Neenish tarts

Neenish tarts recipe

No one is really sure about the true neenish tart origin story. But it’s been a part of Australia’s cuisine since as early as the 19th century and continues to be beloved by many today. The iconic half-pink, half-chocolate icing on the top covers a marshmallow-like sweet cream filling and ruby-red jam, encased by a buttery crust. You may remember seeing it being sold at bakeries way back when, having it as an after-school treat, or seeing it loaded into your Mum’s shopping trolley when she was in the throes of preparing for a morning or afternoon tea she was hosting. Did you know that you probably already have most of the ingredients needed to make these at home? In this recipe, you’ll use pre-made tart shells to create these classic goodies. 

Tips for making this neenish tart recipe

Here are some tips for how to achieve the best results for this recipe for neenish tarts. 

Things to note when making the mock cream:

• You only need 2 tbs of milk to dissolve the 1/4 cup of icing sugar. It is important to give the sugar a medium to dissolve in, so that it can be poured in a thin steady stream into the butter later on, but without being watery. Make sure that when you’re dissolving the sugar over heat, the sugar mixture does not simmer or boil.

• After mixing the gelatine with the sugar and milk mixture, ensure it is cooled to room temperature before continuing.

• Before mixing the butter with the sugar mixture, the butter needs to be melted and at room temperature, around 18°C, so that the mock cream will end up smooth and fluffy.

• You can make mock cream up to 3 days ahead of time, storing it in an airtight container in the fridge – but you cannot freeze it.

Things to note when making the icing that goes on top of the tarts: 

• Sift the icing sugar first so that there aren’t any clumps. 

• Once you’ve mixed the icing ingredients together, do a test to check that it isn’t too watery. You want the icing to coat the top of the tarts without dripping down the sides. To test, stir the icing once, then stop. You should see the icing take about 8 seconds to smooth out. 

Serving and storing neenish tarts

Because they are on the sweeter side when it comes to desserts and baked treats, it’s a good idea to serve them with a bitter-leaning drink, such as black tea, green tea, herbal tea, flower tea or coffee. As for what other foods to serve them with, think of flavours that are refreshing and light, like fresh cut up fruit or unsweetened cream. Neenish tarts are great for high teas, Mother’s Day, bridal showers or birthdays, or to take to work morning or afternoon teas. They are also portable, so you can take them very easily to picnics or BBQs to share with friends and family.

Assembled tarts can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days, so if you want to make these a day ahead, you most certainly can. You may be wondering, can you freeze neenish tarts? Well, it is best not to when they are assembled, as their texture may be affected.

Love this recipe?

Follow our tips and recipe to make the most delicious homemade neenish tarts. Have you discovered a newfound love for tart making? Try these recipes for mini citrus tarts, egg tarts and mini salted caramel tarts.