Christmas Baking: Aged Cheddar & Quince Mini-Tarts

It's no secret how much I love sweet and salty as a flavour combination…and I delight in finding new ways to combine the flavours.  These mini-tarts are a nice riff on a cheese board…the crunch of the buttery pastry (not unlike a cracker) with the aged cheddar and quince paste.  These are not overly "egg-y" and are a moorish mouthful, perfect for a finger food plate as part of a bountiful Christmas celebration.  They are easy and quick too.

Ingredients:

Either two sheets of thawed frozen puff pastry 

or 

The pastry from my quiche recipe:  Real Men Eat My Quiche

The effort to make the pastry is worth it, but I am completely understanding of the need for a time saver.

100 grams quince paste

1/2 cup crumbly aged cheddar (for Australians, Mersey Valley cheddar works beautifully)

2 large eggs

2/3 cup cream

Salt & pepper to taste

Chopped fresh chives (if desired)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170C.  Use a 7cm pastry cutter to cut out the pastry rounds, and fit into a round bottomed patty tin (this recipe makes 24 mini tarts, so if you only have one pan you will need to do two batches).  

Cut the quince paste into small chunks, and put two chunks in the bottom of each pastry shell.  Crumble the cheddar, and sprinkle over the quince past.  

Whisk together the eggs and the cream, and add salt and pepper to your taste.  Very carefully pour this over the cheese and quince paste in the tart shells, but don't overfill.  The egg is just a binding agent, not the star…so get just enough in to hold things together.

Sprinkle with finely chopped fresh chives if you like, and then bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on them - they will puff up and go golden brown, but will sink once they are out of the oven.  

Cool on a wire rack, and serve with a nice glass of wine (or several as the holiday spirit moves you)!