The Ultimate Bakewell Tart

One of my favorite recipes, devoured within a week in my house, the 'Ultimate' Bakewell Tart. Pinched from 'The Best of British Cookbook' with a few of my tweaks, this summer recipe is incredible. A Bakewell Tart is basically sweet shortcrust pastry, jam, and then an almond sponge. In this recipe things like lemon icing and a mixture of jams are added.

Ingredients

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

175g Plain Flour

A Pinch of Salt

2tbsp Caster Sugar

115g Butter, Chilled and Diced

1 Egg Yolk, mixed with

2tbsp ice-cold Water

4tbsp Raspberry or Strawberry Jam (or a mix of both)

Almond Sponge

65g Softened Butter

65g Caster Sugar

1 Egg, At Room Temp

35g Self-Raising Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

55g Ground Almonds (if you don't have, just put 50g blanched almonds in mortar + pestle and grind, or put in a food processor)

A Few Drops of Almond Essence


Lemon Icing
50g Icing Sugar
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Cold Water


Some Blanched Almonds (to sprinkle on top)

Method

1. For the pastry, sift the flour, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Add the diced butter and rub in, until the consistency is as fine as breadcrumbs.

2. Add the egg yolk bit by bit while mixing with a palette knife to form a dough. You're looking for a slightly sticky dough, maybe a bit crumbly. If it's looking too crumbly and dry, add water, and if too sticky, add flour.

3. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for 20 mins, heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Take out a 22cm flan tin.

4. While the dough is chilling, put all the ingredients for the sponge in a bowl, and mix with an electric whisk for as long as possible until thoroughly combined, and much lighter than it started. 

5. Take out the dough, and roll out on a floured surface to a circle about 28cm across (it doesn't matter if it's not perfect) and line tin with the dough. If there is any dough hanging off the edges, roll your rolling pin along the edges of the tin, taking off any excess dough. Use this excess dough to cover any gaps in the tin.

6. Prick the base with a fork, spread with jam (it may not look enough, but if you put too much, the sponge will get ruined), and evenly spread the sponge mix on top (it's not the end of the world if some jam mixes with the sponge, but try to keep that to a minimum).

7. Bake in the heated oven for 30 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean from the sponge. Leave to cool completely and take out of the tin.  


8. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and mix in the lemon juice and water. You want the consistency of a thick paste, so add icing sugar and water when appropriate.


9. Pipe/Spread the icing on however you want! I like to do it in lines, but you could do a lattice, swirls, or just spread it on.


10. Sprinkle some blanched almonds on, and enjoy :).