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| Peppermint Crisp Tart |
Technically speaking, the traditional Peppermint Crisp Tart we make in South Africa isn't actually a tart, since a "tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry" and the pastry is usually a shortcrust pastry. But let this not deter you from making a firm South African favourite. However, what you do need to bear in mind is that if you are not either already living in South Africa, live close to a shop that brings in South African products, or have recently stocked up on specific ingredients, you may be in for a disappointment.
There are three main ingredients which render it particularly South African :
1. Peppermint Crisp itself, a sweet made and sold exclusively it appears in South Africa. No real substitute
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| Close-up of peppermint crisp from Wikipedia |
2. Baker's Tennis Biscuits which are, to this day, made with real butter, real coconut and syrup. Though there are other, cheaper substitutes available, I don't trust them. Can substitute with coconut biscuits that are not very hard in texture.
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| Baker's Tennis Biscuits |
3. Caramel Treat which is basically a tin of condensed milk that has been cooked in water in its tin until it has caramelised. Some mention substituting with Dulche de Leche
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| Nestle's Caramel Treat |
As a result of the inability to find many of the above ingredients, it has become a particularly important dessert to serve at gatherings of nostalgic South Africans living overseas.
The Google Search Annals seem to indicate that this dessert was originally created by the manufacturers of Orley Whip, "Orley Whip is a convenient, versatile alternative to fresh cream. It contains no preservatives and animal fats, making it suitable for lactose-intolerant consumers and vegetarians, and is also gluten free. The product is available as Orley Whip Dessert Topping and Imitation Cream and is kosher and halaal certified." Similar imitation creams can be found throughout the world.
However, given that the rest of the dessert includes "caramel treat" or cooked condensed milk, not to mention chocolate which is also dairy-based, this will not pass muster for many a kosher occasion.
There are a variety of ways you can make it, and a variety of ratios you can use. I will start with the basic recipe:
Peppermint crisp tart: traditional and budget
Tennis biscuits - one packet (either layer or crushed)
1 container (250 ml of fresh cream) or Orley whip
1 caramel treat (360g) or cooked condensed milk
1 container ideal milk (can substitute with cream - which is what I do)
Peppermint Crisp - amount added may vary, depending on your taste/budget.
Whip the cream until very stiff (add a little castor sugar while whipping). Add the caramel to the cream and mix thoroughly. Whip the ideal milk separately until stiff and then add it to the cream and caramel mixture and fold it in (or, leave it out altogether. Add three quarters of the grated chocolate and mix gently.
Put a layer of the biscuits down and pour the mixture on top of it. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate over the top. Leave overnight in the refrigerator to stiffen and serve cold. This will make one big tart.
Kathryn's Recipe:
The ratio I prefer to work with, since it is more caramelly (and we all love caramel in our household) is to use 2 cans of caramel to 500 ml of whipping cream for large dessert (which translates into 1 can caramel treat to 250 ml of whipping cream for smaller dessert)
I don't bother about the ideal milk or the Orley Whip at all.
Now, some people add peppermint flavouring into the mixture, but that's only really necessary if you are being a bit less than generous with the Peppermint Crisp. But it's worth noting if you are a little short on this ingredient. Also, some don't put in any Peppermint Crisp into the mixture at all, but only on the top of the mixture. I do both, as below:
Also, I crush the tennis biscuits and add a bit of butter to make a crumbly layer on which the filling sits as opposed to layering them like a lasagne. On the other hand, some people do add the biscuits, in layers (but do note this can make it more difficult to cut and necessitates the use of a second packet of biscuits - but each to their own, whichever you prefer).
Frankly, this recipes begs for a small set of glasses and layers of biscuit crumbs, followed by filling, chocolate and so on. That would make a very classy Xmas dessert and my husband and son say that they think I really need to test it out on them soon.
For a South African day at the Dhahran Women's Group, my friend Annari did an amazing job of baking them in tiny individual tarts, and since close to 135 people showed up for the event, this meant she baked 140 tarts. Between her and Karien and Elsa and others, the amount of work they put in creating individual pieces for the group to enjoy was absolutely amazing.
