Apricot Handtertjies from South Africa
CATEGORIES
INGREDIENTS
- Cooking Time: 10 - 12 minutes
- Servings: 2 Dozen
- Preparation Time: 35 minutes using mixer
- 3 cups of cake flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 3 beaten eggs [at room tempreture]
- 375grams of butter [at room tempreture]
- 30ml of white vinegar
- pinch of salt
- Apricot Jam [Jelly] slightly sour is a plus
- 1 beaten egg for brushing pastry
DIRECTIONS
- Heat stove to 250 degrees centigrade [500 degrees Faherenheit or Gas 7-8]
- 1. Sieve the baking powder into the flour.
- 2. You can use your mixer or use the hand method of rubbing butter into the flour until you have a fine crumbly mixture.
- 3. Add 3 beaten eggs, vinegar and pinch of salt to mixture.
- 4. When the dough forms, remove it from mixer or hand mixing bowl immediately.
- 5. You can use the dough immediately or form a ball and cover with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator until you have time to make the tartlets.
- 6. If you kept dough in the refrigerator then leave outside until it reaches room tempreture before rolling out to a 5mm thickness.
- 7. Use a cookie cutter of between 7-8cm and cut rounds from your pastry.
- 8. Place a tiny dollop of Apricot Jam [Jelly] in the centre.
- 9. Use a little water on finger and place on outer circumference of pastry.
- 10. Fold over into a half moon and press the edges down to close edge of pastry.
- 11. Brush each tarlet with beaten egg
- 12. Place in oven for 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown. Do not be concerned if a little Jam [Jelly] boils from some of tartlets as this can be normal.
- 13. Leave to cool on drying rack and then place in a sealed container.
- 14. These can be kept up to a month in a sealed container if required or enjoy immediately with tea or coffee.
RECIPE BACKSTORY
This recipe must be more than 100 years old and is traditionally South African. When I was a kid my grandmother made these when we came to visit as she knew how much we loved them. The pastry is simple yet light as a feather. These half moon tartlets just mealt in your mouth with a burst of slightly sour apricot jam [jelly] in the centre.
You can use Strawberry or Raspberry jam [jelly] BUT it's best with Apricot!
I hope you try this and share a little bit of sunshine from my country.


