January blues resolved

The last of the Christmas Cake...

I gave up giving up years ago. To my mind, facing the remainder of the cold, dark winter with nary a piece of chocolate or cake to brighten up a dull day is a depressing thought indeed. Life can be hard enough sometimes, so no need to make things even more difficult I say. A spot of self-flagellation or a hair-shirt anyone? Nope, me neither, thank you very much. Generally speaking then, I usually resolve to add rather than subtract - to do something nice for myself instead of enduring months of self-inflicted deprivation. Because when I'm feeling happy, I tend to take better care of myself. That's not to say I don't recognise the need for a return to a more sensible approach to life after the excesses of Christmas. Continuing down the road of over-indulgence would soon turn me into a grumpy, over-fed couch-potato (or a porkling, as they would have called me in medieval England - guess who got a new word book for Christmas?). 

Christmas Tart Amandine

I take a two-pronged approach post-Christmas: If variety is the spice of life - the sparkly, outgoing soul of the party - then moderation is the more sensible sister, keeping everything and everyone on an even keel. One of the reasons I love the first mince-pie of the festive season and hanker after a sausage roll or two to go with a glass of hot port, is that I don't have mince-pies or sausage rolls at any other time of the year. Ditto Christmas cake, turkey, cranberry sauce, gingerbread stuffing... the list goes on. All of this is deliciously moreish at the start of the season, but there is no doubt that come January first, I'm always ready for something new. 

Before moving on to the 'something new', a quick word to say that if you have any mincemeat left over in your fridge, Mary Berry has a wonderful recipe for a Christmas Tart Amandine - essentially a twist on the Bakewell tart, using mincemeat instead of jam. It is incredibly good. Mam baked this twice in the run up to Christmas and it was demolished each time. The recipe is printed below if you need a little January Blues Treat and would like to try it. But I digress - back to the 'something new' (or in this case, something different). 

And so to inject some variety into the traditional festive feasting, I started the year with an Italian feast for four on New Year's Day, with freshly baked bread-sticks, olives and other yummy nibbles, all washed down by the last of the Christmas cocktail devised by Sister No.1 (a rather tasty but dangerous combination of home-made cranberry gin mixed with prosecco). In spite of the slight cocktail-induced wobble in my step, I managed to keep my hostess hat on straight and succeeded in cooking a lovely risotto with roasted butternut squash and crispy bacon, served up with a fresh green salad. Thankfully, I had dessert prepped and ready to go from the day before - I say thankfully, as we had wine with the risotto, which left me incapable of doing anything more than dishing up scoops of the vanilla gelato (sticking with the Italian theme here) and letting everyone help themselves to the warm chocolate fudge sauce and toasted coconut shards, hazelnuts and chocolate brownie pieces (DIY ice-cream sundaes all round). Suitably stuffed, we drank espresso and amused ourselves with tiny saucer crackers that Sister No.2 had given me for Christmas (quite the cutest thing I've ever seen). It was a brilliant start to the new year - fabulous food, fabulous company, laughter and bubbles. What more could a girl ask for?

Having kicked off 2014 with a feast of equal proportion to the Christmas fare but vastly different in taste, I think now is the time for some of that sensible moderation. I've ordered a couple of new baking books and eagerly await their arrival. My plan for the next few weeks is to get back to the yoga mat for some much needed stretching, plenty of beach-walking and fresh air, time spent contemplating the baking year ahead and perhaps a chocolate or two (that tin of Roses is like the magic porridge pot - I swear they're multiplying every time I put the lid back on). I'm going to dive into my cake books as soon as they arrive and find something new and delicious to bake. With a little bit of delayed gratification, I think I'm going to really enjoy my next piece of cake. 

Christmas Tart Amandine

Ingredients
For the pastry
225g plain flour
100g butter, cubed
50g caster sugar
1 large egg

For the almond filling
175g butter
175g caster sugar
4 large eggs
175g ground almonds
1 tsp almond extract

400g mincemeat

For the topping
75g icing sugar
Juice 1/2 lemon
50g flaked almonds

Method
First make the pastry, either by the usual rubbing-in method by hand or put the flour and butter into a processor and pulse until you have rough porridge-like crumbs (if you're using this method, make sure your butter is very cold, as the processor will generate heat and your pastry will be tough). Add the sugar and mix for a moment, then add the egg and 1 tbsp of water. Process until the mixture just starts to come together, then tip it out and bring it together by hand. Wrap it in clingfilm and place it in the fridge to rest for at least an hour (or simply do this part a day or two beforehand).

Heat oven to 190C / 170C fan and put a heavy, flat baking tray in to heat up. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and use it to line a 28cm flan tin. Prick the base of the pastry using a fork.

Make the filling by processing the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and blend, then mix in the ground almonds and almond extract.

Spread a thin layer of mincemeat over the pastry base and spoon the almond mixture on top. Sit the tart on the hot baking tray and bake for 45-50 mins, until the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

To finish the tart, mix the icing sugar and lemon juice until you have a thick pouring consistency (adding water if you need it). Spread this over the tart and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Return to the oven for about 5 mins. Leave to cool before removing from the tin (assuming you have a loose-bottomed tin).