Recipe: Make the most of the brief season for gooseberries!

Gooseberries have such a short season, I like to make the most of them. gooseberry fool, gooseberry sauce with mackerel  - these are the classics but I also enjoy these little tarts either warm or cold.

They are especially good with a cold glass of Elderflower Presse. It always seems a shame the elderflowers have finished by the time the gooseberries are ready, in my garden at least, as they are such a good pairing!

The pastry is quite rich as it has a high proportion of fat and sugar and needs careful handling. The secret is to have very cold ingredients to start with. (You will also need 4×10cm tart tins).

Ingredients

For the pastry cases

140g plain flour

45g caster sugar

70g cold butter

iced water to mix

cornflour for rolling

Filling

240g gooseberries

125 ml cream

Two eggs

Four teaspoons caster sugar

Add the flour and sugar together and pulse in a mini processor if you have one.

Cut the butter into dice and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. You can do this with your fingertips if you do not have a machine.

Add the iced water a teaspoon at a time, cutting through with a knife after each addition, until the mixture comes together.

Mixing with a knife rather than your hands helps to keep the mixture cool. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest.

Set the oven to 190°C. Grease the tart cases and flattened four muffin paper cases. Flour the rolling surface and rolling pin with the cornflour.

Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and divide into four equal pieces. Roll these out to about 12cm and slide them onto the flattened paper cases.

Flop them into the tart tins, it doesn’t matter if they are not exactly round or if they hang over the sides a bit. Put the tart tins on a baking sheet. Put another paper case on the pastry and fill with baking beans.

Bake for around 20 mins to set the tart cases. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, remove the beans and the paper cover. Turn the oven down to 175°C.

Top and tail the gooseberries. Divide between the four pastry cases. Beat the eggs and add the cream. Spoon into the tarts, covering the gooseberries and sprinkle a teaspoon of caster sugar over each one.

Return to the oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes.

Remove the paper cases and serve warm or cold with extra cream or yoghurt for a lower fat version.