Jam and cornflake tart: a school dinner classic I’ve been meaning to make for ages!
What can I say? I had cornflakes to use up! I found quite a few recipes which said to use ready-to-roll, shop bought-pastry. And that’s a good option if you’re in a hurry, but making the pastry isn’t that tricky if you have the ingredients and time. I used this recipe from Baking Mad.
Jam and cornflake tart is an old school classic. Another one I think many people would have had served with custard.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 180 g / 6.4 oz plain flour (and a bit more to dust your rolling surface and rolling pin)
- 80 g / 2.8 oz butter or baking margarine (although butter is slightly better for pastry)
- 30 ml / 1 fl oz cold water
- For blind baking, you’ll need baking beans or a substitute such as rice, lentils, dried peas or beans.
For the filling:
- 135 g / 4.5 oz golden syrup
- 65 g / 2.2 oz butter or baking margarine (margarine is OK for this)
- 30 g / 1 oz dark muscovado sugar (if you only have caster, granular or light brown sugar I think you can use this too and it’ll be fine!)
- 100 g / 3.5 oz cornflakes
- 100 g / 3.5 oz strawberry jam (seeded or jelly jam and you could also use raspberry or whatever flavour you prefer)
Method
Pastry first! You can put the ingredients in a stand mixer and whizz them together, but I prefer to make it by hand. Use your fingers to rub the butter and flour together, then add the water and bring the ingredients together into a ball of soft dough.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and pop in the fridge for about an hour.
While that’s chilling, grease your tart tin/ flan dish with a little butter or margarine. My flan dish is approx. 21 cm (8.25 inches) in diameter. The original recipe calls for a 23-cm (9 inches) diameter tin. So anywhere around there and you’ll be fine.
Now it’ll be ready to roll. Dust your rolling surface with flour and roll your pastry into a circle around 28 cm in diameter (about the length of a piece of A4 paper). To make this easier you can put the pastry between two sheets of greaseproof paper or under the piece of clingfilm you had it wrapped in. The pastry should be quite thin at this point – don’t worry, that’s ok!
Drape your pastry circle over your tin. Rolling it over the rolling pin or sliding it off the greaseproof paper can make this operation a bit easier. Press it gently into the tin and around the sides. If you have any large pieces of dough hanging over the sides, remove them, but don’t trim the sides to the top of the tin just yet.
Put your lined tin back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C (160 fan)/ Gas Mark 4 / 350 degrees F. Blind bake the pastry by putting a piece of greaseproof paper over the pastry case and filling the middle with baking beans or a substitute (I used rice), spreading the beans out to the edges of the case. Put the pastry case in the oven for 12-15 minutes. If your oven tends towards “hot” (like mine does), go for 12 minutes.
Take the tin out and carefully trim the edges of the pastry to the top of the tin using a sharp knife. Put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes. This should prevent the dreaded soggy bottom!
Remove the pastry case from the oven (leave the oven on) and put to one side while you make the filling.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter, sugar and syrup, stirring until you have a smooth mixture. Stir in the cornflakes and mix gently until all the cereal is coated in the liquid mixture.
Spread the jam evenly over the base of your pastry case. It doesn’t matter if the case is still warm, it will help the jam to spread.
Pour the cornflake mixture over the jam, spread out evenly and press down gently to form a compact layer without any gaps.
Put the jam and cornflake tart back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove and leave to cool and harden before serving.
I couldn’t wait to let it cool and set properly before cutting it because I was under great pressure from my kids to serve it. This explains why the jam ran out, as you can see in the next picture!
This old school jam and cornflake tart can also be served warm with custard. In an air-tight container it should keep for a few days.
A plea from this baker/writer
If you’ve read this far and have found this recipe, or any of my recipes useful, please consider returning the favour by buying one of my books! The ebooks cost less than a coffee and they are free with Kindle Unlimited.
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
FAQs
Organic Plain Flour [Wheat], Free Range Eggs, Golden Syrup, Unsalted Butter [Milk], Dark Brown Sugar, Sea Salt, Cornflakes, Raspberry Jam.
