Hertzoggie

The Hertzoggie is a sweet, jam-filled tartlet that's topped with a coconut meringue that's moist on the inside and crispy on the outside.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cape Malay, South African

Keyword: baking, biscuits, coconut

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 23

Servings: approx hertzoggies

Preheat the oven to 180℃/356℉. Grease one or two, 12-hole muffin tins using butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
Separate the egg yolks from the whites and set aside.

In a large bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt together and give it a rough mix. Add the softened butter and combine it using your finger tips until it resembles grains of sand.
Add the water and 25g castor sugar to the egg yolks and give it a quick mix. Add the egg yolk mixture to the flour-butter mixture and using a fork, mix until a dough forms.
Lightly dust a clean working surface with flour and roll out the dough. You want it to be about 3-5mm thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the circles. The cookie cutter should be slightly bigger than the muffin hole's size.
Evenly press the pastry in each muffin hole, ensuring it's pressed firmly around the edge and the base of the tin - I use the base of the handle on my spatula to secure the pastry in the mold.

Place about 1 tbsp worth of apricot jam in each mold and spread evenly as much as possible. Do not add too much apricot jam as it'll bubble over and removing it once baked will be a nightmare. At the same time, having too little apricot jam in each pastry is just as frustrating.

Gradually sprinkle in 135g castor sugar to the egg whites whilst whisking. Whisk until the meringue is glossy. I prefer whipping it until very soft peaks form but some want it more stiff - this'll depend on your personal preference. Once whipped, add in the desiccated coconut and mix until combined.
Add about 1 tbsp of coconut-meringue on top of the jam and spread evenly, covering the jam and sealing the edges as much as possible. This'll also ensure that the jam doesn't bubble over.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the meringue is light brown in color. Once they're done baking, remove them from the muffin tin and place on a cooling rack. Allow the jam to cooldown before devouring.

Pastry: you can use puff pastry if you don't want to go through the additional effect of making the pastry from scratch. Naturally I'd recommend you make it the traditional way but you're the chef! Some also prefer pacing the freshly made pastry in the fridge for 30minutes prior to rolling it out but this seems like an unnecessary step to me.
Jam: You can use whatever type of jam you fancy, so feel free to switch it up depending on your taste preference.
Eggs: make sure your eggs are fresh and large as you want them to fluff up nicely when making the coconut-meringue and also have enough to for all the hertzoggies.
Storing: You can keep them, in an airtight container for up to a month in the fridge. Once baked and cooled, freezing the hertzoggies work brilliantly.