These are perfect for a brunch or a tea or just a little snacky thing. The apricot and cumin flavours really work well with the rich flavour of the Stilton. Good apricots are a difficult thing to buy. They’re such a delicate fruit, which bruise so easily when ripe, that the suppliers pick and ship them while green and let them ripen off the tree. When I was growing up we had some fruit trees on the property: peach, plum and apricot, and nothing compares to a hand-picked, quickly eaten apricot, warm from the sun. My gran used to make jam from the fruit, which could never compete with anything bought in a store. Of course, living on the 10th floor of a building in the middle of the city, makes growing your own a little difficult, so I’m making do with what I have and when I find some in good nick, I have no choice but to buy them immediately.
Apricot and Stilton Cups
Makes 12 small cups
Pastry
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp fennel seed, crushed
125 g butter, chilled
¼ to ½ cup chilled water
Filling
¼ cup ground almonds
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
62 g butter (3 Tbsp)
½ tsp Cumin
± 100g English Stilon cheese
6 fresh aprictots, halved and stoned
- to make pastry: mix all dry ingredients well. Chop butter into 1cm cubes and blitz in the food processor, or rub with your fingertips until mix resembles breadcrumbs, or oatmeal. Add cold water and mix just until dough comes together. Separate into two even pieces, flatten into discs, cover with cling wrap and refridgerate about 20 mins
- on a floured surface, roll out one disc at a time to about 3 mm in thickness. Using a cookie cutter or a small bowl, but rounds a bit bigger than the diameter of your muffin tins. Grease each tin (or uses muffin papers) line with pastry and refrigerate the whole sheet for 10 mins.
- Blind bake the shells at 350˚ F for 7 – 10 mins. Allow to cool.
- to make filling: Mix all ingredients except cheese with a beater until smooth. Crumble cheese into mixture and fold in gently
- fill each shell with about 1½ Tbsp of cheese filling
- top with half an apricot, skin side up
- bake at 420˚F for 20 – 25 mins until golden
