This is my twist on a classic Bakewell tart
Ingredients : for the pastry
225g plain flour
125g hard unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
1 egg
for the frangipane:
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
2 large or 3 medium eggs
100g ground almonds
½ tsp almond extract or 1 tbsp amaretto*
175g cherry jam
500g cherries, stoned
How to make cherry bakewells … WASH YOUR HANDS
- Preheat the oven to 180oc/Gas 4/AGA Baking oven or Roasting oven with plain cold shelf above.
- Make the pastry: rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
- Add the egg and use a knife to ‘cut’ and stir into the dry mixture, keep adding until it forms a stiff dough. Pop into the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Make the frangipane: cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or in a mixer until it’s light, fluffy and drops off the end of a spoon easily. Mix in the eggs, ground almonds and almond extract or amaretto.
- Grease a large loose bottomed flan dish or individual tart tins and line with the pastry, you don’t need to roll this out, just break off lumps and press it into the tin with your hands. Trip the top. Spread over the jam.
- Spread the frangipane on top leaving a slight gap at the edge. Scatter over the cherries. Bake it for 20-25 mins until the pastry and frangipane are golden and the cherries are cooked and juicy. Remove it from the oven, dust with icing sugar and serve.
*alcoholic – for adult versions only