I’ve already shared one recipe in this series: my Pink & Green Checkerboard Biscuits, inspired by Rosamund and Posy Li, two of the new characters in Season 4. Today’s recipe is inspired by their mother: Araminta Gun, the Evil Stepmother-esque antagonist of the season, played by Katie Leung (whom you might recognise as Cho Chang from the Harry Potter films!).

Table of Contents

• The Inspiration
• Equipment
• Ingredients
• How to Make Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets
  • Making the Chocolate Shortbread Dough
  • Pressing the Shortbread into the Tartlet Tins
  • Baking the Shortbread
  • Making the Espresso Caramel
  • Making the Ganache
    • Microwave Method
    • Hob Method
    • Serving Instructions
• Recipe

The Inspiration

Araminta Gun is the archetypal ‘Evil Stepmother’; she’s twice-widowed, always wearing black and positively brimming with nefarious schemes. When it came to creating a sweet treat inspired by her character, I immediately thought of some sort of double-chocolate tart (I mean, with that all-black wardrobe, it was kind of a must!): chocolate pastry and a dark, chocolate filling for a super moody, but still sophisticated and elegant treat. I actually received some tartlet tins (these ones, from Lakeland!), for my birthday last year, so I decided to make mini tarts instead of one big tart (one of the best decisions I could have made, as it turns out— more on that in a sec!). I also love making my Bridgerton-inspired recipes feel like they could fit right in at a fancy afternoon tea, so tartlets seemed like the perfect choice.

I absolutely could have made a simple, dark chocolate ganache tart with a chocolate pastry, but I wanted something a little bit more unusual for this recipe. I toyed with a couple of different ideas, but eventually settled on something that I was really excited about: a Millionaire’s Shortbread-inspired, espresso-flavoured tart. If you aren’t familiar with Millionaire’s Shortbread, it’s a super popular treat here in the UK: it’s typically served in bar form (like a brownie or slice) and features a layer of shortbread, a layer of condensed milk caramel and a layer of chocolate.

Money plays a key role in Araminta’s storyline, so the whole ‘millionaire’ vibe seemed like a perfect fit. She’s by no means a sweet character though and Millionaire’s Shortbread is (perhaps infamously) a very sweet dessert, so I wanted something that, along with the darker, double-chocolate element, would tone that sweetness down and speak more to the bitterness of her character: enter, the espresso. Chocolate and coffee is such a classic pairing (it even has a name: mocha!), so this flavour combination isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the tartlets still feel pretty unusual and exciting (while still being absolutely delicious and very palatable)!

While you would usually use pastry for a tartlet, I’ve opted to use a shortbread base here for a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted to stick as closely as possible to a typical Millionaire’s Shortbread. Secondly, the added sweetness of the shortbread compared to a pastry actually works really well in this recipe, because both the espresso and chocolate are, well, not so sweet. Thirdly (and finally), I actually have a bit of a mental block about pastry: I just haven’t been able to master it yet! This shortbread base is SO much easier to work with than a classic shortcrust pastry: it’s really great!

So, in summation: my Araminta Gun-inspired, Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets feature a chocolate shortbread crust, an espresso caramel filling and a shiny, dark chocolate ganache glaze. All of these elements come together to make the slightly more refined, much less sweet cousin of the Millionaire’s Shortbread and, I have to say, they might just be one of my favourite treats yet!

Equipment

As I mentioned, I used these tartlet tins from Lakeland for this recipe. They’re 10cm in diameter, 2cm deep, non-stick and have fluted edges and removable bases.

If you’re able, I really do recommend making this recipe in tartlet form: I’ve tried it in a couple of different formats (bars, bigger tarts etc.) and the ratio of the different layers is just perfect in the mini form! Plus, they slice so beautifully and look so pretty: I might just have to start developing even more tartlet recipes so we can all justify the presence of specialist tartlet tins in our kitchens…

Ingredients

To make these Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets, you will need:

• Caster sugar

I use golden caster sugar here, as I do for most of my bakes, because I think it adds a deeper flavour. If you only have white caster sugar though, that will work absolutely fine!

• Butter

I’m using salted butter here, because the salt really enhances the chocolate flavour and helps to temper the sweetness of the caramel. If you only have unsalted butter to hand, that’s absolutely fine— just add a pinch or two of fine sea salt to both the shortbread and the caramel.

• Plain flour

Don’t be tempted to use self-raising flour here, or your shortbread will puff up too much and you won’t be able to fit the fillings into the tartlet cases!

• Cocoa powder

Cocoa powder is what turns regular shortbread into chocolate shortbread. It is quite a drying ingredient though, so the amount of butter in the shortbread is increased slightly to ensure the dough comes together perfectly.

• Condensed milk

Ah, condensed milk: love of my life, bringer of joy. This is a key ingredient in any Millionaire’s Shortbread and this recipe is no different! It is the main ingredient in the caramel layer.

• Dark muscovado sugar

Typically, Millionaire’s Shortbread recipes use a more neutral sugar in the filling (think light brown soft sugar, light muscovado or even golden caster sugar), but I’ve used dark muscovado here to really enhance the bitter espresso flavour in the caramel and bring a little more depth and darkness to the dessert overall.

• Golden syrup

A small amount of golden syrup is also added to the caramel filling. I find that this helps to give the caramel a smoother, more velvet-y texture.

• Instant espresso powder

Instant espresso powder is the key to getting a really intense, espresso flavour without adding to much liquid to the caramel filling (and it’s readily available in most supermarkets). It is different to instant coffee granules: a bit richer and stronger, so do make sure you get the right product!

• Dark chocolate

Use a high-quality dark chocolate here for the best results— the flavour will really shine through in the finished dessert! You can go as dark as you fancy: I’ve used a 54% chocolate, because I really love the taste, but a 70% one would make for an even more sophisticated flavour.

• Double cream

We’ll melt the cream together with the chocolate to make a rich ganache. If you’re in the US, use heavy cream.

• Glucose syrup (optional)

To make sure the final layer of ganache stays really shiny, even after it’s been refrigerated, I like to add a very small amount of glucose syrup. I have this on hand for a bunch of other baking purposes, but it is a bit of a speciality ingredient. You can substitute golden syrup for the same effect, but I do find that it adds a slightly more intense sweetness to the ganache layer, so you might want to consider using a darker chocolate to balance it out!

• Sea salt

You’ll need to add a little salt to both the shortbread and the caramel if you’re using unsalted butter, just to help all of the other ingredients really shine. I also like to sprinkle the finished tarts with a little flaky sea salt: it’s a really simple decoration but it looks very elegant (and tastes delicious!). I’ve used Fleur de Sel on these tarts, which is extra delicious, but regular sea salt would also be great. Just be sure to sprinkle the salt on just before you serve the tarts, as it can dissolve slightly if it’s left in the fridge, which doesn’t look quite so pretty.

How to Make Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets

These tartlets look complicated, and there are a few different steps you need to work through, but each step is super straightforward! The shortbread crust is SO much easier to work with than a typical pastry (and it’s made entirely in the food processor!), the caramel layer is incredibly forgiving and the ganache is truly just a melt-everything-together situation. Take it step by step and you’ll be absolutely fine!

Making the Chocolate Shortbread Dough

To make the shortbread dough, put all of the dry ingredients (caster sugar, plain flour, and cocoa powder) into a food processor and pulse to combine them. I’m using a mini food processor here, because I was making a smaller batch, but I’d recommend using a standard-sized food processor for the full batch!

This ensures that the cocoa powder is well incorporated and your dough is evenly chocolatey!

Add the cold, diced butter to the dry ingredients.

Then pulse again until a chocolatey dough forms. That’s it!

A couple of tips at this point:

• Make sure your butter is cold and diced.

The cold butter helps to make the shortbread really short (hence the name!) and flaky. Dicing it beforehand means that it will combine more quickly with the rest of the ingredients.

• Don’t be tempted to add water.

Because the butter is cold, the dough will take a bit of pulsing/processing before it comes together. You might start thinking that it’s too dry to form a dough, but it’s not! You don’t need to add any extra liquid/butter, just keep processing it and the dough will form. Trust me!

Pressing the Shortbread into the Tartlet Tins

Unlike pastry, this shortbread can just be pressed into the tartlet tins. No rolling out, no flouring the work surface: just pressing in the dough with your fingers.

Start by lightly greasing each of the tartlet tins with butter. This will help you get the tarts out of the tins later on!

Bring the dough together with your hands, then divide it into 9 equal portions: 1 per tartlet tin. This way, you’ll know exactly how much dough each tartlet requires and you won’t have to worry about over-filling one and under-filling another.

Use your fingers to press one portion of the shortbread into one of the tartlet tins. Aim for an even layer of shortbread across the base and up the sides of the tin, leaving a small amount of overhang at the top edge. This doesn’t need to be perfect, as we’ll smooth everything out later, once the tarts come out of the oven.

Use a rolling pin to roll over the top of each tartlet tin. This will remove the excess shortbread dough and leave a super neat, flat edge on the tartlet shells.

The final step before the tartlet shells can be baked is to prick them all over with a fork. The shortbread will still puff up a little in the oven, but this allows the steam to escape and helps to minimise the puffing, so don’t skip it!

Once all of your tartlet shells are filled with shortbread and ready to go, collect all of the offcuts and bring them together with your hands. These offcuts can be formed into a few little chocolate biscuits, which can be baked alongside the tartlets as chef’s treats. Don’t be tempted to press the offcuts back into the tartlets— you want that extra space for the fillings!

Baking the Shortbread

Arrange the tartlets (and the extra biscuits!) on a baking tray, then bake them in the middle of the oven at 175°C (conventional, not fan) for 12-15 minutes, until the shortbread is puffed and the surface looks dry. If you’re still waiting for your oven to preheat, I’d recommend putting the tartlets into the fridge to keep them nice and cold until you can bake them.

