These pretty slices are flavoured with plum jam, ground walnuts and a pinch of cinnamon. 

Recipe: Monday Morning Cooking Club

Some recipes are really hard to benchmark. A simple jam slice can be an Italian crostata, an Eastern European linzer, or a tart from the local Aussie bakery. So a lot of discussions ensued in our kitchen on which one we loved the most. The fact that this is a true heirloom recipe from Sylvia’s late mother, Miriam Weiss, only adds to its pole position.

Makes 18

INGREDIENTS

175 g (1 heaped cup/6 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra
100 g (scant ½ cup/3½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
50 g (½ cup/1¾ oz) ground walnuts
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
175 g (6 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature, chopped
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon lemon juice
375 g (13¼ oz) plum jam (jelly)

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Grease or line a 26 x 18 cm (10½ x 7 inch) shallow rectangular tin.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Add the chopped butter to the dry ingredients and crumble together using your fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and juice to the mixture. Use your fingertips or a wooden spoon to combine the liquid with the dry mixture until a rough dough forms. Lightly knead to bring it together to form a smooth dough, being careful not to overwork it.

Cut off a quarter of the dough (approximately 140 g/5 oz) to use for the lattice top, wrap tightly and refrigerate for 15 minutes. With lightly floured hands, break off and press pieces of the remaining dough into the prepared tin until the base is evenly covered. Spread the jam evenly on top, from edge to edge.

Remove the lattice dough from the fridge. On a well-floured board, roll out the dough into a long rectangle of pastry about 3 mm (⅛ inch) thick. Place the board and pastry in the fridge for another 15 minutes. Using a ruler as a guide, cut the pastry into equal-width strips, between 5 and 10 mm (¼–½ inch) wide, and carefully arrange these in a crisscross (lattice) pattern on top of the jam.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before removing from the tin. Cut into squares to serve.

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Extract from Now for Something Sweet by Monday Morning Cooking Club. HarperCollins Publishers. RRP $54.99. Available now.