Bakewell Tart

Bakewell & custard, bakewell & cream, bakewell warm, bakewell cold, bakewell for desert, bakewell for tea. 

This recipe is from Peyton & Byrne's British Baking, the recipe was one of the best I've come across, however I found the pastry so crumbly, I was unable to roll it without it breaking.  I added some cold water to the crumble mixture & kneaded it a little to bring it together, be careful not to over-knead your pastry, as it will become greasy & horrid.

I made a few changes to the recipe, as I personally like a stronger almond flavour, I added a teaspoon of almond extract to the frangipane. I also excluded the fresh raspberries, as they are no longer in season, so I upped the jam by 50g.

For the sweetcrust pastry

200g plain flour

85g unsalted butter

50g icing sugar

1 egg yolk

Frangipane filling

200g ground almonds

200g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

2 eggs

1tsp almond extract

50g self raising flour

Raspberry jam filling

150g good quality seeded raspberry jam

Topping

50g flaked almonds

Icing sugar to finish

In a bowl cream the butter, then add the icing sugar, mix until light and fluffy. Add in the beaten egg yolk & flour, & enough cold water to bring the mixture together, knead until the mixture turns into a dough.  Wrap in cling film & place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Once the pastry has been rested, roll out on a floured surface to the thickness of 2mm.  Place the rolled pastry into a tart tin, & put back into the fridge for another half hour.

To make the frangipane, start by creaming the butter & caster sugar together until pale & fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add the almond extract & then fold in the ground almonds & flour & mix until just incorporated.

Take the rested tart case out of the fridge & cover the base with the raspberry jam, next dollop the almond mixture over the jam, smooth the mixture all over making sure the mixture comes right up to the edges of the tart case.  Sprinkle the ground almonds on top of the frangipane.

Bake the tart for 30 minutes, & then cover with a piece of foil to stop the almonds burning & continue to bake for another 10 - 15 minutes.

Once cooled, sprinkle with lots of icing sugar.