At this point, the shortbread won’t resemble a tart shell. However, while it’s warm, it will be soft enough to manipulate, so you can use a metal dessertspoon/cup measure to gently press down on the base to flatten it back down and against the sides to sharpen them up and make it resemble a tart shell once more. This sounds fiddly, but it’s actually so quick and easy to do (and I would still take it over rolling out pastry!).

Repeat this for all of your tarts, so that you’re left with perfect little cocoa shortbread tartlet shells, ready to be filled! Set them aside to cool slightly while you make the espresso caramel filling.

Making the Espresso Caramel

I know, I know, the word ‘caramel’ can send even the most confident of bakers into a spiral, but I promise, this one’s easy! No sugar thermometers, no convoluted temperature tests, just everything in a pot and a bit of light stirring.

I like to use a saucepan with a pouring spout for this, because it makes it super easy to pour the hot caramel into the tartlet shells when it’s ready. If you have one, I’d definitely recommend it.

Place the butter, condensed milk, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup into the saucepan and set it over a low heat.

Stir the mixture every now and then until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

While this is happening, dissolve the instant espresso powder in a splash of hot water and set it aside, ready for later.

Once the mixture is smooth, turn the heat up slightly to medium-low and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. The mixture has a tendency to stick, so you need to stir more frequently at this stage to stop it from burning.

Allow the mixture to boil for a couple of minutes, until it’s nice and thick. I realise this is a little vague, but don’t stress about it: a minute or two of boiling and stirring and you’ll be absolutely fine!

Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the dissolved instant espresso powder until it is completely incorporated.

Adding the espresso at this stage ensures that the coffee doesn’t burn while the sugar boils, which would make everything a little too bitter (and much less tasty!).

With that, the caramel layer is ready! Pour it into the tartlet shells, filling each tartlet about 3/4 full (this is to leave space for the ganache layer later).

Set the tartlets aside at room temperature to cool completely (about 30 minutes to an hour) before making the ganache layer.

Making the Ganache

The final layer of the tarts is a simple, dark chocolate ganache, with the addition of a not-so-secret ingredient to make it extra shiny and help it slice really nicely when served. This ingredient is glucose syrup (also known as liquid glucose). If you can’t find glucose syrup, you can use golden syrup instead (though this has a slightly more intense, caramel-y sweetness, so I would recommend using a slightly darker chocolate to balance this out if you do).

You can make the ganache in the microwave or on the hob. I tend to use the microwave, because it’s so easy!

Microwave Method

Finely chop the dark chocolate, then put it into a microwaveable jug with the cream and the glucose syrup.

Heat this in the microwave on the lowest heat setting in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache.

Hob Method

Finely chop the dark chocolate and place it into a heatproof jug.

Place the cream and glucose syrup into a small saucepan, then set over a medium heat and bring to just below a simmer, stirring frequently to ensure that it does not catch.

Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and leave to sit for a minute.

After a minute, stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache.

Whichever method you use, once the ganache is ready, pour it over the caramel layer on each of the tartlets, filling them right up to the top, so that the ganache is level with the top edge of the shortbread crust. Give the tarts a gentle shake from side to side to smooth out the ganache layer and ensure that it completely covers the caramel layer below.

Transfer the tartlets to the fridge and allow them to chill for at least 2 hours (though they can be stored in the fridge like this for 2-3 days: the espresso flavour will get even more intense the longer they chill!) before serving.

Serving Instructions

When you’re ready to serve the tarts, carefully remove them from their tins. I find the best way to do this is to gently pull the sides of the tin away from the shortbread all the way around to loosen it, then set the tin on a small jar/tin and press down gently on the top edge to release it, making sure to apply any pressure as evenly as possible around the circumference of the tin. Then, hold the tartlet upside down and use a small, sharp knife to pry the base of the tin off the bottom of the tartlet.

Just before serving, sprinkle the tartlets with a little flaky sea salt (I used Fleur de Sel, for extra fanciness!). You can either slice the tartlets into tiny slices (SO CUTE!) or you can serve them whole for extra decadence. If you are slicing them, I recommend using a small, sharp knife and wiping it off in between each cut so that you can see the pretty layers.

Don’t be tempted to sprinkle the tartlets with salt ahead of time, while they’re still in the fridge, because I find that the salt starts dissolving and looks a lot less pretty if you do this.

Recipe

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Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire’s Tartlets

Inspired by the character of Araminta Gun in Bridgerton: Season 4, these tartlets feature a chocolate shortbread crust, an espresso caramel filling and a shiny, dark chocolate ganache layer, all topped off with a sprinkling of sea salt.

Course Dessert

Keyword Caramel, Chocolate, Espresso, Millionaire’s Shortbread

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Chill Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 9 tartlets

Equipment

• 9 x 10cm diameter tartlet tins

Ingredients

For the chocolate shortbread:

• 75 g caster sugar
• 225 g plain flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 180 g salted butter, cold and diced, plus extra for greasing (see Note 1).

For the espresso caramel layer:

• 100 g salted butter (see Note 1).
• 1 x 397g can condensed milk
• 100 g dark muscovado sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in a splash of hot water.

For the ganache layer:

• 90 g dark chocolate, finely chopped (see Note 2).
• 180 ml double cream
• 1/2 tsp glucose syrup (see Note 3).

To finish:

• Flaky sea salt (I used Fleur de Sel, but any sea salt would work).

Instructions

Make the chocolate shortbread tartlet shells:

• Preheat the oven to 175°C (conventional oven, not fan). Grease 9 tartlet tins lightly with butter and set aside.
• Place all of the shortbread ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a dough forms (this will take a bit of time— just keep processing and it will come together! Don't be tempted to add any water.).
• Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and finish bringing it together with your hands. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions, one for each tartlet tin.
• Press a ball of dough into one of the tartlet tins, aiming to get an even layer of shortbread right across the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Leave a small amount of overhang at the top of the tin, then use a rolling pan to roll over the top of the tin to remove the extra dough and leave a super neat edge. The dough offcuts can be used to make a few little chocolate biscuits that can be baked alongside the tartlets.
• Prick the dough on the base of each tartlet all over with a fork, then bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the surface looks dry (the shortbread will still puff up quite a bit, but that's okay— we'll fix it in the next step!).
• As soon as the tartlet shells come out of the oven, use a dessertspoon/metal cup measure to gently press the shortbread down on the base and around the sides. The shortbread will still be quite soft when it's warm, so you can easily reshape it to make the perfect little tart shells.
• Leave the tarts to one side to cool slightly while you make the caramel layer.

Make the espresso caramel layer:

• Place the butter, condensed milk, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan (preferably one with a pouring spout, if you have one). Set over low heat and stir every now and then until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
• Turn the heat up slightly to medium-low and allow the mixture to boil, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes, until thick.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the dissolved instant espresso powder until completely incorporated.
• Pour the hot caramel into the tartlet shells, filling each tartlet about 3/4 full (you need to leave room for the ganache layer). Set the tartlets aside at room temperature to cool completely (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).

Make the ganache layer:

• Once the tartlets are completely cool, make the ganache layer. Place all of the ganache ingredients into a microwaveable jug and heat on the lowest setting in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache. If you don't have a microwave, bring the cream and glucose syrup to just below a simmer in a saucepan, then pour over the chopped chocolate, leave to stand for a minute, then stir until smooth.
• Pour the ganache onto the cooled tartlets, filling them right up to the top, so that the ganache sits level with the top of the shortbread crust. Give the tarts a gentle shake from side to side to make sure the ganache layer is smooth and completely covers the caramel layer below.
• Transfer the tarts to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. The tarts can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days, so you can make them ahead of time (the espresso flavour will also get more intense as they chill).

To serve:

• Carefully remove the tartlets from their tins. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and serve.

Notes

1. You can use unsalted butter instead: use the same amount but add a pinch or two of fine sea salt.
2. I used a 54% dark chocolate, which isn’t super dark, but works really well with the other flavours. If you want a slightly more bitter, intense flavour, use a darker chocolate (a 70% would work well!).
3. Adding a small amount of glucose syrup to the ganache makes it super shiny and helps it slice really nicely. Glucose syrup is a bit of a specialist ingredient though so, if you don’t have it to hand, you can use golden syrup instead. Golden syrup has a slightly more intense, caramel-y flavour and sweetness, so, if you do this, so you might want to consider using a darker chocolate to balance it out.

Mince pies are a quintessential Christmas treat here in the UK and, while you can buy a variety of ready-made ones from shops all over the country this time of the year, nothing quite beats a homemade version. Today, I’m sharing my family’s recipe for this festive snack!

Table of Contents

• Mince Pies: Explained
• A Note on Mincemeat
  • Homemade Mincemeat
  • Shop-Bought Mincemeat
  • Vegetarian Mincemeat
• Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
  • Ingredients
  • Method
• Making the Mince Pies
  • Make-Ahead
• Recipe

Mince Pies: Explained

If you’re not familiar with mince pies (and are currently feeling slightly uneasy because you’re imagining some sort of meat-based, mince-y filling), let me quell your fears: mince pies are small, sweet pastries, filled with a spiced, dried fruit filling. No meat at all! The filling is known as ‘mincemeat’, and you can buy it in jars from the supermarket, or make your own at home. Every filling is a little different, but it’s typically a mixture of dried and fresh fruit, along with sugar, spices, suet and some sort of alcohol (usually brandy). You can’t really taste the alcohol— it’s mainly there to preserve the filling, so it can be sold and kept in jars, like a jam or chutney.

The type of pastry used also varies: typically, a shortcrust pastry is used, but new variations are always popping up— I’ve seen mince pies made using puff pastry, and even filo pastry! In this recipe, I’m using a homemade, sweet shortcrust pastry that is super quick and easy to make.

A Note on Mincemeat

For this recipe, you can either use homemade mincemeat, or bought mincemeat— it’s entirely up to you! I love making my own mincemeat, but I often use shop-bought mincemeat too. It’s up to you and whatever suits your budget/time constraints.