Baked in tiny individual tarts:
If you do want to make tiny individual tarts, as my friend Annari did, here is a recipe for her tarts (which are then technically tarts, i.e., with a shortcrust pastry base), as she puts it below:
# I didn’t make one big tart, but made small crusts and added the filling early that morning. The recipe for the dough:
230 g (250 ml) butter
200 g (250 ml) white sugar
2 large eggs
525 g (4 x 250 ml) all purpose flour
10 ml cream of tartar
2 ml salt
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
25 ml milk
Mix butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and mix well. Sieve flour, cream of tartar and salt together and add to egg mixture. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with a little milk and then add to egg mixture. Mix well and cover dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough about 3 mm thin on a floured surface and cut with a cookie cutter. Lift it into baking tray (muffin pan or one with smaller holes) that was sprayed with spray and cook. Put a piece of wax paper on top of every piece of dough and fill it with dried beans. Bake in a pre heated oven at 200 C (400 F) for about 7 minutes. Remove the paper with the beans and bake another 3 minutes or until dough turns gold. Remove carefully from pan and let it cool before storing in an air tight container.
Tennis biscuits - one packet (either layer or crushed)
1 container (250 ml of fresh cream) or Orley whip
1 caramel treat (360g) or cooked condensed milk
1 container ideal milk (can substitute with cream - which is what I do)
Peppermint Crisp - amount added may vary, depending on your taste/budget.
Whip the cream until very stiff (add a little castor sugar while whipping). Add the caramel to the cream and mix thoroughly. Whip the ideal milk separately until stiff and then add it to the cream and caramel mixture and fold it in (or, leave it out altogether. Add three quarters of the grated chocolate and mix gently.
Put a layer of the biscuits down and pour the mixture on top of it. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate over the top. Leave overnight in the refrigerator to stiffen and serve cold. This will make one big tart.
Kathryn's Recipe:
The ratio I prefer to work with, since it is more caramelly (and we all love caramel in our household) is to use 2 cans of caramel to 500 ml of whipping cream for large dessert (which translates into 1 can caramel treat to 250 ml of whipping cream for smaller dessert)
I don't bother about the ideal milk or the Orley Whip at all.
Now, some people add peppermint flavouring into the mixture, but that's only really necessary if you are being a bit less than generous with the Peppermint Crisp. But it's worth noting if you are a little short on this ingredient. Also, some don't put in any Peppermint Crisp into the mixture at all, but only on the top of the mixture. I do both, as below:
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| Peppermint Crisp Rubble on top |
Also, I crush the tennis biscuits and add a bit of butter to make a crumbly layer on which the filling sits as opposed to layering them like a lasagne. On the other hand, some people do add the biscuits, in layers (but do note this can make it more difficult to cut and necessitates the use of a second packet of biscuits - but each to their own, whichever you prefer).
Frankly, this recipes begs for a small set of glasses and layers of biscuit crumbs, followed by filling, chocolate and so on. That would make a very classy Xmas dessert and my husband and son say that they think I really need to test it out on them soon.
For a South African day at the Dhahran Women's Group, my friend Annari did an amazing job of baking them in tiny individual tarts, and since close to 135 people showed up for the event, this meant she baked 140 tarts. Between her and Karien and Elsa and others, the amount of work they put in creating individual pieces for the group to enjoy was absolutely amazing.
 |
| South African treats baked individually |
# I didn’t make one big tart, but made small crusts and added the filling early that morning. The recipe for the dough:
230 g (250 ml) butter
200 g (250 ml) white sugar
2 large eggs
525 g (4 x 250 ml) all purpose flour
10 ml cream of tartar
2 ml salt
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
25 ml milk
Mix butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and mix well. Sieve flour, cream of tartar and salt together and add to egg mixture. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with a little milk and then add to egg mixture. Mix well and cover dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough about 3 mm thin on a floured surface and cut with a cookie cutter. Lift it into baking tray (muffin pan or one with smaller holes) that was sprayed with spray and cook. Put a piece of wax paper on top of every piece of dough and fill it with dried beans. Bake in a pre heated oven at 200 C (400 F) for about 7 minutes. Remove the paper with the beans and bake another 3 minutes or until dough turns gold. Remove carefully from pan and let it cool before storing in an air tight container.
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| Annari, to whom the credit for the original recipe is given |
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