Reindeer Bakewell Tarts, Christmas with Kim-Joy: A Festive Collection of Edible Cuteness. Photography by Ellis Parrinder.
Kim-Joy’s baked creations have charmed fans since she was in the final of the Great British Bake Off 2018. Following on from her bestselling debut book, Baking with Kim-Joy, she’s turning to everyone’s favourite time of year —Christmas!
Sharing her simple decorating techniques and her delicious flavour combinations, Kim-Joy will delight novice and seasoned bakers with— amongst many others—her melted snowman cake pops, white chocolate igloos with marshmallow seals, penguin bao buns and incredible inspiration for designing your own magical gingerbread village.
Whether you’re after ideas for edible Christmas gifts or bigger bakes to feed friends and family, you’ll find a treasure trove of adorable recipes here that will melt everyone’s heart.
Christmas 2020 is officially set to be the sweetest Christmas on record!
Christmas with Kim-Joy: A Festive Collection of Edible Cuteness is available at Amazon.com and Indigo.ca.
Reindeer Bakewell Tarts
These are the real deerl! Buttery and crisp pastry, fruity jam, moist almond frangipane and sweet icing topped with an even sweeter reindeer design. The trick with these is to make sure your pastry is elegantly thin, and blind baking is a must. Be careful not to overwork the pastry, and take this recipe one step at a time, as all will be right as rein.
MAKES: ABOUT 12 PASTRY
150g [2∕3 cup] salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
225g [1¾ cups] plain [all-purpose] flour (to make gluten-free, use gluten-free flour plus ½ tsp xanthan gum), plus extra for dusting
40g [3¼ Tbsp] caster or granulated sugar
1 medium egg
FRANGIPANE
100g [½ cup] caster or granulated sugar
100g [7 Tbsp] unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 medium egg
¾ tsp almond extract 100g [1 cup] ground almonds
ICING
200g [1½ cups] icing [confectioners’] sugar, plus extra to thicken
2 Tbsp water
PLUS
4 Tbsp jam of your choice black food dye
12 glacé [candied]
cherries
24 hard pretzels
- First, make the pastry. Grease a 12-hole muffin tray with butter. Add the flour (or gluten-free flour plus xanthan gum) to a large bowl. Chop the butter and add it to the bowl, then rub it into the flour until
it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Don’t overwork. Stir
in the caster sugar. Beat the egg in a separate small bowl, then add 2 Tbsp to the main mixing bowl and stir, gradually combining it with the rest of the mixture. When the egg is stirred through, use your hands to form the pastry into a ball. - Roll out the pastry on a generously floured work surface as thinly as you can and use round cutters
to stamp out 12 circles of pastry. Use your fingers to gently guide each circle of pastry into each muffin hole. Prick the bases with a fork 2–3 times, then place in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. At this point, preheat the oven to 180°C [350°F/Gas mark 4]. - Line the chilled pastry shells with muffin or cupcake paper cases, then fill with baking beads (or you can use lentils or rice) and blind bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the baking beads and paper, then bake for a further 5–7 minutes until golden and crisp.
Tip: I used a cupcake tray in which each hole is 7.5cm [3in] across, so I used a 10-cm [4-in] cutter for the bases and a 7.5-cm [3-in] one for the lids, but if you have a larger tray, then use larger cutters.
Recipe reprinted with permission from Hardie Grant Books.