A classic British old-school dessert, cornflake tarts with strawberry jam are so easy to make and guaranteed crowd-pleasers covered in custard!
🍴 Why you will love this recipe
One of the highlights of any school dinner, these crispy, treacle-y cornflake tarts with strawberry jam and lashings of custard are seriously addictive... not something you usually associate with school meals!
They are very quick and easy to make, especially if you take the shortcut of using shop-bought ready-rolled pastry. You can choose whether to make one large cornflake tart to serve in slices, or these pretty individual tartlets.
A crisp shortcrust pastry case is spread with strawberry jam and topped with cornflakes in a treacly golden syrup mixture, then quickly baked until toasted and golden brown. Custard is obligatory!
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📝 What you need
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry You can either use a shop-bought ready-rolled pastry or make your own - take a look at my easy pastry recipe. Don't be tempted to use a sweet pastry - these tarts are plenty sweet enough already and an unsweetened pastry makes a very good balance!
Cornflakes are the star of the show - but not all cornflakes are vegan, so do check ingredients carefully - this guide to vegan cereal is helpful.
Strawberry Jam It is your choice whether to use the super-smooth budget jam, or a fancy conserve type with chunks of fruit in.
Custard to serve - again you can either make your own (see my vegan custard recipe) or buy ready-made. My favourites are Oatly whippable custard or Alpro Custard.
Equipment
You will need loose-bottomed tart tins for these cornflake tarts - either individual ones or one larger tin. Trust me - they will be a nightmare to get out of the tin otherwise!
I used these excellent 10cm tart tins by KitchenCraft, or for a single large tart you could try this 22cm tart tin instead.
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Cornflake Tarts
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page 👇🏼 .
Cut pastry into circles slightly larger than your tartlet tins. Grease the tins and line with pastry. Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer or 30 minutes in the fridge.
Line the tartlets with greaseproof paper and baking beans (or dried rice or beans), and bake for 15 minutes until just turning golden brown. When cool, spread strawberry jam over the bottom of each tart.
Combine the golden syrup, dark brown sugar and vegan butter in a saucepan and heat until fully melted and smooth. Stir through the cornflakes then divide between the tarts. Return to the oven for 5 minutes until the cornflakes are lightly toasted on top. Serve with vegan custard.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
Prevent your pastry from shrinking back into the tins - firstly by chilling the pastry-lined tins well before baking, and secondly by leaving an overhang of excess pastry around the edge of the tins, and only trimming this off after they are baked and cooled.
Press the cornflake mixture right into the edges of the tart cases, to make sure they are fully packed. No one wants a half-filled cornflake tart!
Frequently Asked Questions
They really are at their best served on the day they are made, however if you want to get ahead you could line the pastry cases up to 48 hours in advance and keep them chilled until you need them.
You could also blind-bake the pastry cases up to 24 hours in advance, keeping them in an airtight tin or container overnight.
No, these don't freeze well and are best eaten on the day of baking.
They are at their best on the day they are made, but can be kept for up to 2 days in an airtight tin or container.
Yes - just use gluten-free ready-rolled pastry, and gluten-free cornflakes. (As above, check the ingredients of gluten-free cornflakes to make sure they are vegan).
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
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📖 Recipe
Old School Cornflake Tarts
Ingredients
- 320 g shortcrust pastry either shop-bought ready-rolled or homemade
- 6 teaspoon strawberry jam
- 140 g golden syrup
- 70 g dairy-free butter
- 40 g dark brown sugar
- pinch salt
- 120 g cornflakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas Mark 4.
- Cut six circles from the pastry, a little larger than your tartlet tins. Grease the tins with a little oil or vegan butter, then press the pastry into each tin. Leave excess pastry hanging over the edge of the tins, don't cut it off at this stage.
- Chill the pastry cases - either in the freezer for 10 minutes or in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Line each tart with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans, (or you can use dried rice or beans if you don't have baking beans). Bake the tart cases for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the baking beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes. The pastry cases should just be turning golden brown.
- When the tarts are cool, trim off excess pastry from the edges with a sharp knife. Spread 1 teaspoon of jam over the bottom of each tart case.
- In a large saucepan, heat the golden syrup, vegan butter, dark brown sugar and salt until fully melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat, add the cornflakes and stir until all the cornflakes are fully coated.
- Divide the cornflakes between the tarts and press down gently to pack them in.
- Return the tarts to the oven for 5 minutes until the cornflakes are golden and toasted on top.
- Serve warm with plenty of vegan custard.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Michelle says
Simple and delicious! And they're great, even on a budget!
Geraldine says
Can't wait to make this. I can remember this from school. How about chocolate sponge and green pepermint custard next 🙂 Love trying all your recipes.
Kate Ford says
Ugh, don't... we used to call it "mouthwash sauce"!! X
kushigalu says
Never tried something like this before. These tarts look so delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Julie says
What a delicious idea to use corn flakes. Will have to try this.
Jess says
Immediately obsessed with this recipe!