I am always looking for ways to use up leftovers. Due to the excessive amount of Christmas cakes I have been making for my cookery lessons I have ended up with coupe of half eaten fruit cakes. One is last year’s vintage and one that was made just a few weeks ago.
Both cakes are utterly delicious but in very different ways. The mature cake is rich, dark and heavily Brandy laden after months of ripening beautifully in a dark toy cupboard. The most recent cake is fragrantly fruity and plump with Sherry with the added crunch of dried figs.
Having also taught a class how to make mince pies recently, I also happened to have some leftover pastry sitting in the fridge and that is how this recipe came to me one evening. Think mince pie made with Christmas cake and not mincemeat and filled with a classic egg and cream mixture and a touch of sugar. These are my Christmas Cake Tarts.
The result was something that resembles a cross between a bread and butter pudding and a custard tart. I did top them with nutmeg, my favourite spice of the moment, hence the reminder of those bright yellow, brown speckled treats from the baker’s shop of the 70s.
If you happen to have any leftover Christmas cake or indeed Christmas pudding then this could provide you with the perfect way to use up them up. They are even better served with whipped Brandy cream or Brandy custard. They also freeze very well too.
I am entering these festive tarts into One Ingredient, hosted by my partner Nazima at Franglais Kitchen. The theme this month is Fruits of the Vine.
I am also ending it over to Credit Crunch Munch this month guest hosted by Sarah at Dinner with Crayons. The challenge is run by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All.
These tarts also fit with Tea Time Treats hosted by Karen at Lavender & Lovage and Kate at What Kate Baked. This month the theme is Dried fruits.
Christmas Cake Tarts
Ingredients
- For the pastry 🙂
- 120 g Plain flour
- 60 g Unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp Cold water
- For the tarts 🙂
- 100 g Christmas cake or pudding crumbled
- 150 ml Double cream
- 2 Eggs whisked
- 1 tbsp Caster sugar
- Nutmeg for topping
Instructions
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For the pastry 🙂
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Place the flour and butter into a bowl and using your fingertips mix together until you achieve fine breadcrumbs,
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Add in 2tbsp cold water and bring the mixture together until it forms a ball of dough. You may need to add up to 4tbsp of water, adding it bit by bit to prevent the dough becoming too wet,
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Once the pastry has come together, wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour before rolling it out.
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For the Christmas Cake Tarts 🙂
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Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees,
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Butter a 12 hole bun/muffin tin,
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Roll out the pastry and using a cutter, cut out circles of pastry large enough to fit snugly into the bun/muffin tins,
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Press the circles of pastry firmly into the bun/muffin tin making sure it comes fully up the sides so that the egg mixture will remain in the part cases and not escape,
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Add the crumbled Christmas cake into the pastry shells,
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Whisk the eggs together with the cream and sugar in a jug and then pour the mixture equally over the 12 tarts,
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Top with a sprinkling of nutmeg,
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Bake in the oven for 20 minutes,
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Serve with plenty of cream or custard, preferably laced with Brandy.
THANKS so much for this FABULOUS entry into Tea Time Treats and what little festive treats they are too Laura! LOVE the photo too! Karen
Thanks Karen, love finding ways to use up leftover cake, have so much here already!
LOVE this idea! Can’t wait to try it out on my Italian family as we don’t have mince pies here in Italy!
These are a lovely alternative and more custardy than a regular mince pie but just as good I think!
Oh how wonderful. Pass one this way, I need a treat right now. This miserable weather and dark is getting me down : (
I know Jac, need a few of these to get through the dark days for sure!
I love the idea of these.
I love the idea of a cross between bread and butter pudding and custard tarts, these look yummy.
Thanks Andrea, I do love the eggy custard bit best!
What a great recipe Laura, wish I’d had it years ago. For years I would buy a small Christmas Pudding as only myself and my son like dried fruit and every year it would go unused as we were always too full after a roast to eat it! Thank you for entering Credit Crunch Munch:-)
Well let’s hope that these tarts will be enjoyed by many friends & family this Christmas Camilla!
So pretty Laura and I bet they’re delicious. I love finding creative ways to use up leftovers so these are ideal. Those snowflakes have got me in a right festive mood 🙂
Thanks Katie, I love being able to get all frosty and silvery with decorations on my photos!
What a gorgeous little recipe! I’m trying to convince myself that Christmas food (pudding, mince pies, mincemeat) are something I should like and these look like the perfect place to start!
I remember you saying you aren’t too keen on all the festive flavours. I think I like how old the recipes taste, with all the spice and the rich indulgent fruits it reminds me of the history of food and tradition.
This is a great way to use up some leftovers and turn them into something delicious! Very festive!
Thanks Amy, always good to put leftovers to good use. There will be plenty after Christmas as there predictably is!
What a great idea. They look delicious and festive. I love the sound of the texture – cakey and crumbly and moist. xx
Thanks Anneli, yes indeed. The custard mixture along with the crisp pastry does work wonders on leftover cake!
What a great idea. These sound delicious and look like a great festive alternative to mince pies. I have four rather ancient christmas puddings lurking in the back of the cupboard. Perhaps I should unearth them!
you rally should. Why not make a large version of these and use a cake up in one fell swoop!
They look so good Laura – and I have some leftover fruit cake looking for a use…
I hope you do give them a try, think you will be happy with the results 🙂
These sound delicious, what a good idea! I love the sound of figs in this years Christmas cake – I put prunes in mine this year, thought they would have an affinity with all that brandy!
So right, love prune & armagnac ice cream. In fact I love all dried fruits and adding in spices and Brandy only makes them taste better!
I’m always looking for ways to use up the inevitable leftover Christmas pudding and this seems like a great idea !!
These are so clever – I never would have thought about trying this but now I really want to =)
What an inspired idea! A perfect way to use the leftovers and appeal to all those non- mince pie lovers out there. Hope the classes are going well? I’m sure they must be super popular!
Thanks Kate, love thinking of ways to use things up. Always make afar too much at Christmas, don’t we all!
Fantastic idea, great to see an alternative to mince pies! Thanks for entering into CCM.
Yes Sarah, great to enter CCM at Dinner with crayons too 🙂
Clever idea Laura. REally pretty too. I like the idea of using up old cake like this. I wonder if it would work with pudding equally well?