Hi! Welcome to my blog. I am a major foodie, with a haphazard cooking philosophy, currently making that transition from cooking and baking for friends and family to 'wonder if I could make this my career'. Follow me for recipes, the outcomes of a few experiments, and general lovely foodiness. Opinions, reviews and recommendations are all my own.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Congress Tarts

Tonight I wanted to share this recipe for Congress Tarts, as it is something that I make quite often at home just as a day-to-day bake. Gary asked me to make them many years ago, as they are something he remembers fondly from his childhood as a treat that his Mum used to make, I personally had never heard of them, but none-the-less can confirm that they are delicious! Somewhat of a cross between a macaroon (of the English coconut-y variety, not French) and a Bakewell Tart is probably the best way to describe them. I wonder how many other people are out there like me who have never heard of these classically British tea time treats - you are missing out if you are one of them... trust me.

Congress Tarts
Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry;
  • 250g plain flour
  • 125g butter
  • pinch of salt
  • 100ml ice cold water

For the filling;
  • 225g golden caster sugar
  • 225g ground almonds
  • 1 1/2 tbsp semolina
  • 3 egg whites
  • 60g dessicated coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond essence
  • zest of one lemon
  • 4 tbsp raspberry jam
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease a 12 hole muffin tin.

To make the pastry, sift the flour into a large bowl, and mix in the salt. Cube the butter and rub into the flour to produce a fine crumb like texture. Add the water a tbsp at a time. I have quite warm hands, so use a fork for this stage to stir the water through the mixture, and add a small amount at a time until the pastry starts to ball up. I usually do not have to use the full amount of the water. Once the pastry starts to ball, use your hands to gather the mixture together and shape the dough into a ball.
Roll out the dough, and cut out circles to line each of the holes in the muffin pan. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and spread the raspberry jam between each of the tarts.


In a large bowl, combine the sugar, ground almonds and semolina. Whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy but still runny. Pour into the almond mixture. Add the coconut, lemon zest and almond essence and mix well.

Take a spoonful of the mixture at a time,, shape it into a ball, and press into a pastry tart.





Place in the oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown on top, and the pastry is cooked underneath. Remove from the oven, and release the tarts from the tin and place on a cooling rack.


Enjoy these little treats with a hot cup of tea. The almond-y coconut macaroon filling will be crisp on top, but light and chewy in the middle, sitting on top of the sweet layer of raspberry jam, and all encased in a golden shortcrust pastry. A perfect snack for elevenses... or afternoon tea... or when you get in from school/work... or a midnight snack... heck, they'll do just about anytime! 

7 comments:

  1. I've never heard of these either but they look like the sort of thing that we would like and also easy to make. Thanks for the recipe :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Jen I hope you enjoy them :-) Let me know how you get on x

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  2. You had me at almond and coconut! These do sound like a perfect snack. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

    Rowena @ rolala loves

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rowena you are so welcome! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! (this batch has already disappeared!)

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  3. Hi, I've nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award... http://thebakingexplorer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-versatile-blogger-award.html

    The tarts look yummy!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you thank you thank you! That's amazing :-) I'm over the moon :-) x

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  4. I had a Congress Tart today & hadn't heard about them before, so I did some research & found your blog. It's awesome !

    ReplyDelete

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