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Tart, My Lady's

Mix a little pastry with six ounces of flour, a pinch of salt, three ounces of fresh butter, and as much cold water or milk as will make a smooth firm paste. Roll it out lightly two or three times, and the last time roll it to the thickness of a little less than an inch. Stamp it out with a fluted cutter the size of the dish in which it is to be served, and lay it on a floured baking-tin. Roll the trimmings of the pastry to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, and stamp this out in rounds the size of the flutings of a larger cutter. Moisten the edges slightly, lay the rounds upon the border of the tart, and press them upon the inner side, so that the outer edge may have a flaky appearance. Lastly, make a circular incision a quarter of an inch deep almost close to the border, and bake the tart in a moderate oven. When it is done enough take out with a sharp knife the part which has been marked, carefully scrape away the soft crummy centre, and fill the tart with good jam of any kind, or with oysters or lobsters prepared as for a vol-au-vent. Put the tart into the oven again for a minute, and serve it hot or cold. It may be ornamented according to fancy. If filled with sweetmeat, a few blanched and sliced almonds may be strewn over it, or the rounds of the border may be glazed with beaten egg. At Christmas-time the tart may be filled with hot mincemeat instead of jam. Time to bake, twenty-five to thirty minutes. Probable cost, exclusive of the interior, 6d. Sufficient for five or six persons.