If you’re looking for inspiration and recipes for festive treats a little bit different from the norm, then look no further than Agnes Prus’ brand new book, Let It Snow.
It’s packed full of unique Christmas baking ideas that would be perfect for Christmas get-togethers or even as edible gifts for your foodie friends over the festive season.
And this week Agnes is sharing with us her fabulous Mulled Wine Tartlets recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients (Makes about 12)
For the Jam or Jelly:
- 125ml (1/2 cup) of red wine
- 2 strips of orange peel
- 2 cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 piece of star anise
- 1/4 vanilla pod (bean)
- 125ml (1/2 cup) grape juice
- 75g (1/3 cup) preserving sugar 3:1
For the Dough:
- 200g (7oz) butter
- 140g (5oz or 2/3 cup) raw cane sugar
- seeds of 1 vanilla pod (bean)
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 300g (10 1/2 oz or 2 1/2 cups) of plain (all-purpose) flour
- 100g (3 1/2 oz or 1 cup) blanched ground almonds
For Decorating:
- icing sugar
Extra Equipment:
- star-shaped cookie cutters, in 3 sizes
Mulled Wine Tartlets Recipe:
- For the jam, put the red wine with the orange peel, spices, scraped out vanilla pod and vanilla seeds into a saucepan. Bring to the boil on a medium heat. Immediately remove from the stove, cover and steep for at least 2 hours. Strain the wine mixture through a sieve and pour back into the pan. Mix in the juice and the preserving sugar. Bring to the boil and fast boil for 3 minutes. Pour into a sterilised jar and allow to set.
- For the dough, cream the butter with the sugar, vanilla seeds and salt. Add the egg and beat in well. Add the flour and almonds, and work everything into a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and leave in a cool place for 1 hour.
- Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3–4 mm (⅛ in) on a floured work surface, and press out stars in three sizes. Place on baking sheets lined with baking parchment and bake for 10–12 minutes (you might need to take the small ones out of the oven earlier). Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Heat the jam in a saucepan and stir until smooth. Spread the jam on the large and medium-sized circles, before stacking them together with the small ones on top. Dust with icing sugar and add a final dab of jam. Store in a tin.
“Extracted from “Let It Snow” by Agnes Prus with permission from Hardie Grant Publishers. Photography © Frauke Antholz.
“Let It Snow” is available to buy from all good book stores and online from Amazon.
