By Keighley’s Mike Armstrong, an award-winning master baker with a big passion for baking...

PASSPORTS at the ready, fasten your seatbelts, we're off on our travels this week across the Bronte moors border to Manchester – which is more famous for its sport and soaps than its cuisine.

I've never really understood the pointless rivalry with Lancashire. I like to think of myself as a northerner, after all, it's just a set of arbitrary lines drawn on a map in my opinion – but in terms of food, a native Yorkshire person does know a thing or two about baking and has that all-important edge over our Lancashire neighbours!

So, putting pride to one side for a minute, as the the last thing I want to do is restart the War of the Roses, I would like to honour the Manchester tart – which did feature on many of our school dinner menus. I'm guessing it showed up so often because a dried out pastry case, a thin layer of jam and some dried instant custard were cheap to source for our dinner ladies, to satisfy us hungry herds of kids queuing up in line down the corridor with our dinner tickets.

Manchester tart was certainly something I grew up with, often as a Sunday teatime treat. But for others, it can bring back mixed emotions of childhood and awful school dinners!

Making a Manchester tart is relatively simple; the assembly part only takes a few minutes, combining custard and raspberry jam into a sweet pastry case topped with toasted desiccated coconut. Sliced bananas can also be added, which does make a great option for young and old.

The origins of this pudding are normally traced back to everyone's favourite plagiarist, Mrs Beeton, the Victorian cookery writer, but it lacked coconut which you were unlikely to find in a Victorian supermarket!

The Manchester tart was probably a winter pudding, but as long as you are hungry and hankering for a big bowl of pure comfort, this is still a great all-year-round dessert.

It's strange to think that when I was a youngster growing up, all I wanted to be was an adult, yet as soon as I was an adult I wanted to turn the clocks back to my childhood! So if this classic pudding doesn't, then I don't know what will?

RECIPE

MANCHESTER TART

Serves 12 portions

Ingredients:

500g/1lb shortcrust pastry, homemade or shop bought

6 tablespoons raspberry jam

50g/2oz desiccated coconut, toasted lightly in the oven

500ml/18fl oz whole milk

4 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

60g/2.1oz caster sugar

30g/1oz cornflour

Method:

1. Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin to fit a 23cm/9’’ tart tin, trim the pastry so it overhangs, prick the base all over and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before blind-baking in a preheated oven at 190C/170C fan/Gas Mark 5 for 8-10 minutes until golden crisp.

2. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, sugar and cornflour into a large mixing bowl and mix well into a paste.

3. Gently heat the milk until it bubbles and gradually pour over the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously until smooth.

4. Return the pan to the heat for 5-6 minutes stirring well until the custard has thickened and comes to a boil; sieve to remove any lumps.

5. Trim the pastry flush with the case with a sharp knife, and spoon the jam into the base and spread evenly.

6. Pour over the warm custard and sprinkle over the coconut, add a cherry in the middle, allow to cool at room temperature, then place in the fridge for 3-4 hours until set before serving.