CHRISTMAS TART

Preparation 45 minutes, plus chilling Cooking about 50 minutes Serves 4-6 Serve this rich, buttery tart with custard or vanilla ice cream. You can make it up to two days ahead and warm through when you’re ready to serve.

FOR THE PASTRY 130g butter at room temperature 90g icing sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 medium egg, beaten 250g plain flour FOR THE FILLING 1 large apple, coarsely grated 100g each of raisins and dried cranberries 80g pecans 80g candied peel 60ml cognac 50g butter 90g soft light brown sugar icing sugar, for dusting

1 Put the butter and icing sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until soft and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then the egg until smooth. Using a fork or wooden spoon, mix in the flour until it forms a dough. Knead briefly until smooth, then flatten into a disc. Wrap in clingfilm and chill until it is firm enough to roll out – this may take a while as it is a fairly soft dough. 2 Roll out the pastry into a circle with a depth of 2-3mm and use it to line an 18cm diameter flan tin – you might find it easier to roll it out between two sheets of baking parchment, but you can patch up any cracks or holes with the trimmings. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Trim away the excess pastry with a sharp knife. Chill for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes. 3 Re-roll the trimmings and cut out 15-20 small star shapes. Arrange on a baking sheet and chill. 4 Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. Line the pastry with a circle of crumpled baking parchment and a layer of baking beans. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the sides of the pastry have set. Remove the paper and beans, and continue baking for about 5 minutes until the base feels dry and sandy to the touch. Cook the stars for 5 minutes then set aside on their baking sheet. 5 Meanwhile, put the grated apple, raisins, cranberries, pecans, peel, cognac, butter and brown sugar in a pan and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Spread the mixture evenly in the tart case. Bake the tart for 25 minutes, then arrange the stars on top. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes until cooked through and golden. Cool the tart in its tin on a wire rack. To serve, remove from the tin and dust with icing sugar.