Moorland Tart

This Moorland Tart recipe is from Derbyshire and is very quick and simple to make, with only a few ingredients. You can make smaller, individual tarts or one larger tart. This dessert was often a ‘go to’ tart when ingredients in the larder were low or a quick and simple tart was called for.

Moorland Tart Recipe

Makes 12 small tarts or 1 large one

Recipe Ingredients:

For the pastry

• 150g plain flour (sifted)
• 40g sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 70g butter (softened)
• 3 tsp cold water

For the filling

• 3 Eggs (hard boiled)
• 100g butter
• 100g sugar
• 100g candied citrus peel
• 100g currants
• 1tsp grated nutmeg

Recipe Method:

Sieve the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar. Cut the softened butter up into small dice and rub the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (you could do this in a food processor). Add the cold water to the flour mixture, (you might not need all of it) and, using the back of a blunt knife, mix the water into the flour, using your hands at the end to firm up the pastry mixture. The pastry should be of an even colour, firm (but not tough) and at a consistency for easy rolling. Put the pastry in the fridge for 20 minutes wrapped in cling film.

Hard boil the eggs in a saucepan of boiling water for 8 minutes, remove and allow to cool. Shell the eggs when cooled.

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease a shallow tart tin/plate or a 12 hole individual tart tin with butter.

After chilling the pastry roll it out to about 5mm thick. If making one large tart use the tart tin/plate as a guide to cut the circle of pastry needed for the base. If making smaller, individual tarts use an appropriate sized pastry circle cutter. Line the base of the tin with the pastry base.

In a small saucepan gently melt the butter and sugar for the filling, then add the candied peel, currants and nutmeg. Mix together. Then mash with the back of a fork the hard boiled eggs so they are in small, fine pieces and add to the saucepan. Mix all these ingredients to form a spread and then spoon into the pastry case bottom in the tart tin.

Put the tart tin into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve the Moorland Tart warm or cold.