Manchester Tart

Preparation

• 1
  Sieve the flour into a large cool bowl then mix in the salt. Cut the butter or margarine into small pieces and drop it into the bowl, then rub it in quickly and lightly with your fingertips until it reaches the breadcrumb stage.
• 2
  Make a well in the middle, add cold water a little at a time
• 3
  you will probably only need a few teaspoons. After each addition, use a knife to combine it with the flour mixture until it begins to come together. Finally, use cool hands to form the dough, wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.
• 4
  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees or 180 degrees fan oven. Lightly grease the bottom and the rim of a 22cm loose bottomed flan tin.
• 5
  On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry fairly thinly into a circle. Carefully roll it over the rolling pin and unroll it into the tin, then press the pastry gently into the prepared tin. Use a knife to trim off the excess pastry. Line the tart with baking parchment and baking beans then bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and leave to cool.
• 6
  Meanwhile, make the custard. In a small bowl, mix the custard powder and sugar together with a few tablespoons of the cold milk to make a smooth paste. Stir in the vanilla extract. Heat the rest of the milk, tip some of it into the custard powder and sugar and mix, and then pour it all back into the hot milk, stirring continually over a low heat to make a thick, smooth custard. When the custard is ready, turn off the heat and allow to cool, but stir occasionally to stop a skin from forming.
• 7
  Spoon the jam onto the pastry base and spread evenly, making sure you reach the edges. Spoon in the custard and spread that out on top of the jam. Sprinkle the coconut all over the top of the custard. Place in the fridge to chill for at least a couple of hours.