These tarts are the traditionals Christmas bakings in Finland. I really love these, it's the must thing to eat every Christmas and we usually make the first tarts in the beginning of December so that we eat them the whole Christmas time. Some people make the tarts from a normal puff pastry, but I think those tarts aren't that good, they just don't have any flavour. We have always made our Christmas tarts from a quark-butter pastry, and this recipe is my father's mother's, Elsa's. I think it's the best one. And it's easy too.
You can bake the Christmas tarts in different shapes, the classic one is the star shaped tart, then the half moon and the angel.
I prefer the half moons, because they have more of the plum marmalade than the others, and I really love the plum marmalade. But of course the stars are prettier and more traditional. I really recommend trying these tarts, I'm sure you'll love them like I do.
Ingredients:
500g soft quark
500g soft salted butter
500g plain wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp water
For the filling:
a lot of plum marmalade, about 600g
1. Mix all the ingredients together (not the marmalade of course) and knead well into a smooth dough. Deal the dough in two.
2. Roll out (on a table sprinkled with flour) one half of the dough into a big rectangular plate, about half centimetre thick.
3. If you have the moulds for baking a half moon or a star you can use them and make the tarts.
4. If you don't, you can use a pasrty wheel and with it form the stars. To make the angel, use the same mould when making the stars, just fold the edges differently.
5. Put a dollop of the marmalade in the center of the stars, then start folding: the sharp edges to the middle. Attach the edges with some egg or water.
6. To make the half moons: use a round mould, put some of the marmalade on the other half of the circle and then turn the otherside on, use the mould to press the half moon closed.
7. Move the tarts into a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and butter with egg.
8. Bake in the 200°C oven for 10 minutes until lighlty golden.
9. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Serve traditionally with glogg (or mulled wine).