Why you poke the base of the jam tart with a fork before putting in the jam? ›
Use a fork to poke holes across your pastry base. This helps the pastry keep its shape while chilling and baking, and also stops the centre of your base from rising when you bake it.
How to make cornflake blancmange? ›
Preparation
- follow the instructions carefully on the blancmange box.
- once made DO NOT allow to cool add your corn flakes a quick stir and serve. Job done! to make blancmange into a jelly don't add the cornflakes just pour into a jelly mould and allow to cool before placing in the fridge until it sets.
Nobody knows the exact origins of cornflake tart, although it's most probably the case that it's a northern tart. It first became known for the use of the 'cornflake cake' recipe in 'Nutrition and Child Welfare', a post-war food baking guide that was published in 1949.
Why is it called cornflake girl? ›
Tori was inspired to write the song after reading Possessing The Secret Of Joy by Alice Walker, which goes into the process of female circumcision in Africa. The song describes women betraying women (these “Cornflake Girls”).
What is tart filling made of? ›
It's made with rich cream cheese, sour cream for a hint of tang, powdered sugar, and delicious vanilla bean paste, but you can use vanilla extract if that's all you have on hand. The mixture is beat together before some heavy cream is whipped in to help achieve a light and fluffy texture.
How do you thicken jam for tarts? ›
Scrape the remains of the jar in a saucepan with a little water and mash until smooth. Boil until the mixture reaches 104C, then spoon into the baked tart cases and leave to cool. If your jam was somewhat runny to begin with, the addition of a little liquid pectin, such as Certo, and sugar to taste will help it set.
What does jam tart mean in slang? ›
jam tart (plural jam tarts) An open tartlet filled with jam. (rare, rhyming slang) Heart.
Why is my tart base so hard? ›
Hard and/or tough pastry: Usually occurs due to too much liquid and too much flour when rolling out, too little fat, over-handling or insufficient rubbing in.
What is blancmange called in America? ›
Generally, when an American refers to pudding, he means what is called “blancmange” elsewhere. It's thickened with cornstarch. A generic recipe: 2 cups milk. ½ cup white sugar.
The word blancmange derives from Old French blanc mangier. The name "whitedish" is a modern term used by some historians, though the name historically was either a direct translation from or a calque of the Old French term.
What pudding is also called as blancmange? ›
Blancmange is a dessert made of milk, sugar, and sometimes almonds. It's usually served cold in a mold. It's kind of like vanilla pudding. For some reason, it's often pink. This French term means "white food," and that's a very good description of blancmange.
What is the world's most expensive cornflake? ›
Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350. Two sisters from Virginia sold their Illinois-shaped corn flake on eBay Friday night for $1,350. "We were biting our nails all the way up to the finish, seeing what would happen," said Melissa McIntire, 23.
What is the name of the person that invented corn flakes? ›
John H. Kellogg invented Corn Flakes®, the first dry, flaked breakfast cereal.
What is a interesting fact about corn flakes? ›
Originally invented as a breakfast food to counter indigestion, it has become a popular food item in the American diet. The cereal, originally made with wheat, was created by Will Kellogg in 1894 for patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium where he worked with his brother John Kellogg who was the superintendent.
What is custard tart made of? ›
Modern custard tarts are usually made from shortcrust pastry, eggs, sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla, sprinkled with nutmeg and then baked. Unlike egg tart, custard tarts are normally served at room temperature.
What is peppermint crisp tart made of? ›
What is this? I would describe 'Peppermint Crisp Tart' as a South African version of our Australian 'Chocolate Ripple Cake'. It has layers of biscuits, whipped cream mixed with caramel and crushed Peppermint Crisp bars. The biscuits soften overnight in the fridge making the texture extra soft and luscious.
Are roasted corn flakes healthy? ›
Roasted corn flakes can be a healthier alternative to regular corn flakes because they are usually made with less oil and fewer additives. This means they tend to have less fat and fewer calories, making them a great choice for a nutritious snack.
How many carbs are in a cornflake tart? ›
Easy cornflake tart
| Nutrient | Unit |
|---|
| fat | 14g |
| saturates | 6g |
| carbs | 41g |
| sugars | 21g |
4 more rows