Homemade Mincemeat

If you choose to make your own, I absolutely love this recipe from Delia Smith. It’s delicious made as written, but it’s also a great starting point for trying out new variations and flavour combos. For example, this year, I opted to replace some of the currants and mixed peel with an equal weight of dried cranberries, for an extra festive touch! I make my mincemeat around October-time, then pack it into sterilised jars, add a wax circle on top and store them in the back of the cupboard until mince pie season arrives, so I’m totally prepared.

Shop-Bought Mincemeat

As I mentioned before, there are hundreds of different mincemeat fillings available, each with different fruit combinations, different spices, different additions and alcohols (the list goes on…). Good quality mincemeat will inevitably taste better (and make for better mince pies), but the rest is up to you and your personal tastes! Try a few and find out what you like. Also, remember that you can add extra things to ready-made mincemeat to make it extra special: trying adding orange zest, dried cranberries, more alcohol— whatever you fancy.

Vegetarian Mincemeat

While we’ve already established that mincemeat does not actually contain minced meat, it does traditionally contain suet. Suet is an animal fat, so traditional mincemeat is not vegetarian-friendly. However, you can buy vegetable suet, which is made from vegetable fats instead and can be used as a direct substitute for regular suet. In fact, I always use vegetable suet when making my own mincemeat, so that I know my mince pies will be safe for any vegetarians.

If you’re planning to buy your mincemeat and you want your mince pies to be vegetarian-friendly, just make sure you buy vegetarian mincemeat!

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Now we’ve covered the mincemeat, we can get on with the pastry.

This is a slightly unusual recipe for shortcrust pastry, but it’s what we’ve always used in my family and it is really delicious, tender, flaky and, most importantly, super easy to make!

Ingredients

For this pastry, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Plain flour

Also known as all-purpose flour. Don’t use self-raising flour, because you don’t want the pastry to rise.

• Icing sugar

This adds sweetness to the pastry, which works well with the rich filling.

• Stork

Okay, this one’s a bit of a curveball ingredient, but it works! Stork is a baking margarine here in the UK, which I usually only use for cake batters (because it makes such a moist, fluffy cake). However, using it in this pastry makes it super soft and tender and delicious. It also means the pastry comes together really easily, because Stork is softer than regular butter. If you don’t want to use Stork, or can’t find it, you can use regular unsalted butter instead (just be aware that the pastry will take longer to come together).

• Egg yolk

Adding an egg yolk to the pastry gives it a real richness.

• Ice-cold water

The water needs to be ice-cold, to help keep the pastry as cold as possible.

• Lemon juice

Lemon juice helps to keep the pastry short and crumbly, perfect for a mince pie!

Method

To make the pastry, start by sieving together the flour and icing sugar.

Place the dry ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a plastic blade, along with the Stork (using a plastic blade helps to prevent the pastry from becoming tough).

Pulse the ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolk with water and lemon juice.

Add the egg mixture to the food processor, then process everything until the pastry just comes together.

Overworking the dough at this stage will make for tough pastry later, so make sure to stop as soon as the pastry comes together.

Finish bringing the pastry together with your hands, then wrap it in clingfilm and place it into the fridge to chill for at least an hour.

That’s it! Of course, you can make this dough without a food processor too, but the machine makes it even quicker and easier. If you want to do it by hand, I recommend using a fork to mix all of the ingredients together, because the Stork can be quite sticky at first!

Making the Mince Pies

Once your pastry has chilled, you can get on with making the mince pies. Start by preheating the oven to 200°C and lining a 12-hole fairy cake tin with paper cases (the paper cases aren’t exactly traditional, but it makes getting the mince pies out of the tin so much easier!).

Get yourself all set up before you take the pastry out of the fridge. Dust a clean work surface & rolling pin liberally with a little more plain flour and get your cutters ready. You’ll need 2 fluted round cutters (6cm and 7cm diameter) and one small star-shaped cutter (though the latter is optional!).

Take the pastry out of the fridge and cut it into two pieces: one should be about 2/3 of the pastry, one about 1/3. This is because you’ll need more pastry for the bases of the pies than for the lids.

Lightly flour your work surface, then roll out the larger piece of pastry until it is about the thickness of a pound coin. This will seem quite thick, but it’s meant to be.

Using the larger, 7cm cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Re-roll the pastry as needed.

Place one round into each paper case and use your fingers to press them down gently to form a bowl shape.

Add a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry case and set aside.

Now roll out the smaller section of pastry, to the same pound coin thickness. Use the smaller, 6cm cutter to cut out 12 more circles— these will be the ‘lids’.

At this point, I like to use the small, star-shaped cutter to cut a little pastry out of the centre of each lid (kind of like a Jammy Dodger/Linzer cookie). You’ll have to add some holes later on, anyway, and while this can be done with a sharp knife once the pies are assembled, I think you might as well take the chance to add a little extra festive spirit!

Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the bottom pastry cases with a little water, making sure to go all around the edges. This will help the pastry lids to stick.

Place one lid on top of each case and use your fingers to press gently around the edges to seal the pastry together.

If you didn’t cut a shape out of the lids earlier, make sure to cut a couple of slits in the top of each pie at this stage! This will allow any steam to escape.

To finish off the pies, brush a small amount of milk over the top of each one. This will help them to go nice and golden in the oven!

Once all the pies are ready, place them into the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden.

Allow the mince pies to cool slightly, then dust with icing sugar before serving.

The mince pies can be eaten hot or cold. They can also be reheated (in the oven, or even in the airfryer!).

Make-Ahead

You can freeze the unbaked mince pies, so that you can bake them off quickly whenever you need them! To do this, assemble the mince pies in the tray, but don’t brush the tops with milk. Put the whole tray into the freezer for 24 hours, then transfer the frozen pies to a resealable bag (this means you can get your tray back!) to keep in the freezer.

The pies can be baked from frozen— just put them back into the fairy cake tray and bake at the same temperature (200°C). The pies will need a couple more minutes than they would usually, so just keep an eye on them.

Recipe

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Mince Pies

A quintessential Christmas treat, these classic mince pies are made with a quick and easy, homemade, sweet shortcrust pastry.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword Christmas, Mince pie, Mincemeat, Shortcrust pastry

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Chill Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 12 pies

Equipment

• 1 12-hole fairy cake tin
• 12 paper fairy cake cases
• 2 fluted circle cookie cutters, (6cm and 7cm diameter).
• 1 mini star-shaped cutter (optional, see Note 1).
• 1 pastry brush

Ingredients

For the sweet shortcrust pastry:

• 225 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting.
• 50 g icing sugar
• 150 g Stork (see Note 2).
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp ice-cold water
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

For the pies:

• 350 g mincemeat (see Note 3).
• Icing sugar, for dusting.

Instructions

Make the sweet shortcrust pastry:

• Sieve together the flour and sugar and place into the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the plastic blade. Add the Stork, then pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Whisk the egg yolk with the water and lemon juice in a small bowl, then add to the food processor as well.
• Pulse all of the ingredients together until a dough starts to form. Bring the mixture together with your hands, then wrap tightly in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.

Assemble the mince pies:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a 12-hole fairy cake tin with paper cases.
• Take the pastry out of the fridge. Take 2/3 of the pastry and roll out to the thickness of a pound coin. Use the larger, 7cm cutter to stamp out 12 circles and gently press one into each paper case.
• Add a heaped teaspoon of mincemeat into each pastry case.
• Roll out the remaining dough to the same pound coin thickness, then use the smaller, 6cm cutter to cut 12 more circles. Use the star-shaped cutter to cut out a small star from the centre of each circle.
• Brush the edges of the bottom pastry cases with water, then place the smaller circles over the top, using your fingers to press down and seal the edges.
• Brush the top of each pie with a little milk, then bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly, then dust with icing sugar and serve. The pies can be eaten hot or cold (they can also be reheated in the oven/airfryer). They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

Notes

1. I like to cut a star shape out of the centre of each pie, because I think it looks extra festive. If you don’t want to do this, just make sure to use a sharp knife to poke a few slits in the top of each pie, once assembled, to allow any steam to escape.
2. I use Stork for this recipe because it’s what my mum always uses, but you can use diced, unsalted butter if you prefer (just be aware that the mixture will take longer to come together).
3. You can use homemade or store-bought mincemeat for this recipe.

Make-Ahead

Make and assemble the pies, but do not brush with milk. Place into the freezer in the tray and allow to freeze for 24 hours before transferring to a sealable bag. When you are ready to bake them, transfer the frozen pies back to the fairy cake tin and bake (from frozen) at the same temperature. The pies will likely need an extra 2-3 minutes in the oven.

Today’s post is the fourth instalment of my Baking Around the World series, where I (attempt to) bake delicious, sweet treats from around the globe, in an attempt to broaden my foodie horizons! Last year, I tried out two festive cookie recipes: German Mandelhörnchen and Sicilian Pizzicotti (both of which were absolutely delicious!). I wanted to try out more Christmassy cookies this year, so I scoured the internet and picked out two more recipes. First up, we’re heading to India with kulkuls!

A quick Baking Around the World disclaimer before we get into the recipe:

While I have done/will do extensive research for each of the recipes in this series, the recipes are unlikely to be 100% authentic because of differences in ingredient availability, variations within families/regions and multiple other reasons. I'm so sorry if I absolutely butcher your favourite childhood treat (and please let me know in the comments if I have made any unforgiveable errors), but please do give me the benefit of the doubt here- I am just a baker with a serious sweet tooth, trying to broaden her baking (and cultural) horizons through tasty snacks :)

Table of Contents

• Kulkuls: Explained
• Ingredients
• Making Kulkuls
  • 1. Clarifying the Butter
  • 2. Making the Dough
  • 3. Resting the Dough
  • 4. Rolling the Kulkuls
  • 5. Frying the Kulkuls
  • 6. Making the Sugar Syrup
    • Sugar Syrup: Tips & Tricks
    • Making the Sugar Syrup
  • 7. Tossing the Kulkuls in the Syrup
• Storing the Kulkuls
• Final Thoughts
• Recipe
• Sources Used

Kulkuls: Explained

Kulkuls (also known as kidiyos, which means ‘worms’ in Konkani) are deep-fried pastry curls that are a popular Christmas/New Year treat in Goa and Mangalore, as well as among the East Indian Community. They are a key element of a Goan kuswar (a traditional platter of festive sweets) and are often shared with neighbours and gifted to friends and family.

