neenish tarts: a dedication to baby showers & my dear friend hannah

My sister is pregnant! At her last check-up, her baby was the size of an avocado and this just excites me so gosh darn much. To make things even more wonderful, I recently got my hands on a copy of AWW's 'High Tea'. This book is pretty much my planned menu for my sister's baby shower. Yes, the whole book. I'm quite confident in saying I'm more excited than she is.

So, to slightly alleviate some of my over enthusiasm, I made some neenish tarts. For a reason I can no longer remember, they remind me of my dear friend Hannah. So Hannah and little avo, this recipe is for you.

This recipe is slightly adapted version of AWW's, only because I make my tarts with real whipped cream rather than a mock, butter-based cream. It's up to you.

Ingredients (makes 24)

For pastry cases:
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
185 gms cold butter, chopped coarsely
1 egg yolk
2 tsps iced water

For filling:
2 cups thickened cream
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup strawberry jam

For icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
15 gms unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsps hot milk
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
pink food colouring

To make cases, process flour, sugar and butter until crumbly. With motor running, add egg yolk and enough water to bring ingredients together. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and then refrigerate for 30 mins.

Grease two 12 capacity cupcake tins. Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured surface until about 3mm thick. Cut out 12 x 7.5cm rounds and press rounds into holes of tin. Prick bases of each with a fork. Repeat with remaining pastry and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Preheat oven to 200C/190C fan-forced. Bake cases for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. Stand cases in tin for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

For filling, divide jam evenly between cases. Whip cream with icing sugar until stiff peaks form. Spoon cream into cases on top of jam, leveling with a palette knife.

For icing, stir icing sugar and butter together. Gradually add milk, stirring until you get a thick paste. Divide icing mixture evenly into two small, heatproof bowls. Stir cocoa powder through one mixture, and a drop of pink food colouring through the second half. Stir each bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water until icing is spreadable - this won't take long.
Using a small palette knife, spread pink icing over half of each tart, and chocolate icing over the remaining half. Doing the chocolate icing last, I find it easier to ensure the diving line is nice and neat, cleaning up any stray pink.

Recommended baking soundtrack: Bowerbirds - Hymns for a Dark Horse