If you have ever been to Greece or Cyprus and have visited a patisserie shop then most probably you have seen this tart before. Pasta Flora is the Greek jam tart and has nothing to do with pasta haha! The twist to this recipe, which I think is very suitable and complementary to the taste of it, is the addition of brandy!! I know right, brandy woohoo! Even though you can’t really taste brandy when you eat it- sorry folks- it balances the sweetness of the jam and somehow makes the pastry flaky and light.
I baked this the other day because a friend of my daughters came for dinner so it was prepared in 30 minutes (20 was just sitting in the fridge resting), and the best part is you don’t need any mixer to prepare it. The girls loved it and I got to enjoy a deserving slice the next morning with my coffee. Trust me when I tell you that you need to try this!
Right, lets’get cooking my darlings!
INGREDIENTS
420gr plain flour
1tsp baking powder
30gr sugar
210gr cold butter cut in cubes
1 egg
40ml brandy
500gr jam of your liking
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1
In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and butter. Rub the butter in flour with your hands until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Using your fingertips and thumbs take small amounts of the mixture and rub them together, from little finger to first finger. Make sure there are no big lumps of butter
Step 2
Add the sugar, egg and brandy and mix together to form the dough. Mix it with your hands but don’t overwork the pastry.
Step 3
Rub the pastry in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Step 4
Remove the pastry from the fridge and take 2/3. In a tart pan, spread the pastry using your fingers. Try and spread it evenly.
Step 5
Beat the jam in its jar just to loosen it. Pour it on top of the pastry.
Step 6
Take the remaining pastry and decorate the top. You can use any method you prefer such as lattice or crumble it or shape it like I did. I just got a heart shaped cutter, rolled the pastry thinly and cut out the shapes.
Step 7
Bake in a preheated oven at 190° for 40-45 min until golden
♥ For this tart I used strawberry jam just because its my little girls favourite jam. You can use apricot, cherry, fig or any other you like really. I used Tesco’s finest as I find the sweetness is right. I have tried the Bonne Maman jam too and even though it was really yummy, I don’t understand the price. I din’t enjoy the Aldi one as it’s not as sweet as I would like it to be
If you don’t want to spent a lot on brandy either then the supermarkets own brand is usually a lot cheaper
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