They are made from a simple dough containing fine semolina (or rava), which is rolled into curls, by hand, before cooking. The dough itself is really easy to make, but the rolling is a notoriously involved process, which can take a lot of time if you’re making a big quantity and/or making the kulkuls by yourself. Traditionally, the rolling process is done in groups, with friends or family, to make it go quicker. The same dough is also used to make a variety of treats, characterised by their different shapes: shankarpali (diamond shaped pastries) and kormolas/carambolas (bud-shaped pastries) are the most common.

As with most traditional sweet treats, every family has their own take on the classic recipe. Kulkuls are traditionally made with eggs, though many families choose to omit this ingredient (as have I, in this recipe, because I wanted to make a smaller amount). While not an overly sweet treat, sugar can be incorporated into the kulkuls in a variety of ways: it can be added to the dough itself, the pastries can be dusted with icing sugar once fried, or they can be tossed in a sticky syrup once cool, which hardens and ‘frosts’ the curls in an opaque, white glaze. In my kulkul experiment, I tried all of these methods, so that I could pick my favourite!

Ingredients

As I mentioned above, kulkuls traditionally contain egg, but many recipes omit this ingredient. Because I was making such a small batch, I opted to go down the eggless route.

To make kulkuls, you will need:

• Unsalted butter

Technically, this ingredient should be listed as ‘ghee’, which is what kulkuls are traditionally made with. I didn’t have any ghee, so I substituted it with unsalted butter, which I then clarified (ghee is a type of clarified butter). I’ve listed the full amount of unsalted butter in the recipe, but it’s very important that you don’t skip the clarifying step because a) it will decrease the amount of liquid you’re adding to the dough and b) it will prevent the kulkuls from browning too quickly.

• Plain flour

Traditionally, kulkul recipes use a type of flour called maida. Plain flour (or all-purpose flour) is the most similar product outside of India.

• Semolina

Fine semolina (or rava) is a traditional ingredient in this dough. Apparently, it improves the elasticity of the dough and heightens the crispiness of the finished kulkuls!

• Salt

As with most baked goods, a small amount of salt is added to balance all of the flavours and make the finished product extra tasty.

• Icing sugar

Some kulkul recipes do not contain any sugar at all and instead get their sweetness from a dusting of icing sugar/the hardened sugar syrup they are tossed in. This recipe includes a small amount of sugar (because, as we all know by this point, I love sugar), but it’s not so much that the unglazed/dusted kulkuls are overly sweet.

• Coconut milk

I used coconut milk as the wet ingredient for my kulkuls, because I saw multiple recipes using it and I was hoping that it would impart a slightly coconut-y flavour! Alas, no such flavour was imparted, so I feel you could just as easily use water or regular milk (as many other recipes do).

For the sugar syrup:

Because I like my baked goods sweet, I did something that is probably very ridiculous to traditional kulkul lovers and added a sugar syrup coating to my already sweetened kulkuls. I know, I know, but they just weren’t quite sweet enough for me and I wanted to try out the different variations! I did also try dusting them with icing sugar, but I definitely liked the syrupy coating the best— I loved the slightly chewy texture and extra hit of sweetness it gave!

To make the sugar syrup, you just need two ingredients:

• Caster sugar

Make sure to use a fine, white caster sugar. It will melt more easily and evenly.

• Water

Melting the sugar with water allows you to make a syrup. You’ll also need some water on hand to brush around the edges of the pan, to help prevent the sugar from crystallising.

Making Kulkuls

There are a few steps to making kulkuls:

1. Clarifying the butter (you don’t need to do this if you’re using ghee).
2. Making the dough.
3. Resting the dough.
4. Rolling the kulkuls.
5. Frying the kulkuls.
6. Making the sugar syrup.
7. Tossing the kulkuls in the syrup.

1. Clarifying the Butter

To make the kulkuls, you need to start by clarifying the butter. If you’re using ghee, make sure to use the smaller quantity (as listed in the recipe) and skip this step! Otherwise, place your unsalted butter in a small saucepan over low heat.

Allow the butter to melt, stirring every now and then.

Keep the pan over the heat while the butter starts foaming.

Once the foaming recedes, and the milk solids that have sunk to the bottom have turned brown, remove the pan from the heat.

Strain the butter through a fine sieve, lined with a piece of kitchen roll/a coffee filter, to remove the milk solids.

Discard the solids and you’ll be left with a lovely, clear, clarified butter (ghee!). It will be quite hot at this stage, so set it aside to cool slightly while you get the other ingredients ready for the dough. You need the clarified butter to still be a little bit warm when you use it, so that it is liquid, but not super hot.

2. Making the Dough

To make the dough, start by mixing together the plain flour, fine semolina and salt in a bowl, just to combine them.

Drizzle over the warm, clarified butter and start to mix it in with a fork. I like to use a fork at this stage so my hands don’t get too messy, but you can go straight in with your hands if you prefer.

Once the mixture starts to form little ‘nuggets’, you can switch to your hands and rub the butter into the dry ingredients.

Once the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, it’s ready for the icing sugar.

Add the icing sugar and mix it through (again, I used a fork for this, but you can use your hands).

Finally, add the coconut milk (or water/milk), a little at a time, mixing it in as you go. You might need more/less than listed, so go slowly and add it gradually.

When the dough is ready, it will look a little like this: still slightly crumbly, but clumping together.

Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface, then bring it together with your hands.

Knead the dough a little, until it is soft and elastic. It shouldn’t be sticky, but it also shouldn’t be dry— you’re looking for a nice, pliable sweet spot between the two.

3. Resting the Dough

The dough needs to rest before it is shaped/fried, to help the semolina to soften and the dough to relax (I feel we all need a bit of that, this time of year…).

To do this, place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel. Set the dough aside like this to rest for at least 30 minutes before shaping.

4. Rolling the Kulkuls

Now we come to the most time-consuming part of this recipe: rolling the kulkuls! To do this, you’ll need a piece of rolling equipment. There are a few options for this:

• A kulkul (or gnocchi) rolling board

These boards can be made from wood or plastic, and feature vertical grooves that indent the dough when it is rolled over it. I doubt kulkul rolling boards are exactly the same as Italian gnocchi rolling boards, but I found that gnocchi boards were much more commonly available here in the UK and give a very similar finish. This method was my preference, because I think it gives the best definition and most elegant look to the kulkuls, but it is another speciality utensil that you’ll have to store in your kitchen!

I purchased a wooden gnocchi board to use for this project and it worked well! However, the dough did stick in some places at the start, so be sure to oil the board liberally before you start, then use kitchen roll to wipe off any excess oil before rolling.

• A fine (unused) comb

Many recipes I saw online had a regular, plastic comb that they use to roll the kulkuls on. Obviously, this needs to be a new, unused comb and should be washed thoroughly before it is used for the kulkuls. I didn’t actually try this method, but it seems like a good option.

• A fork

This is the most accessible method, so it’s a great option if you don’t want to go out and buy a new tool for this bake. However, I did feel that the fork-rolled kulkuls looked less polished and pretty than the others, so it wasn’t my favourite method.

To roll the kulkuls, start by pinching off a marble-sized piece of the rested dough. Keep the remaining dough under the damp tea towel, so that it doesn’t dry out.

Use your fingers to spread the dough thinly over the board (or fork/comb, whatever you’re using!). It looks very ugly here, but it won’t later, I promise!

Still using your fingers, gently push up the dough from one end. You’ll be able to see the start of the ridged pattern at this point.

Keep rolling gently, and you’ll eventually be left with a little curl like this! You want to gently press along the seam/join at this stage, so it doesn’t come uncurled when frying. I found the easiest way to do this (without messing up the ridged pattern) was to roll the curl back and forth on the board, pressing down very gently, to seal it.

And there you have it! Your first kulkul! Place it on a tray, lined with baking paper while you make the rest.

Repeat this process until you’ve used up all your dough and have a whole tray of little kulkuls. I made about 75 using the quantities in this recipe, which was more than enough for my fingers to be very tired by the end of all the rolling. If you want to make more, scale up the batch (and definitely enlist some friends/family members to help you out!).

5. Frying the Kulkuls

Once all of your kulkuls are made, you can deep fry them. You don’t want to leave them too long before frying them, because the drier the pastry gets, the more likely they are to uncurl during the frying process, so try to fry them straight away.

You can use a deep fryer for this, or you can just use a saucepan. You’ll need to monitor the temperature of the oil continuously, so, if you’re using a saucepan, be sure to fit it with a candy thermometer.

Because I wasn’t making too many and didn’t mind spending a little extra time frying them in multiple batches, I opted to use a small saucepan for my kulkuls. I added about an inch and a half of flavourless oil to the bottom of the pan and set it over high heat.

Once the oil reaches 180°C, you can add your first batch of kulkuls. I placed about 7 of mine at a time on a metal spider (though you could also use a slotted spoon) and gently lowered them into the hot oil.

They’ll start sizzling immediately, and the oil will bubble up (which is why you don’t want to fill it too full to start with/add too many kulkuls at a time!).

You want to keep the temperature of the oil at 180°C as consistently as you can, so adjust the temperature setting on your hob as needed. Remember that the oil will cool down slightly whenever you add a new batch of kulkuls, before it starts to heat back up again, so don’t worry too much about it.

