Pety Pernauntes

Period: England, 1300s-1400s
Sources: Medieval Cookery

Crust:
1 cup semola flour
1 Tbls. sugar
1 tiny pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbls. butter
1/4 cup water

Filling:
6 egg yolks
1 Tbls. water
1/2 tsp. gelatin
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/4 cup minced dates
1/4 cup minced raisins, dried currant berries, or similar

For the crust: Stir together the flour, sugar, saffron, and salt. Cut in the butter until it creates moist crumbs, leaving some small chunks of butter. Stir in the water, forming a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge while making the filling.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Dissolve the gelatin in the water. Beat together the egg yolks, gelatin, sugar, and powdered ginger until the mixture is very light, as light as you can reasonably get it. Then stir in the dates and raisins.

Divide the crust dough into 12 pieces, 6 of them slightly smaller than the others. Roll the larger balls out into circles and line 6 cups in a mini tart pan. Put about 2 Tbls. of filling into each cup--there will be a little extra, so divide it evenly. Then roll the smaller balls of dough to make top crusts. Leave a little bit of space, if you can, between the filling and the top crust.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.