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.
How do you keep jam from boiling over in tarts? ›
To stop the jam boiling over - as long as you don't overfill the tart shells with jam, they should not overflow as they're not cooked at a super high temperature. Fill the shells with jam to just below the top. If you find the jam is boiling over, your oven needs to be turned down slightly.
Why are my cornflake cakes soggy? ›
Why do my cornflake cakes go soggy? If there's too much chocolate and not enough cornflakes in this Easter cake, the cornflakes will get soggy. Prevent this from occurring by following the ratio of chocolate to cornflakes listed in the recipe.
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.
Can you buy cornflake tart? ›
Our Giant Cornflake Tart is a super-sized serving of sugary nostalgia, with a short-crust case, raspberry jam and a heaping helping of cornflakes! Order this extra-large tart, and you'll be the envy of the schoolyard (once you wipe the jam off your face).
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 ingredient thickens jam? ›
Commercial pectin helps thicken jam made with low-pectin fruits, like blackberry jam, or vegetable jelly recipes, like pepper jelly. It comes in powder or liquid form, but the former is the most common. Add powdered pectin to the fruit juice, chopped fruit, or strained purée before heating the jam mixture.
Why do you put vinegar in jam? ›
Affect on Gel Formation: Both lemon juice and vinegar can help with the gel formation in strawberry jam. The acidity in these ingredients helps activate pectin, a natural thickening agent present in strawberries, leading to the desired texture and consistency in the jam.
How do you thicken jam for tarts? ›
You can make your own fruit filling by using homemade or store-bought jam and thickening it up a bit by simmering it with some cornstarch mixed with water (about a tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with a teaspoon or so of cold water to make a paste, then stir into ½ to ¾ cup of jam).
How do you make Corn Flakes taste better? ›
You can have cornflakes with cold milk instead of hot milk. It really tastes better . You may then add fruits like banana,strawberries,Apple or mango to the cornflakes .
They will sit nicely in the fridge until you need them, so you can get organised early for your occasion. These are the perfect treats to rattle off at speed for a party, an end of term class bash or for the school cake stall. Make them your signature dish. Children love them but adults adore them too.
How do you make Corn Flakes crispy again? ›
Luckily, we have a simple, money-saving tip that will bring stale cereal back to life.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Lay out stale cereal in an even layer on a baking sheet.
- Bake for about 5-10 minutes, or until the cereal is crunchy again, and enjoy!
(rare, rhyming slang) Heart.
Why is my tart base so hard? ›
Richard's solution: Tough pastry is very common, but easily avoidable. It usually occurs when you've been a bit heavy-handed with the water when you're initially bringing the pastry together (by adding water to the flour and butter), or if you have over-worked the dough and developed the gluten in the flour.
Why do you put a knob of butter in jam? ›
To prevent scum forming on the top of your jam, add a knob of butter to your fruit at the same time as you add the sugar, we recommend 20 grams per 1 kilogram of fruit. Note: Scum is nothing sinister, it is only air bubbles that are created during the cooking process, they will not ruin your jam/marmalade if they form.
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.
What are tarts made of? ›
A tart is baked pastry made of golden brown pastry dough and a filling. A tart can be sweet and savory, and fillings include fresh fruits, custards, eggs, or meats. Bakers generally make tarts with shortcrust pastry. Some tarts, such as quiche, are made with pie dough, and others with puff pastry, like tarte tatin.
What is the history of cornflake tarts? ›
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.
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.
