Solstice Tart

It was the first Sunday in December, the low winter sun shone brightly and illuminated the hills overlooking my two up, two down semi. The day before my dining partner and I helped a local charity flog mulled wine at a Victorian Market in the local County Town. An added bonus of a great event was seeing one of my best mates and his parents during the course of Market. All three were on good form.

After the Dogg and I had been our usual walk, she chose to curl up on the sofa while I focused on a festive cookery project. On the player for this one was Rod Stewart's 1984 blockbuster "Camouflage". If you're a child of the eighties with a soft spot for albums driven by synths and top-heavy drum kits, then this record is right up your street. It contains a massive hit in the form of "Some Guys Have All the Luck" as  well as a stonking cover of Free's 1970 blockbuster "All Right Now". Admittedly the record is not up there with his early classics such as "Never a Dull Moment" or "Gasoline Alley" but it still packs a punch.

I had not made a pudding for a time and recalled a recipe for a Mincemeat Tart that my mum had discovered some five years previously. The recipe is essentially a giant Mince Pie which, instead of being topped by pastry, is topped by a sheet of Marzipan.

The ingredients are as follows:

For the Shortcrust Pastry:

13 ounces of Plain Flour.
6.5 ounces of Unsalted Butter.
2 tablespoonfuls of Almond Milk.

For the filling:

One large jar of Mincemeat.
The juice juice of one Orange.
One teaspoon of Nutmeg.
One teaspoon of Cinnamon.
One teaspoon of All Spice.

For the topping:

One pound of ready to roll Marizapan.

The method to make this one is:

1. Put the Flour in a mixing bowl and add the Butter after first cutting it into small cubes.

2. Rub the Flour and Butter in until it resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Gradually add the Almond Milk and stir it in.

4. Knead the Pastry into a ball and then roll it out until it forms a circle nearly a foot in width.

5. Use the Pastry to line a greased pie dish around a foot in width and three centimetres deep.

6. Add the Mincemeat, Spices and Orange Juice to the pie dish and spread them about evenly using a butter knife.

7. Roll out the Marzipan so that it is flat enough to cover the top of the pie dish.

8. Place the rolled Marzipan on top of the pie dish so that it covers the filling and the edges join with the pastry. Use any spare Marzipan to make a decorative pattern on the top of the Tart.

9. Cook the Tart for 35 minutes on Gas Mark 5.

When the Tart came out of the oven it was slightly browned on top, a little like a Simnel Cake, and it was steaming. During the week I indulged in it as a superb comfort food; it helped take the edge off the short days and surplus darkness. The spices and the Orange coupled with the Mincemeat served to re-ignite positive memories of classic Christmas Holidays. The Marzipan meanwhile reminded me of Christmas Cakes that my Gran used to make, for Christmases long since gone, before she began her slow walk into the sunset.

Cross o' the Pan- the extra Marzipan made an excellent star-crossed pattern atop the Tart.