This week on the Great British Bake Off was entitled "Forgotten Bakes", which basically meant dishes our Grandparents might remember. The signature challenge was to bake Clangers - suet pastry enclosing sweet AND savoury fillings. My boyfriend vetoed my making this - he said it was too weird...however I will probably go against this at some point for funsies.
The showstopper challenge used elaborate cake moulds to make Victorian centrepieces. As pretty as they were, I wasn't willing to spend up to £50 on a cake tin, so I gave this a miss.
However, the technical challenge was very intriguing. The Cumberland Rum Nicky is, as its name suggests, rum-flavoured. The filling is rum soaked dried fruits (including dates and crystallized ginger, both of which I love!), encased with sweet shortcrust pastry and a pastry lattice. For this lattice, I followed Steven's approach, which I'll do my best to describe! I found it a lot simpler than the classic basketweave approach.
For the pie dish, I used a ceramic pie dish, which was about 20cm across.
I also made the rum butter traditionally served with this pie. If you love rum, you will love this (it reminds me of buttercream), but it is very alcoholic! If you're not a rum adorer, I'd recommend serving this with some pouring cream or ice cream, if warm. The pie is nevertheless delicious with no extra toppings. It reminded me of a mince pie, with the flavour (but NOT the alcoholic burn) of rum. The pastry held together really well, and it held a nice slice. I will definitely be making this again :)
Makes one pie
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 250g (1 &1/2 cups) dried dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
- 100g (3/5 cup) dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- 50g (1/3 cup) crystallised ginger, finely chopped
- 50ml (3 tbsp and 1 tsp) dark rum
- 50g (1/4 cup - 1 tsp) soft dark brown sugar
- 50g (1/4 cup) butter, cut into 2cm cubes
For the sweet shortcrust pastry:
- 200g (1 & 3/5 cups) plain flour
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
- 100g (1/2 cup minus 2 tsp) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 2cm cubes
- 1 egg (for the pastry dough) + 1 egg, beaten (to glaze)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp very cold water
For the rum butter:
- 100g (1/2 cup minus 2 tsp) unsalted softened butter
- 225g (1 cup plus 1 tsp) soft light brown sugar
- 75ml (1/3 cup) dark rum
Alternatively, serve the pie with:
- Custard
- Vanilla ice cream
- Pouring cream
Method:
1. Prepare the filling. Pour the dried dates, apricots, finely chopped crystallized ginger, rum and sugar into a mixing bowl. Stir, then set aside whilst you prepare the pastry.
2. To make the pastry, stir together the flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Add the diced butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Make a well in the centre of the flour, and add the egg, lemon juice and water. Use your hands to work the liquid into the flour, and gently knead the pastry into a ball. Wrap well in cling film and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, to rest the pastry.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C)/355F/Gas mark 4. Divide the dough into 2 pieces roughly one third and two thirds. Place the one-third of pastry back in the fridge (covered in cling film). Lay out a piece of clingfilm on your surface and dust lightly with flour. Place the two-third piece of dough onto the clingfilm. Cover with another layer of clingfilm, and roll out to about 1/2cm thickness, or until it is big enough to cover the base and sides of a 20cm (or whichever size you're using) pie dish.
5. Remove the top layer of clingfilm. Flip the pastry into the pie dish, and remove the bottom layer of clingfilm. Use a little excess pastry to gently tease the pastry down into the corners of the tin. Trim off any overhanging pastry. Place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.
6. Spread the filling in the pastry case and dot with butter.
7. Roll out the remaining pastry until it is around 1/2cm thick, or is big enough to cover the top of the pie. Trim to an even square. To make the basketweave, mark along two opposite sides of the pastry every 2.5cm (1 inch). Hold a ruler between the first two markings, and cut lines 2.5cm (1 inch) long, leaving a 2.5cm (1 inch) gap between the cuts.
8. Move onto the next two markings, and this time, leave a 1.25cm (1/2 inch) gap before the first cut. Slice lines 2.5cm (1 inch) long, leaving a 2.5cm (1 inch) gap between each cut (so that it is offset against the first row of cuts). For the third set of markings, mark as in step 7 (and so on, alternating the cuts). Once you reach the end, gently tease your hands under the pastry and stretch out the holes, creating the basketweave.
9. Dampen the rim of the pastry in the tin with a little water, and then invert the lattice from the clingfilm onto the tart. Press the ends of the lattice strips to the pastry rim to secure (I'll admit, mine could have been a bit better at this stage!). I used a little excess pastry to twirl around the rim of the pie, but that isn't necessary. Brush with the beaten egg.
10. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 160C (fan 140C)/320F/Gas mark 3 and bake for a further 20 minutes.
11. For the rum butter, use an electric hand whisk to beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the rum and beat for at least five minutes (it will still be a bit grainy!), until it is much lighter in colour.
12. Serve the tart warm or cold, with a spoonful of butter/cream/ice cream.
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