BAKEWELL TART

 I have never been very good at pastry for some reason it hates me, it either goes sticky, dry or burnt. But today I decide that I was not going to be defeated, I rolled up my sleeves and accepted the challenge. I love bakewell tart, I think it's because of the taste of almond and as I had my friend coming over for coffee tomorrow I though why not make her a treat.

Serves 8

60 to 70 minutes to bake

1 hour for the dough to cool in the fridge

I used a 23cm loose bottomed tin

INGREDIENTS

 Pastry
110g unsalted butter
170g Plain flour
60g Casting sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
zest of half a lemon

 Filling
125g unsalted butter
125g ground almond
125g casting sugar
3 eggs
175g rasberry jam
1/2 tsp almond extract
25g flaked almonds
icing sugar for dusting

METHOD

Make sure your butter is chilled.

 1. Dice your butter into squares, rub the butter and flour together to make crumbs

 2. Sift in the sugar and add the lemon zest and rub together. Then beat the egg and vanilla extract together and add to the dough.

 3. Bring the mixture together to form a ball. Add water if it is still crumbly or add flour if to sticky. Wrap in cling film and leave to chill for an hour. 

 4. Preheat your oven to gas mark 4(180C/350F). Remove from the fridge, you can then either roll out to about 3mm thin and place over the tart tin or do it my way and place the dough in the tart tin and press it into shape, I find this easier. Leave an overlap which you can cut away at the end, and give a professional finish. 

 5. Prick the base with a fork and then place a sheet of baking paper inside, then use something to weigh it down, most people use baking beads but I find these expensive so I use rice which I then keep and use over and over again. Now place you tart tin in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes.

 6. While it's baking move onto your filling. Cream together your butter and sugar until smooth, then add the eggs and almond extract until combined.

 7. Fold in the ground almond until it makes a paste.

 8. After 20 minutes the crust should be brown, remove from the oven, take out the rice and baking paper and place in the oven for another 5 minutes then remove.

 9. Spread your jam over the inside of your tart pastry.

 10. Now add the almond mix and spread evenly. Don't let the jam be seen.

 11. Add some flaked almond to the top and bake for another 40 minutes or until the top is golden and when a skewer is placed in the centre it comes out clean.

 12. It should look like this.

 13. Leave for 5 minutes and then using a sharp knife cut along the top to remove the crust.

 14. Dust with some icing sugar and gently remove from the tin.

 15. And there you have it a super scrummy bakewell tart! From the instructions it seems complicated but it really isn't and it tastes so yummy! Just remember to take into consideration that it does take a while so do it when you have a free day, it also means that you can clean up after yourself so no messy kitchen for me today!! Enjoy and please let me know what you think :)