Plantain Tart

I was definitely looking forward to this Jamaican Dessert Challenge. I tried to make plantains tarts for Christmas but my crust was a no go. I put the filling on the stove and forgot about it and it was burnt in no time - ripe plantain has a lot of sugar! But along came March's challenge for me to try try again.

This time I used a flaky pastry. I followed this one on King Arthur Flour since it's the same ratio as the majority of flaky pastry recipes that I read. For the filling, I cooked a plantain in a bit water then added nutmeg and sugar to taste. Most recipes call for mashing the plantain with a fork. But I just tossed the plantain, sugar, and nutmeg in the blender. Plantain tart fillings are usually coloured red so I added a teeny weeny bit of food colouring.

I actually baked these one morning while I was getting ready for work. I grabbed a few of the hot tarts off the tray and snapped a quick picture. I fully intended on taking better pics when I got home but eating the tarts seemed more fun.

       

The crust on that plantain tart over there had a huge piece of shortening so that melted and left a hole. Did a torn crust affect the taste? Nope. I did forget to vent these but they were fine.

So no real recipe here. Just a guide. First, make the a batch of King Arthur's Flaky Pastry. 

Next, get a really ripe plantain and cook it in a bit of liquid. It cooks quickly so don't walk away. when the plantain is tender, remove and blend with sugar and nutmeg to taste. Start with a 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. For the sugar, start with a tablespoon. A really ripe plantain may not need any depending on your tastes. Add a few drops of red food colouring, if desired. 

Next, roll out the pastry to 9" x 17". Trim to 8" x 16" so that your edges are all even. Cut eight 4" x 4" squares. 

Add a scant tablespoon of plantain to the centre. Dampen the edges with water and then fold over. Use a fork to crimp the edges. It's usually folded into a triangle but I went with a rectangle. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate while you preheat the oven. 

Preheat oven to 400 F. when the oven is ready, make vent holes in the tarts and brush with egg wash (1 egg plus a tablespoon of water). 

Bake 20-25 minutes or until the tarts are golden. 

Cool and devour. 

Jamaican Rock Buns

I spend a lot of time researching recipes from all over the world but spend very little time on Jamaican recipes. We don't have a lot of traditional desserts but it's about time that I learn to make them. I'd been thinking about this for a while and voiced this some friends back in December. They decided to join me on this quest. We created a schedule. One recipe for each month in 2019. No pressure though. If it doesn't get done in that particular month, no big deal.

For January, we chose rocks buns. I first made rock buns in first form of high school (at 10 years old). It's a really easy recipe and a good way to start because some of these months are going to be very hard for me.

I'm not quite sure how to describe a rock bun. A dense mini cake? Scone's denser cousin? A delicious treat that you should just eat and stop trying to describe it? Let's go with that.


Jamaican Rock Buns 

Ingredients 

480 grams flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
170 grams butter
200 grams brown sugar
1 cup shredded, fresh coconut
1/2 cup raisins
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
milk, as needed


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 baking sheets (I used a half sheet and a quarter sheet).
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar, coconut and raisins. Beat the eggs and vanilla then stir them in. Splash in enough milk to get the mixture to stick together. I used about a 1/4 cup but you might need more.

Scoop mounds of the batter onto prepared sheets. I used an ice cream scoop but you can use a large spoon. It doesn't need to be perfect. If desired, sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until the tops are dry and the rock buns are golden.

Note

Sometimes I use a cup of grated coconut. More coconut = more happiness.