Once the kulkuls rise to the surface and turn an even, golden colour, you can remove them from the pan using the metal spider/slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate, lined with kitchen roll (to absorb any excess oil). Don’t let the kulkuls get too dark in the oil, because they will continue cooking/browning a little as they sit.

Once the first batch of kulkuls is out, make sure the oil comes back to the right temperature, then add the next batch and repeat the process all over again. Keep going until all of your kulkuls are fried.

At this stage, you can skip the sugar syrup coating and serve the kulkuls as they are, or dust them with a little icing sugar. I, however, prefer them with the sugar syrup coating, so we’ll make that next…

6. Making the Sugar Syrup

Sugar Syrup: Tips & Tricks

Confession time: I have never been able to crack making wet caramel (made with sugar and water). Every SINGLE time I tried, my sugar would crystallise! It was infuriating and, ultimately, I just started making dry caramel (when you just heat the sugar by itself in the pan) whenever I needed to work with sugar. However, with this recipe, the water is actually an important part of achieving the right, syrup-y texture (and plain, white colour, when hardened), so I had to face my fear.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am SO pleased to tell you that (with only 1 failed attempt) I conquered my fear and SUCCESSFULLY made this sugar syrup! I have never been so PROUD. Here’s what I learned:

• Make sure to shake the sugar out into a thin, even layer on the bottom of the pan before you start.

The thinner and more even the sugar layer, the more easily and evenly it will melt, so you are less likely to end up with a dark caramel in some places, with other parts where the sugar has barely melted. Because I was making such a small amount of sugar syrup, I actually made mine in a frying pan, so I had more surface area to spread the sugar over (and easier access for brushing down the edges).

• Cook the syrup over medium-high heat.

This was my biggest mistake: I was so scared of the process that I was always erring on the side of caution and trying to cook the syrup at too low a temperature. A lower temperature makes it more likely to crystallise (though too high a temperature and your sugar will burn, so, again, you want to find the sweet spot). I found that a medium-high heat worked best for this.

• Brush down the sides of the pan liberally with water during the cooking process.

This is something you always hear chefs telling you to do, but I could never get it to work for me! The key is that you want to use a liberal amount of water when brushing down the sides of the pan, and you want to brush the sides down as soon as you see any little sugar crystals there. If you let them cook on and harden, the water won’t be enough to get rid of them.

• Don’t stir!

This is the cardinal rule of sugar work, but I always have to actively stop myself from doing it (I just like to stir— it’s a problem). Stirring the sugar will only encourage it to crystallise, so keep the stirring implements well away from the hob. If you need to help the sugar melt evenly, give the pan a gentle swirl.

Making the Sugar Syrup

To make the syrup for glazing these kulkuls, just put the sugar and water into a large frying pan. Make sure you have some water and a pastry brush at hand too, for brushing down the edges of the pan as needed.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and leave it, undisturbed, until the sugar has melted. If necessary, give the pan a gentle swirl, but don’t agitate the mixture too much!

Once the sugar has melted, let the mixture bubble away for a minute before removing the pan from the heat. Technically, you want the sugar to come to the ‘thread stage’ (about 101-112°C), but with such a small amount, it’s kind of tricky to measure the temperature accurately. If you want to check, drizzle a little of the syrup into a cup of cold water. If it forms little ‘threads’, it’s ready!

7. Tossing the Kulkuls in the Syrup

As soon as you take the syrup off the heat, add the cooled, fried kulkuls and mix well. You want the kulkuls to be completely coated in the syrup, so keep tossing until they are all completely shiny and nicely glazed. Work quickly though, because the syrup will cool down pretty fast and become difficult to work with.

Once the kulkuls are coated, tip the whole lot onto a baking tray, lined with baking paper. Use two forks to separate out the individual kulkuls, so they aren’t touching each other (otherwise they will set stuck to each other, which isn’t a massive problem, but still).

Leave the kulkuls at room temperature for about 10 minutes until cool. As the syrup cools, it will form an opaque, white glaze on the kulkuls, making them appear ‘frosted’. Once cool, the frosted kulkuls can be served!

Storing the Kulkuls

The kulkuls (whether coated in the sugar syrup or not) can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2 weeks, so they can be enjoyed throughout the festive season.

Final Thoughts

I had so much fun learning about and making these kulkuls! It definitely reminded me how much of a sweet tooth I have, because I really did prefer the kulkuls tossed in the sugar syrup (which seems to be a bit of an unpopular opinion, if the recipes online are anything to go by!). I really loved the texture the sugar syrup added though, and I do think that the syrup-coated kulkuls stayed fresher for a bit longer because all of the delicious crispiness was sealed in.

Taste-wise (and this is probably outrageous to say), these really did remind me of Rich Tea biscuits?! If you’re not familiar with these biscuits, they’re basically just a super plain, sweet biscuit, and, honestly, without the glaze, the kulkuls taste very similar. Rich Tea biscuits aren’t deep-fried, but I didn’t feel like the kulkuls had a super deep-fried taste/feel either (actually, they had a similar dryness to a Rich Tea, but this could also very possibly be because of my recipe/technique). I was a little disappointed that you couldn’t taste more of the coconut flavour, but I do wonder if they wouldn’t be so authentic if they tasted like coconut. I did see one recipe that included ground cardamom in the dough, which I think would be really delicious! I’d also be interested to see if kulkuls made with eggs were very different to these ones— I imagine they’d be slightly richer?

Overall, I don’t think these were quite as up my alley as the almond-y cookies from last year’s Baking Around the World, Christmas Cookie adventures, but they were fun to make and eat all the same!

Have you ever had kulkuls before? Did I make them right? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Gemma

xxx

Recipe

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Kulkuls

These traditional Goan pastry curls are deep-fried and coated in a sugar syrup glaze. They are typically served at Christmastime, as part of a kuswar (Christmas sweet platter).

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Deep-fried, Pastry, Semolina, Sugar syrup

Prep Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Resting Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 75 kulkuls

Equipment

• 1 kulkul roller (see Note 1).

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 25 g unsalted butter (or 15g ghee— see Note 2).
• 95 g plain flour
• 35 g fine semolina
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 25 g icing sugar
• 60 ml coconut milk (you may need more/less to get the right consistency).

For frying:

• Flavourless oil

For the sugar syrup (optional):

• 6 tbsp white caster sugar
• 2 tbsp water

Instructions

Clarify the butter:

• If using ghee, skip this step. If using unsalted butter, put the butter into a small saucepan over low heat. Allow to melt, then cook, stirring every now and then, until milk solids separate and begin to brown. Strain through a fine sieve, lined with kitchen roll, and discard sediment. Allow clarified butter to cool slightly, until warm, not hot, before using in dough.

Make the dough:

• Mix together the flour, fine semolina and salt in a bowl.
• Drizzle over the warm clarified butter/ghee, then mix with a fork to incorporate. Switch to your hands and finish rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients. The mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the icing sugar and mix through.
• Add the coconut milk, little by little, until the mixture comes together in clumps and holds together when you press some in your fist.
• Tip the dough onto a clean work surface and bring together with your hands. Knead until a smooth, elastic and soft dough forms.
• Place the dough into a bowl and covered with a damp tea towel. Leave to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Roll the kulkuls:

• Oil the kulkul board liberally, then use a piece of kitchen roll to wipe off any excess.
• Pinch off a marble-sized piece of dough, making sure to keep the remaining dough covered with the damp tea towel while you work.
• Using your fingers, press the piece of dough into a thin layer over the surface of the kulkul roller.
• Working from the bottom of the dough, roll it up on itself to reveal the ridged pattern. To seal the join, roll the kulkul back and forth over the roller a couple of times.
• Place the kulkul on a tray, lined with baking paper, then repeat the process for the remaining dough.

Fry the kulkuls:

• To fry the kulkuls, heat an inch and a half of flavourless oil in a saucepan, fitted with a candy thermometer. Place it over high heat and allow the oil to come to 180°C.
• Gently lower in 6-8 kulkuls (I used a metal spider for this). Be careful, as the oil will bubble up. Keep an eye on the temperature as they cook, and adjust the heat as needed to keep the temperature steady at 180°C.
• When the kulkuls rise to the surface of the oil and are an even, brown colour, transfer them to a plate, lined with kitchen roll. Don't let the kulkuls get too dark in the oil, because the colour will continue to deepen as they sit.
• Repeat the frying process, in batches, for the remaining kulkuls. Once fried, the kulkuls can be served as they are, dusted with icing sugar or, if desired, tossed in a sugar syrup (see below).

Make the sugar syrup:

• If you want to glaze your kulkuls with a sugar syrup, make it after you have fried the pastries, so they have a chance to cool.
• Place the sugar into a frying pan, shaking it out into an even layer, then add the water.
• Place the frying pan over medium-high heat, and allow the sugar to melt, without stirring it. If necessary, give the pan a gentle swirl to help the sugar melt evenly. Brush down the sides of the pan liberally with water as the sugar melts to help prevent crystallisation.
• Once the sugar has melted, allow the syrup to bubble away for about a minute (or until 'thread stage' is reached).
• Remove the syrup from the heat and immediately add the cooled kulkuls. Stir to completely coat the pastries in the syrup, then quickly tip onto a tray lined with baking paper and use two forks to separate out the kulkuls before they set.
• Allow the kulkuls to sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, until the sugar coating is cool and hard— it will turn opaque and white. Serve the kulkuls straight away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

1. A wooden/plastic gnocchi board, a plastic, fine-toothed (new, unused) comb or even a fork can be used for this. 
2. Ghee (a type of clarified butter, commonly used in Indian cooking) is traditionally used for this. If you don’t have any, you can make your own clarified butter by following the instructions in this recipe. If you want to use ghee, make sure to use the smaller amount (15g, NOT 25g). More butter is required because the quantity decreases when it is clarified, due to the water in the butter evaporating/the milk solids being discarded.

