Name: Maids of Honour
Yield: Makes 24
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: zest of 1 small lemon and juice of ½; fresh nutmeg; pinch of salt; 1 large egg, beaten; 50 g ground almonds; 50 g caster sugar; 50 g unsalted butter; 150 ml double cream; 1 vanilla pod; 2 teaspoons lemon juice; 75 g vegetable fat such as Trex, in scant teaspooned lumps; 75 g cold unsalted butter, diced; 300 g plain flour, preferably Italian 00 flour; 2 large eggs

Preparation info

Makes
24

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

How to be a Domestic Goddess

By Nigella Lawson

Published 1998

About

Some people really cannot stomach mincemeat, so it’s useful to have some little pie to serve as a substitute for mince pies. The recipe from the Maids of Honour tea rooms in Richmond, Surrey, is what is commonly called a ‘closely guarded secret’, but unofficial recipes abound for these tarts, with their filling somewhere between cheesecake and custard. This one is the result of a collaboration between me and one of my oldest friends, Tracey Scoffield.

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