Cremora Tart

My Gran passed away in late January and I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately.

She was a phenomenal woman, mother of three incredible daughters, glamorous AF, a fabulous storyteller and an equally fabulous baker and cook (barring the one Christmas around 30 years ago when we were visiting my Grandparents in East London and she announced she wasn’t going to bother with cooking Christmas dinner and we’d order pizza instead. This caused a huge drama between my Mom and her which I will never forget, despite how little I was.)

The last time I saw her, amongst the many things we chatted about were some of her recipes. Her short-term memory was a bit shot at this stage, so she didn’t seem to remember them and told me her food was terrible (it really wasn’t)! She was still able to tell me stories of when she was much younger, right down to the finest of details, which is something that always fascinated me when we saw one another. Thankfully she shared these recipes with my Mom and she has them safely tucked away for all of us to enjoy.

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Cremora Tart

Cremora Tart is one of my Gran’s recipes. It’s not a unique recipe by any means, but it’s one she used to make and I’ve seen other versions which include gelatine to help it set. This is a gelatine-free version which sets perfectly well and also thickens with the addition of lemon juice – just make sure all the ingredients are chilled and allow the tart to set in the fridge for as long as possible, overnight at best.

This is also one of those recipes which sounds totally bizarre but which tastes flipping great! For those of you not familiar with Cremora – it’s basically a coffee creamer. You can either bake a sweet shortcrust pastry case or use a no-bake biscuit base – the choice is entirely up to you. I used a pastry case this time around but will definitely use Tennis Biscuits (coconut biscuits) because the pineapple and the coconut would pair beautifully.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g Cremora 
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 x 395g tin of condensed milk, chilled overnight
• 1 x 432g tin pineapple crush, chilled overnight and drained
• baked pastry case or no-bake biscuit base of choice

METHOD

1. Place the Cremora in a medium-sized bowl and slowly add the cup of boiling water, whisking while you pour to incorporate the liquid. Continue whisking to fully dissolve the Cremora and make sure the mixture is completely smooth.
2. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
3. After the Cremora mixture has cooled, whisk in the lemon juice, condensed milk and crushed pineapple.
4. Pour the mixture into the baked pastry or biscuit base and chill overnight before slicing and serving.

Thinking about all of my Gran’s recipes got me thinking about how many others there are from the older generations in our families and how much I’d like to learn about, recreate and share them.

Recipes are meant to be shared and enjoyed. Food is also about storytelling and conjuring up memories. If anyone has a family recipe (along with a story behind it, if there is one) which they’d like to share so that I can recreate and photograph it, please let me know. I’d be honoured to publish it on my website. If you’re happy to share, please get in touch with me by commenting below or contacting me via email on nicky@mydeliciousmonster.com.

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