Recipe adapted from Aromatic Essence.

Sources Used

Aromatic Essence: Kalkal Recipe | Goan Kulkuls {Eggless}

Maunika Gowardhan: Traditional Goan Kulkuls

Hilda’s Touch of Spice: Kulkuls (Traditional Goan Sugar-Glazed Curls)

Babs Projects: Kulkul | Kidiyo

Celebration In My Kitchen: Carambolas/Kulkuls

Veena Patwardhan: Light, Crunchy Kulkuls Recipe

Veg Recipes of India: Kulkul Recipe | Eggless Kalkal Recipe

Messy Cooking Always Vegan: Vegan Christmas Kulkuls

Today’s post is all about these super tiny (but super tasty), bitesize coffee éclairs! Choux pastry has a bit of a reputation for being difficult, but, after a lot of research and a good number of test batches, I’m pretty confident that I’ve got the hang of it! I have accumulated lots of tips and tricks to ensure perfect éclairs every time, so I’ll be sharing those with you in this post. If you want even more information, I found the éclair tutorial on ironwhisk.com incredibly helpful- it’s an excellent resource (particularly for those who would like a more scientific explanation of things!).

Table of Contents

• Inspiration
• Ingredients
• Making the Choux Pastry
• Whipping the Cream Filling
• Making the Coffee Glacé Icing
• Assembling the Éclairs
• Tips & Tricks for Making Perfect Éclairs
• Bitesize Coffee Éclairs Recipe

Inspiration

There’s been a pretty sizeable gap between the second and third seasons of Bridgerton, so, inevitably, fans of the show have had a lot of time to speculate on the upcoming season- what storylines will play out, what side characters will be involved and, of course, which book scenes will be brought to life. I’ve been keeping a close eye on all the theories, because I am obsessed very excited. While there are a couple of scenes from Romancing Mister Bridgerton (the book that the upcoming season is based on) that have been discussed a LOT (mirror/carriage scenes- I’m looking at you), I’ve also seen a lot of discussion about a certain éclair scene (which, thank goodness, from what I gather, is not sexual…). I thought it would be a fun nod to the source material to include an éclair recipe in this series, so I bit the bullet and resolved myself to master choux pastry. Funnily enough, after only a few attempts, I really feel like I’ve… cracked it?! I’ll share all of my tips and tricks in this post so you too can have deliciously crisp, neat éclairs for your own Bridgerton festivities!

In terms of flavour, much like my Pear and Almond Scones, this was a recipe where I opted to use a family-favourite flavour combination, as opposed to a specific Bridgerton-inspired flavour. Full disclosure: I’ve never been a massive fan of choux pastry… I remember when I was little all of my friends were just obsessed with profiteroles, but I… never really saw the appeal? Then, over lockdown, my mum decided to revisit one of her old favourite recipes, which was for these coffee éclairs and I… loved them. I think it was the first time I’ve ever enjoyed choux pastry and it was life-changing. I figured those coffee éclairs would fit perfectly into my Bridgerton dessert table, so I ran with it. I did, however, mini-fy them, to keep them in line with the whole petit four, afternoon tea vibe (and, yes, so they would fit nicely on the plates I intended to use). I ended up with these ADORABLE, teeny-tiny éclairs which are literally one mouthful. I realise that the tininess is probably not for everyone, so you are absolutely welcome to make regular-sized eclairs with this recipe, if you would prefer (or if you know that working in miniature would drive you CrAzY).

Ingredients

For the choux pastry, you will need:

• Unsalted butter

Don’t use a margarine (like Stork) here- it’s important that you use proper butter to ensure the éclairs have the right structure and flavour. I use unsalted so that I can control the amount of salt in the pastry, but you could use salted, if you prefer (just be sure to omit the additional salt from the recipe).

• Milk

Some choux pastry recipes use milk, while others use water. I find a 50:50 combination of the two creates the perfect look and structure, because the proteins in the milk give the pastry a stronger structure, but also cause the pastry to brown a bit too rapidly. By using half-milk, half-water, you get the best of both worlds!

• Water

One of the liquid ingredients in the pastry- the water helps to control the browning of the éclairs, ensuring that they are perfectly golden and nicely crisp (at the same time!).

• Salt

Whether you choose to add salt yourself for more control (like me), or use salted butter, it’s important that you do include some form of salt in your pastry. You only need a tiny bit, but it plays a big role! The salt not only temper sthe sweetness of the éclairs ever so slightly, it also gives even more structure to the pastry itself.

• Strong white bread flour

Some éclair recipes call for plain flour, but I find that I have much more successful results when using bread flour- the higher protein content gives a crisper, stronger pastry shell.

• Eggs

Much like macarons, choux pastry is very particular in terms of ratios, so I’ve listed the quantity of egg required in grams, rather than on a numerical basis. This is because eggs can vary so much in terms of size and weight, so, to ensure that your choux pastry is the correct consistency and turns out perfectly every time, make sure you weigh your eggs! I recommend cracking the egg into a bowl set over a weighing scale and beating well with a fork to combine the yolk and white. Once everything is combined, you can use the fork to remove some of the egg, little by little, until the correct amount is reached.

To fill and decorate the éclairs, you will also need:

• Double cream

You could also use whipping cream, but don’t use single cream as it won’t whip up enough to hold its shape! If you’re in the US, use heavy cream.

• Icing sugar

You need icing sugar to sweeten and stabilise the whipped cream, but also to make the coffee glacé icing. Keep extra on hand to ensure that you can add more, if needed, to thicken the icing and achieve the perfect consistency.

• Instant coffee

I flavour the glacé icing with instant coffee, because it means you can get a super concentrated coffee flavour in a small amount of liquid.

Making the Choux Pastry

Start by preheating the oven to 200°C (conventional oven). Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and set aside.

Place the butter, milk, water and salt into a saucepan (not a non-stick one- this will be important later) over medium heat. Make sure that you have the ready-sifted flour at hand, so that it is ready to go.

Allow the butter to melt, stirring frequently, then bring the mixture to a strong simmer.

Once the mixture has come to a strong simmer, remove the pan from the heat and add in the sifted flour, all at once. Mix in the flour completely before returning the pan to the heat.

Keep stirring the mixture over the heat- it will be quite stiff, so just try your best to keep it moving with your spoon/spatula. You may notice a slight film forming on the bottom of the pan- this is exactly what you want (and why it’s important not to use a non-stick pan, or you might not get the film)! Try not to scrape the bottom of the pan and pick up that film as you stir, because it will interfere with the smoothness of your choux pastry.

After about 2 minutes, the flour should have cooked out. There are a couple of ways you can tell if the mixture is ready: firstly, the film on the base of the pan is a good indication- it should be thin, but still noticeable. A more accurate way, though, of telling whether the mixture is ready is to use a thermometer- the mixture should have reached 75°C.

Once the mixture has reached 75°C, tip it out into a bowl. Keep mixing it in the bowl until it cools down a bit- aim for about 60°C, but a few minutes of stirring should be fine if you don’t have a thermometer at hand.

At this point, you can start to add the egg. You want to add the egg to the mixture very gradually, completely mixing it in between each addition.

As you add the egg, you’ll notice that the mixture will go from a firm dough to a soft, smooth paste- this is your choux pastry! At this point, it’s ready to pipe and bake.

Fit a piping bag with a small, open-star nozzle (I think mine is actually a bit more of a closed star, but it was all I had) and fill with the pastry. Use a smaller piping nozzle than you think, because choux pastry puffs up a lot when it is baked. Using a piping nozzle with ridges like this helps to prevent the éclairs from cracking along the top, ensuring that your finished éclairs look super neat.

Holding the piping tip at a 45° angle against the prepared baking tray, pipe short lines of pastry- about 4-5 cm long. This length, combined with the small piping nozzle, will make the perfect, bitesize éclairs. If you want bigger éclairs, use a larger piping nozzle and pipe longer lengths- but do be aware that this will likely affect the baking time required.

It can be a little bit tricky to ‘finish off’ the éclairs when piping, because choux pastry is pretty sticky! I find that the best way to do it is to just gently touch the piping tip down onto the tray to break the flow, then neaten up any resulting ‘peaks’ of pastry by dipping your finger in cold water and gently flattening them back down.

Once all of your éclairs have been piped, you can bake them, one tray at a time, in the preheated oven. The éclairs will take about 15 minutes and, when done, they should be completely crisp- you should be able to pick one up cleanly off the baking tray and the bottom should feel crisp when tapped.

As soon as the éclairs come out of the oven, you need to pierce them with a small, sharp knife. This allows the steam to escape from the éclairs, which prevents them from becoming soggy and/or collapsing. I like to pierce them along the side, where I will be cutting them later on.

Now, just allow the éclairs to cool completely before filling and decorating. Unfilled, the pastry shells will last for a couple of days at room temperature, as long as they are stored in an airtight container.

Whipping the Cream Filling

I fill these éclairs with a simple, sweetened whipped cream filling. While this does mean that the only coffee flavour comes from the glacé icing, it also means that the éclairs aren’t too sweet or overwhelmingly strong- they’re the perfect balance of creaminess, lightness and coffee flavour.

Making the whipped cream filling is super easy- all you do is sift the icing sugar into the cream and whip it until it forms stiff peaks. I use a handheld electric mixer for this, but you could use a freestanding mixer, or even a hand whisk, if you prefer.

Once the cream is whipped, transfer it to a piping bag, fitted with a small star nozzle (you can even absolutely the same one you used to pipe the éclairs). I really would recommend using a piping bag for the cream, even if you use a different nozzle shape, because these éclairs are so small that spreading it on by hand would be a nightmare! If you’re making bigger éclairs, you can absolutely spoon the cream into each one (though I still think the piped creams looks particularly pretty).

