Great Kitchen

Easy Jam Tarts Ingredients: For the pastry: 140g all purpose flour (1 cup) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 TBS butter 2 1/2 TBS lard 3 to 4 tablespoons of ice water You will also need: jam to fill them (I used apricot, cherry, plum and strawberry) Instructions: First make the pastry. Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Form in to a ball, flatten, wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Have ready some tart tins. I sprayed mine with some canola cooking spray to keep anything from sticking.  As I was using individual tins, I placed them onto a baking sheet. Roll your pastry out, using a floured rolling pin, and on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness.  Using a 2 inch cutter (I used a flower shaped one) stamp our rounds and use t...

PILAVUNA   INGREDIENTS (makes 20-24 Pilavuna) For the Filling  250g grated hellim  250g grated mature cheddar / pecorino / gruyere cheese 2 tbsp dried mint  2 tbsp semolina  1 tbsp baking powder  6 large / 8 medium eggs, whisked well 1 tbsp caster sugar  100g sultanas  Pinch of cinnamon  For the Pastry 750g plain flour  1 egg  2 tbsp yoghurt  100g margarine / vegetable shortening / butter  350ml warm water  1 tsp sugar  1 tsp salt  To Finish     1 whisked egg  10 tbsp sesame seeds 3 tsp nigella seeds 1 tsp aniseed  Method   Mix together all of the filling ingredients and leave to one side (the sultanas will swell up nicely in the moist mixture too, you could prep the filling a couple of hours earlier and just pop in the fridge).  Melt the margarine /  butter in a jug with 100ml boiling water, top up with another 250ml of cold water and add to a large bowl. Add in the w...

Lemon Puff Pastry Ingredients: For the pastry 1 sheet of ready roll all butter puff pastry 1 large free range egg white 2 tsp caster sugar (fine granulated) the juice of 1/2 lemon demerara sugar for sprinkling (turbinado) For the filling: 100g butter, softened (8 TBS) 200g icing sugar, sifted (1 1/2 cups) the finely grated zest of one unwaxed lemon the juice of 1/2 lemon Instructions: Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Line several baking sheets with baking paper.  Set aside. Unroll your puff pastry. Cut it into rectangles roughly 1 inch by 3 inches in size. Place them onto the baking sheets, leaving some space in between each. Lightly whisk together the egg white,  sugar and lemon juice. You don't want it to turn foamy.  Using a pastry brush, brush some of this on top of each piece of pastry, then sprinkle each with some of the demerara sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Don't let it burn, so keep an eye on it. Scoo...

Banbury Cakes ingredients: 500g all butter puff pastry (1 pound) chilled 120g demerara sugar (3/4 cup, turbinado sugar) 60g butter (1/4 cup) 120g sultana raisins (scant cup) 120g Zante dried currants (scant cup) 60g mixed candied peel, finely chopped (1/2 cup) 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 tsp mixed spice (see note) 75g granulated sugar (1/3 cup) instructions: Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/gas mark 6. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.  Set aside. Measure all of the fruit, spices, peel and butter into a bowl along with the demerara sugar.  Mix well together, using your hands, until the mixture begins to clump and you can shape it into balls. Shape into 9 evenly sized balls. Roll the chilled puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to  a 15 inch square, no more than 1/8 inch thick.  Cut into nine 5-inch squares.  Place a ball of fruit filling into the centre of each square.  Bring four corners up over the filling to meet in the middle and pi...