Ingredients
For the filling:
175ml milk
50g caster sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
For the pastry:
400g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
300g butter, very cold and cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
100g caster sugar
1 large free range egg, beaten
1 tbsp ice-cold water
For assembly:
2 x 400g jar of mince meat
60g dark brown sugar
To serve:
1 tsp cinnamon
5 tbsp icing sugar, to dust
Method
For the pastry, put the flour and the butter into a mixing bowl and using your fingertips, lightly rub them together until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar and then make a well in the centre. Add the beaten egg and cold water, incorporating with a spoon. When the dough comes together, turn out onto a clean work surface and knead lightly just until it forms a ball, then divide in two. Press into a flat circle, wrap in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 mins.
Meanwhile prepare the custard filling. Place the milk in a suacepan, gently heat untill just boiling, then remove from the heat.
Whisk the caster sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until they are pale and then mix through the cornflour and vanilla. Slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking untill its all incorporated.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and simmer over a low heat, whisking for 2-3 mins until thickened. Remove from the heat and rub the top with a little butter to prevent a skin forming, allow to cool and cover with cling film.
Preheat oven to 200C
Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface to approx 3mm in thickness. Using a 10cm fluted cutter, cut out 24 rounds and place into a muffin tray. (12 from each ball)
Add one heaped tablespoon of mince meat to each tart case (leaving approx 1-2cm of pastry free of mince meat and place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Top each tart with spoonfuls of custard and sprinkle with dark brown sugar. Using a blow torch carmelise the sugar on top of each tart and allow to cool.
Dust each tart with the icing sugar and cinnamon!
This Recipe was taken from donalskehan.com