Making the Coffee Glacé Icing

The final element is the coffee glacé icing. It’s super easy to make, but it is important that you make it thick enough so that it doesn’t run all over the place once you add it to the éclairs! Don’t be afraid to add more icing sugar if you feel it’s a little too runny (but also, don’t worry too much- a little mess never hurt anyone, they’ll taste great no matter what).

Start by preparing the coffee. Stir the instant coffee granules into the hot water until they have completely dissolved.

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then add the hot coffee, a little at a time, stirring in between each addition, until a smooth icing forms.

The icing should be thick, but not so thick that it has the rough texture of a ‘dough’- it should be smooth and silky, but still hold its shape quite well. If it is too thin, add more sifted icing sugar. If it is too thick, add a little extra water.

Once the icing is made, I like to transfer it to a piping bag for more control. I don’t bother with a piping tip- just snip the very end of the bag off to give the effect of a small, round tip. Again, you can put the icing on with a spoon if you’re feeling particularly nimble but, because these éclairs are so small, it is much easier (and neater) to use a piping bag.

Assembling the Éclairs

Once your éclair shells have cooled completely and your cream is whipped, you can fill the éclairs.

Start by splitting the éclair shells. For bigger éclairs, you would usually try to keep one edge ‘attached’, so the éclair opens up like a book. These éclairs are so small (and, as a result, more fragile), so I found it was easier to just slice them right through and ‘sandwich’ the two halves together with the cream. Use a small, serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to cut through the éclairs horizontally, making sure to keep the corresponding halves of each shell together!

Once your éclairs are all split, you can fill them with cream. How you fill them is completely up to you- you could pipe a row of little shells, tiny dollops or just pipe a straight line right down the middle of the éclair (this will still look fancy if you’ve used a star tip). Pipe the cream onto the cut side of one half of each éclair, then sandwich the other half on top, cut side down.

Once all of the shells have been filled with cream, you can add the icing to the top of each éclair. Pipe a thick line of icing down the centre of each one, going right down the length of the éclair. And there you have it! Pefect, bitesize coffee éclairs.

Once filled, the éclairs need to be served straight away. The pastry will start to absorb the moisture from the filling/icing very quickly, which will make the éclairs sad and soggy, instead of crisp and delicious!

Tips & Tricks for Making Perfect Éclairs

• Use a 50:50 ratio of milk and water

Some éclair recipes use milk, some use water and some use a combination of both. I find that a 50:50 ratio works perfectly- the milk adds structure to the pastry, but the water prevents it from browning too quickly, before it is fully baked.

• Add salt to the choux pastry

Much like the milk, salt helps to give the pastry structure. Whether you add a small amount of your own (which is my preference) or use salted butter, make sure you don’t skip the salt.

• Use bread flour

Most éclair recipes call for plain ( or ‘all-purpose’) flour. I prefer to use bread flour, as it has a higher protein content, which helps to make the éclairs super crisp.

• Add the flour to the hot liquid all at once

There’s a lot of science behind this one that is a little out of my pay-grade, but essentially, you need to ‘shock’ the flour by adding it to the hot liquid, for the best results. If you add the flour gradually, it won’t be so ‘shocked’, so you really do need to add it all at once.

• Use a star tip to pipe the éclairs

By using a star tip, you give the éclairs these little ridges, which increase the surface area of each individual pastry. This helps to prevent the éclairs from cracking along the top. I did get a few cracks even with this method, but they all seemed to form down one side of the éclair, which is where I would be splitting them anyway, so it all worked out.

• Bake at a high temperature

Éclairs need to be baked at a high temperature to ‘shock’ them into puffing up (anyone else getting the feeling that éclairs are just adrenaline junkies? I definitely think they’d be horror movies buffs if they were, you know, animate). Some recipes call for starting off the bake at a high temperature then lowering the heat to finish drying them out, but I found that keeping the temperature the same throughout was fine. That could be because these éclairs are so small though- I’m yet to try it with larger, standard-sized éclairs.

• Pierce the éclairs straight after baking to release steam

Use a small, sharp knife or skewer to pierce through to the inside of each éclair as soon as they come out of the oven. This will allow the steam to escape, which would otherwise make the inside of your éclairs soggy and potentially even lead to them collapsing. I like to pierce the éclairs along the side, right where I will be splitting them later, to keep them as neat as possible.

• Use a serrated knife to split the éclairs

Choux pastry, particularly choux pastry when it is in a form as small as these éclairs, can be very delicate. Make sure to use a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to split the éclairs, so that they don’t crack/crumble as you work with them.

• Serve the éclairs immediately after filling

As soon as you introduce wet fillings/icings to the crisp choux pastry, it will start to absorb their moisture and lose its crispness. Trust me, you do not want to eat a soggy éclair. Unfortunately, this means you really do have to serve the éclairs as soon as you fill them, which can be a bit of a faff. If you want to get ahead, you can make the éclair shells and store them at room temperature, in an airtight container, for a couple of days.

Bitesize Coffee Éclairs Recipe

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Bitesize Coffee Éclairs

Crisp choux pastry shells, sweetened whipped cream filling and coffee glacé icing come together in a delicious, tiny package- perfect for afternoon teas, petit fours, or Bridgerton watch parties.

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword Choux pastry, Coffee, Éclair, Whipped cream

Prep Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 40 mini éclairs

Equipment

• Small, open-star piping tip

Ingredients

For the choux pastry:

• 25 g unsalted butter
• 25 ml water
• 25 ml milk
• Pinch of salt
• 35 g strong white bread flour, sifted.
• 50 g eggs, beaten (about 1 egg).

For the whipped cream filling:

• 100 ml double cream
• 1 tsp icing sugar, sifted.

For the coffee glacé icing:

• 60 g icing sugar, sifted.
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 1 tsp hot water.

Instructions

Make the choux pastry shells:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (conventional oven). Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper and set aside.
• Place the butter, water, milk and salt into a saucepan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt, then bring to a strong simmer.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the sifted flour, all at once. Mix the flour in off the heat, then return the pan to the heat.
• Stir the mixture over the heat for a couple of minutes, taking care not to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, until the mixture reaches 75°C.
• Transfer the dough to a bowl and stir for a few minutes until the mixture has cooled slightly (it should be about 60°C).
• Gradually add the beaten egg, stirring well between each addition, until all of the egg has been incorporated and the mixture resembles a smooth paste.
• Transfer the choux pastry to a piping bag, fitted with a small, open-star nozzle. Pipe lengths of about 4-5cm onto the prepared baking trays to make the éclairs.
• Bake one tray of éclairs at a time in the preheated oven, for about 15 minutes, or until the éclairs have puffed up and are crisp and golden.
• As soon as you remove the éclairs from the oven, use a sharp knife/skewer to pierce each one, to allow the steam to escape. Allow the éclairs to cool completely before filling and decorating.

Make the whipped cream filling:

• Put the cream and sifted icing sugar into a bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag, fitted with a small star nozzle, ready to fill the éclairs.

Make the coffee glacé icing:

• Add the dissolved coffee granules to the icing sugar, a little at a time, stirring between each addition, until a thick, but smooth, icing is achieved. If too thick, add more water. If too thin, add more sifted icing sugar. The icing should be smooth and silky, but be firm enough that it doesn't run off the surface of the éclairs.
• Transfer the icing to a piping bag, for extra control. You can either use a small, round tip or just snip the very end of the piping bag off for a similar effect.

Assemble the éclairs:

• Use a small, serrated knife to split each éclair horizontally.
• Pipe a line of whipped cream onto the cut side of one half of each éclair, then sandwich the other half on top, cut side down.
• Pipe a thick line of coffee glacé icing down the centre of the top of each éclair to finish. The éclairs should be served straight after assembling, otherwise they pastry will become soggy.

Notes

Make-Ahead: 

While the filled éclairs need to be served immediately, the unfilled shells can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days before splitting and filling.

Recipe adapted from ironwhisk.com

To mark the end of Spooky Season, I thought I would share a recipe for the most autumnal, innately Halloween-y (even though in the US I feel it’s probably more Thanksgiving-y, but I digress) treat: Pumpkin Pie. This sweet treat was always a staple in my house growing up, so it’s a really nostalgic dessert for me. Also, it’s super tasty, so there’s that too!

We’ve always used the same recipe for pumpkin pie, namely, the recipe from Delia Smith’s How To Cook: Book One. However, as seems to be the case with all family recipes, we (read: my dad, who usually makes this- and who helped me make the one pictured!) have adapted, altered, changed (and sometimes changed back) the ingredients & method quite a bit, over time. This recipe is the result of all that tweaking (ironically, it’s not even that different- what can I say, Delia knows best).

This pumpkin pie has a slightly sweet and super nutty pastry, which you can make super quickly in the food processor! The pastry shell is then filled with a silky-smooth, spiced pumpkin custard. It can be served warm or chilled, so it’s easy to make ahead. As a bonus, it is pretty easy to make (especially for a pie!), so it makes for a great, stress-free dessert option for this time of year.

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Making the Pastry
• Baking the Pastry Case
• Making the Pumpkin Filling
• Baking the Pie
• Recipe

Ingredients

This pie is made up of two elements: the nutty pastry and the rich pumpkin filling. You start by making the pastry, then you make the filling as the pastry bakes (we LOVE a time-saving recipe here!).

For the pastry, you will need:

• Pecans

A slightly unusual addition, but mixing finely chopped, toasted pecans into the pastry really elevates this pie. Not only does it give the pie a lovely, warm and nutty flavour, but it also adds another texture to the pie. I like to toast the pecans on the hob, in a dry pan over a medium heat, but you can toast them in the oven if you prefer.

• Plain flour

Don’t use self-raising flour here, or your pastry will puff up and not be crisp and flaky.

• Icing sugar

It’s only a small amount of icing sugar, but you just need the slightest hint of sweetness in the pastry, to complement the filling.

