Sunny Days and Bakewell Tart
I am enjoying the amount of light first thing in the morning when I wake up, it lifts my soul and it makes me feel like it’s going to be a good day. I have loved seeing all the floral posts on Instagram of people stopping to enjoy and capture photos of blossoms and blooms, I can never get enough.
After a very chocolatey weekend of egg hunting and chocolate spread making from last week’s blog, I felt like baking something fruity and non chocolatey.
I have mentioned before in a previous post that my first taste of frangipane came from having Bakewell Tart when I was younger. They are a classic and perfect as a tea time treat; a homemade one is a thing of joy.
Bakewell Tart Recipe
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
250g plain flour
125g cold unsalted butter, cubed
50g icing sugar
1 large free ranged egg, beaten
Frangipane Filling
150g soft unsalted butter
150g ground almonds
150g caster sugar
1 large free ranged egg, beaten
1 tsp almond extract
5 tbsp raspberry conserve
Icing
300g icing sugar
1 tsp almond extract
4 drops pink food colouring (optional)
First make the shortcrust pastry. In a food processor pulse the butter and plain flour until you have a fine breadcrumb texture (You can do this by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour with your fingers). Add the icing sugar, egg and 1 tablespoon of cold water and mix again until a dough forms.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to 5mm thickness and transfer to a fluted tart tin (23cm diameter), then place into the fridge for at least half an hour to chill and firm up.
Preheat oven to 200ºC whilst the dough chills.
When the time is up, remove the tart case from the fridge and line with baking parchment and weigh down with baking beans. Blind bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove the parchment and baking beans and continue to bake for a further 5 minutes to allow the base to crisp up. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Whilst the tart is cooling, make the frangipane. Beat the soft butter and caster sugar together until pale a fluffy, mix through the ground almonds, almond extract and beaten egg until combined.
Once the tart case is cooled, gently spread the raspberry conserve into a thin layer over the base and top with the frangipane mixture. Using a palette knife, gently spread the frangipane out so that it covers the conserve completely. Turn the oven down to 180ºC and place the tart back into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and cooked through.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before adding the icing on the top.
Once the tart is completely cool, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and add 3 tablespoons of water along with the almond extract and beat into a thick paste. Remove 1/4 of the icing into another bowl and tint with the pink food colouring. Spread the larger amount of white icing over the top of the tart and spread to the edges. Transfer the pink icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle and pipe long parallel lines vertically across the surface - leaving 5 cm gaps in between each one. Then using a toothpick, drag it horizontally across the piped lines to create a ‘feathered’ decoration. Leave to set, if you can wait that long, and then enjoy a slice.
I can still smell the buttery nutty scents coming out of the kitchen, so I am off to grab a slice, quick sticks!
