
The tart is a type of pastry with an open top and is eaten as a desert. The fillings consist of fruit, custard, jelly or nuts, baked in a pastry shell.
It is often dusted in sugar, topped with ice cream or whipped cream and has a soft filling.
The tea ring tends to be, traditionally, a circular pastry that have a number of fillings. For example, the Swedish tea ring is usually filled with cinnamon, brown sugar, and lightly dusted with icing sugar.
To continue our afternoon tea week, here are four vintage recipes, guaranteed to make you reach for the flour and sugar.
Cooking time: 25-30 mins. Preparation time: 20 mins.
Main cooking utensil:9-inch ovenproof plate Oven temperature: 400-425°F. — Gas Mark 6-7 Oven position: centre
For 4-6 portions you need:
- 8 oz. flour, self-raising or plain
- Pinch salt
- 2 oz. margarine
- 2 oz. lard
- 2 tablespoons cold water
For the filling:
Can of blackberry pie filling
Fruit pie filling is thickened to keep pastry crisp, but if using fresh fruit, sprinkle pastry with little flour and sugar before putting on fruit
1. Sieve flour and salt, rub in fat until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add water to make a firm dough.
3. Roll out on floured board, line plate, trim and decorate edges, see Cards 1,2, 3 and 4.
4. Prick base with fork, see Card 2.
5. Spread the pie filling over the pastry.
6. Re-roll pastry trimmings, cut narrow strips, twist over filling, damping ends so they stick in position.
7. Bake for time and temperature given; lower heat after 20 minutes if necessary.
TO SERVE: Hot or cold with custard or cream.
TO VARY: Use jam in place of fruit pie filling.
© Copyright Paul Hamlyn Ltd 1967
Cooking time: 30 mins. Preparation time: 15 mins. allow for ‘proving’, etc. Main cooking utensil: baking sheet Oven temperature: hot 425-450°F —Gas Mark 7 Moderate, 375°F – Gas Mark 4-5
Oven position: just above centre
For 12 portions you need:
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 oz. fresh yeast or 1/2 oz. dried yeast
- 1/2 pint milk
- 1 lb. flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 egg
- 1 lb. red dessert apples, cored and sliced
To decorate:
4-6 oz. sieved icing sugar
1 1/2 dessertspoons water
1 oz. angelica
1. Cream the sugar and yeast together, and add a little warm milk.
2. Sieve flour and salt into a warm bowl, make a well in the centre.
3. Pour in yeast mixture, oil and egg and sufficient warm milk to make a pliable dough and knead thoroughly.
4. Put aside to ‘prove’ for about 1 hour in a warm place until the dough has doubled its size.
5. Knead again and form into a ring, put on tin, or make two small rings.
6. ‘Prove’ again for about 20 minutes in a warm place.
7. Mark the dough around the sides with a knife and insert slices of apple, leaving the red skin on.
8. Bake for time and temperature given, lowering heat after 16 minutes.
9. The ring should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
10. When cold, coat the top with glace icing made by blending icing sugar and water, decorate with chopped angelica.
TO VARY: Add little spice to flour.
© Copyright Paul Hamlyn Ltd 1967
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Chilling time: 2 hours
Servings: 4 to 6
- 1 x 9″ (23 cm) flan case, made with RICH BISCUIT CRUST PASTRY or shortcrust pastry, baked blind and cooled
- 1 1/2 cups CREME PATISSIERE
- 1 1/4 cups lemon jelly (gelatin), cooled until at setting point
- 6 oz. (170g) black grapes, seeded and sliced in half 1 banana, thinly sliced and sprinkled with 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- Half fill the prepared flan case with crème patisserie.
- Place flan in refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill.
- Remove from refrigerator and pour over half of lemon jelly.
- Return to refrigerator and allow to set.
- Remove from refrigerator and cover with a layer of fruit and pour over the remaining jelly.
- Return to refrigerator until completely set.
- Remove flan from refrigerator.
- Arrange bananas slices around the edge of the flan case as illustrated and serve immediately.
© Copyright Marshall Cavandish
Preparation time: 15 minutes plus overnight standing
Cooking time: 1 1/4 hours
Special equipment: 9in/23cm or 2 1/4 pint/ 1 1/2 litre ring tin
Calories per serving: 530
- 12oz/350g mixed dried fruit
- 6oz/17 5g Demerara sugar
- 3/4 pint/275ml cold tea
- 10oz/300g self-raising flour
- 1 large egg
- 4oz/100g icing sugar
- 1/2 oz/15g flaked almonds
- 6 glace cherries
1.Put the mixed dried fruit, sugar and cold tea in a large bowl. Mix well then cover the bowl and leave in a cool place overnight.
2. Next day, sift the flour into another bowl. Beal the egg and stir it into the flour with the dried fruits and tea mixture and beat to make a smooth thick batter.
3. Turn the batter into a well-greased 9in/23cm or 2 1/2 pint/1 1/2 litre ring tin.
4. Bake the cake in a moderate oven (350°F/ 180C, gas mark 4) for about 1 1/4 hours or until well risen and firm to the touch and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.
5. Turn the cake out of its tin on to a wire rack to cool.
6. Mix the icing sugar with a little cold water to make a thick coating icing and pour it over the cake, letting it drip and run down the sides. Decorate with the flaked almonds and glace cherries.
To store: Store the cake in an airtight tin. It freezes well, but freeze without the icing and allow to thaw for about 6 hours before adding the icing.
Cook’s tip: Although the usual mixture of dried fruit is sultanas, raisins and currants, you can add other dried fruits. Dates, dried apricots, mixed candied peel, chopped dried apples, pears and bananas can all be used just as long as the final weighed amount is 12oz/350g.
© Copyright Hamlyn Publishing Company Ltd
