Manchester Tart

8" Flan Tin or Quiche Tin For the short pastry base
8oz Plain Flour
4oz Margarine and a pinch of salt :

Rub the ingredients together until you achieve a sandy texture, make a well in the center and add cold water a few drops at a time and mix to a smooth dough.

Grease the inside of the flan tin with a little oil, roll out the paste to 1/16inch thickness in a rounded shape until it overlaps the sides of the tin by about 1" all round. Mould the pastry to the shape of the tin and trim of excess pastry level with the top of the tin. Line the inside of the pastry with greaseproof paper and put on either a layer of dried peas or rice and bake in the oven @ approx 375 degrees for 15to 20 mins.

Remove from oven, remove paper & rice / peas, ( these can be retained and used time & time again in the same way, it avoids waste).

Custard:

1 Pint Milk Up to 2oz Custard Powder (Depends how thick you like your custard baby) up to 2oz sugar again to personal taste.

Use a little of the milk to wet the custard powder into a smooth paste, put the remainder in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stir in the custard powder mix until required thickness is reached. Add sugar to taste. TIP: add a knob of butter approx 1oz to the custard sauce and whisk in ( this will give you creaminess, baby and also help to prevent the custard from cracking when cooling. Across the base of the pasty spread a layer of red jelly - raspberry, strawberry, plum or mixed fruit, whatever tickles your fancy)

Gently pour the custard into the tart case and allow to cool before placing in the fridge to chill, man. When well chilled pipe rosettes of whipped cream on the top of the custard and garnish with Glace Cherries. To finish off sprinkle liberally with desiccated coconut.