It’s Saint George’s day on Tuesday so I thought I’d bake him something tasty for being, well, patronly. Something really English. Like morris dancers and bulldogs, ale and wet summers. I’ve been wanting to make sticky toffee pudding for a while but I think it’s a little warm for that now so I’ve chosen Bakewell tart instead. It is a British classic, rather easy to make and delicious – win.

As usual, I have to confess to cheating a little – I have not made my own raspberry compote but have plumped for good quality seedless raspberry jam instead. But by all means be impressive and make a compote from scratch (and then send me the recipe)! That said, I have made my own shortcrust pastry so I’m not that naughty…

The crisp pastry, the hidden layer of tart blood-red jam, the soft nutty sponge and the crunch of the almonds* – this is a work of art in terms of both texture and taste. Scoff for dessert or as afternoon tea.

As you can see from the pics, I have used halved blanched almonds to decorate the tart instead of the traditional flaked almonds. I think either works well – it is entirely up to the artist!

*I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to any readers who are not as almond-inclined as I am – I realise that pip & little blue is currently treading a very fine line between general food blog and very niche almond blog. I will endeavour to lay off the almonds for the next few posts…

Bakewell tart

Makes a 20cm tart

Ingredients:

– 180g shortcrust pastry (see my recipe here)
– 2 tablespoons good quality raspberry jam
– handful halved almonds for decoration

For the frangipane:

– 100g unsalted butter, softened
– 100g caster sugar
– 2 large eggs (free range please), beaten
– 80g ground almonds
– 2 tablespoons plain flour
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180°C and lightly grease a 20cm loose-bottomed tin.

Roll out the shortcrust pastry to fit your baking tin. Tip: The best way to stop the pastry sticking to your work surface and rolling pin is to roll it out between two sheets of baking paper (if you’re not feeling that snazzy, just dust your work surface with flour as usual).

Line the tin with pastry (I find it easiest to transfer using the rolling pin as fingers tend to make holes in the pastry…) and trim the excess. Pierce the base with a fork (to stop it rising) and gently line with baking paper. Fill with baking beads (or dried beans or even coins) and blind bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the baking paper and beans and spoon the jam into the case; spread evenly.

To make the frangipane, cream the butter and sugar together (I use the beater attachment of my food mixer but you could use a wooden spoon). Gradually beat in the eggs (scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure nothing escapes) until everything is incorporated. Fold in the almonds, flour and baking powder until the mixture is smooth.

Spoon the frangipane over the jam and gently level the surface.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove and arrange the almonds on top and return to the oven for about another 20 minutes until golden brown and firm in the middle.

A very happy St. George’s day!

Source: Recipe and photos by pip & little blue.