• Salt

Just a pinch, to bring out the other flavours.

• Unsalted butter

You want the butter to be very cold when you make this pastry, so that the finished pastry case is super flaky and delicious! Keep it in the fridge right until you are ready to use it, to ensure it stays as cold as possible. You’ll also want to cut it into cubes, to help incorporate it into the dry ingredients more easily.

• Egg yolk

The egg yolk adds richness to the pastry. You will need a small amount of egg white later, to seal the pastry case, so you can save the white from this egg (you’ll need another yolk later on though, so you’ll have one leftover white whatever you do- you can use it straightaway in another recipe or freeze it for another day).

• Cold water

Like the butter, it’s important that the water is very cold to ensure you get the best pastry possible.

For the pumpkin filling, you will need:

• Eggs

For the filling, you’ll need 2 whole eggs, plus an extra yolk. Use the extra white in another recipe, or freeze it for another day.

• Double cream

The cream works together with the eggs to create a silky-smooth, thick custard. If you’re in the US, use heavy cream.

• Soft dark brown sugar

Using dark brown sugar lends a deep, treacle-y flavour and colour to the filling, which really complements the pumpkin flavour.

• Maple syrup

The original recipe called for molasses, but we prefer this pie made with maple syrup. The molasses can make everything a little bitter, while maple syrup adds a gentle, smoky sweetness that goes perfectly with the other flavours.

• Spices

A variety of spices go into the filling to really give this pie that classic ‘pumpkin pie’ flavour. We use ground cinnamon, nutmeg (which is always better when freshly grated, if possible!), allspice, cloves and ginger, which are all very traditional pumpkin pie spices.

• Canned pumpkin

In the original recipe, Delia (very impressively) roasts and purées her own pumpkin. I have very vivid memories of my dad spending a looooong time pushing roasted pumpkin chunks through a sieve and, honestly, I think we unanimously decided that it just wasn’t worth it. If you have a pumpkin you want to use, and you don’t mind the excessive elbow grease required, then, by all means, go for it! But, if, like us, you prefer your pumpkin pie to be a bit less labour-intensive, canned pumpkin makes for a super smooth filling with much less effort on your part. I’d call that a win.

Equipment

Aside from the standard baking equipment you probably already have in your kitchen, you will need a couple of (slightly more) specialist equipment for this recipe.

• 9 inch (23cm) fluted tart tin, with a removable base

We’ve always made this in a fluted tart tin, but that’s kind of optional- you could have a pie with straight sides if you wanted! Having a removable base makes it SO much easier to get the pie out of the tin, so I would definitely recommend that. I believe that in the US, pumpkin pies are usually made and served in pie dishes, which would mean you don’t need to worry about removing the baked pie from the dish. I’ve never tried baking this recipe in a pie dish, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work!

• Food processor

I like to use a food processor to a) finely chop the pecans and b) make the pastry. Strictly speaking, using the processor isn’t wholly necessary- you could chop the pecans finely by hand, using a large, sharp knife, and you could make the pastry by hand, rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips and mixing the pastry together with a blunt knife. However, using a food processor really speeds up the process (and is a lot less messy!).

I recommend fitting the processor with a metal blade to chop the nuts, then a plastic blade to make the pastry (the plastic blade helps to prevent you from overworking the pastry, which is the reason many people worry about making pastry in a food processor. Overworking pastry can make for a tough pastry case after baking, but this particular pastry recipe is pretty hard-wearing, so I wouldn’t worry too much!).

Making the Pastry

Before you start making the pastry, you need to chop the pecans. They need to be very finely chopped (hence why it is so much easier to use the food processor!), otherwise they will prevent you from rolling out the pastry thinly enough. However, make sure you don’t go too far when processing them, or they will release their oils and end up as pecan butter- not what you’re looking for! Aim for a fine rubble, like this:

Once you have your pecan rubble, remove it from the processor and set aside. Switch the metal processor blade out for a plastic one (to prevent overworking the pastry). Then, sift together the flour, icing sugar and salt and add the dry ingredients to the processor, along with the cold, cubed butter.

Pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. If you prefer/do not have a food processor, you can do this by hand in a large bowl- just rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingertips.

Now, you can add the finely chopped pecans, egg yolk (reserve the white for later) and cold water. Pulse until the pastry comes together into a slightly crumbly dough (you may need to add a little more cold water- just to bring it together, until it resembles the photo below).

Remove the pastry from the processor and shape it into a flat disk. Wrap the pastry disk tightly in clingfilm, then place it into the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. This will make it easier to work with later, while also helping to prevent it from shrinking too much during baking.

Baking the Pastry Case

Once the pastry has rested, preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional oven). Unwrap the pastry and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a circle about 30cm in diameter- it might be a little crumbly, but that’s okay- it’s a very forgiving pastry that you can patch up later if needed!

Carefully transfer your pastry circle to your fluted tart tin (lightly grease the tin beforehand to help get the pie out later) and press it into the base and sides- patching any gaps as needed. You’re looking for an even layer of pastry all over the base and sides, with a little extra sitting just above the top of the tart tin, to account for any shrinkage.

Prick the pastry all over with a fork (try not to go all the way through to the bottom of the tin- just prick the surface), then brush lightly with the reserved egg white. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

If you notice that the pastry is puffing up during the baking process, just remove it from the oven, give it a few extra pricks to release the air, then return it to the oven for the remaining time.

Making the Pumpkin Filling

While the pastry case is baking, you can make the pumpkin custard filling. Place the eggs and extra egg yolk into a large bowl and whisk to combine, before setting aside.

Put the cream, sugar, maple syrup and all of the spices into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to warm, whisking gently, until the sugar has melted and the mixture has come to just below a simmer.

Remove the pan from the heat and add to the beaten eggs in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Add the canned pumpkin and mix well, until you have a thick, smooth custard.

Baking the Pie

Once you have your filling made and pastry case baked, you can add the filling to the case. I find it is easiest to add the filling while the case is still in the oven- just pull the shelf the case is on halfway out using one (oven-gloved!) hand, then pour in the filling with the other hand. This way, you won’t spill any filling trying to get the pie from your countertop to the oven, which could lead to, at best, a mess and, at worst, a soggy bottom! Paul Hollywood would be QUaKinG!

Bake the filled pie at the same temperature as the pastry case (180°C) for 35-40 minutes, until the filling has puffed slightly around the edges, but is still slightly wobbly in the centre.

Allow the pie to cool slightly in the tin, before carefully removing it, then transfer to a serving plate. The pie can be eaten warm, but is equally delicious when served chilled- just store it in the fridge until you are ready to eat it.

Admittedly, as pies go, this one is a little rustic, but that’s mainly because of the pecans in the pastry. The added nuts are a real game-changer in terms of taste and texture, but they do make the pie a little less neat and perfect-looking. I kind of like that homemade, rough-and-ready kind of look, though- particularly this time of year! Besides, it tastes so good, it could look like a complete mess and I would still make it over and over again!

Recipe

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Pumpkin Pie

A traditional Pumpkin Pie with a twist: rich and nutty shortcrust pastry, filled with a velvety and spiced pumpkin filling.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Pie, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Pie, Shortcrust pastry

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Equipment

• 1 23cm diameter fluted tart tin, with a removable base, lightly greased with butter.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 40 g pecans, toasted (see Note 1).
• 175 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 10 g icing sugar
• pinch of salt
• 75 g unsalted butter, cold from the fridge and cubed.
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 1 egg yolk (reserve the white).

For the filling:

• 2 eggs + 1 yolk
• 275 ml double cream
• 75 g soft dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 x 425g can canned pumpkin

Instructions

Make the pastry case:

• Place the toasted pecans into a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, and pulse until they are very fine- be careful not to go too far, or they will release their oils.
• Sift together the flour, icing sugar and salt. Remove the pecans from the processor, switch the metal blade with a plastic one (see Note 2) and tip in the sifted dry ingredients. Add the cubed butter, then pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the pecans back to the processor, along with the water and the egg yolk. Pulse until the pastry comes together into a slightly crumbly dough (you may need to add a little more water to achieve this).
• Take the pastry out of the processor and form it into a flat disk. Wrap the disk tightly in clingfilm and place in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C. When the pastry has finished resting, unwrap it and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a circle about 30cm in diameter. The pastry will be a little crumbly- don't worry, you can patch it later. Transfer the pastry circle to your greased tin and press it firmly into the base and sides, patching any gaps, so that you have an even layer of pastry all over the base and sides. Make sure that the pastry sits a little above the rim of the tin all the way around, to account for any shrinkage. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, then brush it lightly with the reserved egg white. Place the tin on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden.

Make the pumpkin filling:

• While the pastry case is baking, make the filling. Place the eggs and extra yolk into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
• Put the cream, sugar, maple syrup and all of the spices into a medium-sized saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and allow to warm, whisking gently to combine, until the sugar has melted and the mixture is just below a simmer.
• Remove the hot cream mixture from the heat and pour into the eggs, in a slow and steady stream, whisking constantly. Add the pumpkin and whisk well until you have a smooth custard.
• When the pastry case is ready, you can fill it with the pumpkin mixture. Pull the oven shelf, with the pastry case still on it, half out, so that you can pour the filling directly into the case, before pushing the shelf all the way back in and baking the pie for 35-40 minutes, until the filling has puffed a little around the edges, but is slightly wobbly in the centre. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Once cool, place in the fridge to chill, before serving, though you can also eat it warm, if you can't wait!

Notes

1. I like to toast the pecans in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat on the hob- this takes just a few minutes. Alternatively, you can toast them for about 8 minutes at the same temperature that the pie bakes at (180°C). 
2. I find that using a plastic blade in the food processor helps to make the pastry less tough. You will want to use a metal blade to chop the nuts, though, because the plastic blade will not be strong enough to break them up. 

 

This recipe is adapted from Delia Smith’s ‘How to Cook: Book One’.