Bakewell Tart
This month I have chosen to share with you a great British classic: The Cherry Bakewell - filled with delicious almond frangipane and topped with a glacé cherry. My advice? It is best enjoyed with a cuppa in the sunshine.
They aren’t difficult to make (especially as I am using a pre-made pastry sheet, don’t tell Mary Berry) but it takes about an hour and a half to make them. They really are best eaten when completely cool, but I won’t tell anyone if you eat just one warm tart…
Ingredients:
1 pre-rolled shortcrust pastry sheet
120g softened butter
120g golden caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp plain flour
110g ground almonds
90g Cherry Jam (my favourite is the black cherry Bonne Maman)
200g icing sugar
12 glacé cherries
Method:
Heat the oven to 180C/ Gas mark 4 and lightly grease a 12 hole muffin tin with a little butter.
Unroll the pastry sheet and roll it out into a rectangle so the pastry is the thickness of a 10p coin. Using a 10cm round cutter (or a mug like I had to resort to) cut out 12 disks of pastry.
Next we need to blind bake the pastry, no soggy bottoms over here please!! So, put the pastry carefully into each hole and then pop the tin into the fridge to firm up for 20 mins. Whilst they’re in the fridge cut out baking paper pieces a little bigger than the hole itself x 12. Once out of the fridge, scrunch the paper squares in your hand as tightly as you can, then unroll, pop it into the hole and fill it with rice or baking beans if you have them (not Heinz, do not fill them with ‘baked’ beans…). What we are doing here is baking the pastry without the filling so it is nice and crispy, the rice is to weigh it down so no air bubbles can form whilst it’s baking.
Once you have filled all the holes with baking paper and rice, put them in the oven for 10 mins, then remove the rice/paper and cook for a further 10 mins. Whilst they are in the oven start making the frangipane.
To make the frangipane beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then whisk in the egg followed by the flour (this prevents it from splitting), then fold in the almonds.
Take the pastry out of the oven and allow it to cool for 10 mins or so. Then, put a teaspoon of jam in the bottom of each case, followed by a larger spoon of frangipane. Bake the tarts for 20 mins until the frangipane appears golden and springy. Leave them in the tin to cool completely, and then decorate on a cooling rack.
Make the icing by mixing the icing sugar with 2 tbsp water. It needs to be a very thick consistency to stop it running right off the edges. Spread the icing over the top of each cooled tart, and top with half a glacé cherry. For best results leave the icing to set for 20 mins before serving.
Written by Amy Howard
Hey Everyone! My name is Amy Howard and I’m a Photographer, Food Writer and wannabe Bake Off contestant. Living and working in Bristol I have made the city my home and can be found most weekends soaking up the atmosphere of a cafe or restaurant, eating my weight in pastries, bread and cakes. Having grown up in the Buckinghamshire countryside surrounded by farms, I have a passion for local and seasonal produce, I try to incorporate it in my baking as much as possible.