Bakewell Tart

 







There's a special place in my heart for Bakewell Tart... and no, I'm not talking about my arteries. I'm talking about the place where my Mum is. Mum was a brilliant baker and Bakewell Tart was one of her specialties. In fact I'm so attached to it, I almost called my blog The Bake Well Tart but was a little worried about the type of people I might attract if I did.



Bakewell Tart
adapted from here

For the Pastry:
125g cold unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
250g plain flour
1 egg

For the Filling:
Jar of jam (about 300g) (I used my Blood Plum and Vanilla Bean Jam)
225g unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
225g caster sugar
5 eggs
225g ground almonds
Handful flaked almonds

Make the Pastry:
Put the butter, salt and flour into a food processor and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and blitz again until the mixture comes together to form a ball of dough around the blade.

Take the dough out of the processor, form it into a ball and flatten it into a disc. Cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Once the pastry has chilled, roll it our in a lightly floured work surface to about 3mm thick and line the base and sides of a 23cm loose-bottomed tart pan with it. Spread the jam over the base and pop it back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to160C. Slide a baking sheet into the oven to heat up.

Make the Filling:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla seeds and sugar until thick an fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stop the mixer and fold the almonds in with a spatula.

Spoon the filling into the the jam covered pastry base and sprinkle generously with the flaked almonds.

Bake the tart on top of the preheated baking sheet for 50 - 60 minutes, or until the filling is golden and firm to the touch.

Leave to cool to room temperature before sliding off the ring and slicing to serve. Can be served with a dollop of thick cream.