While in London last fall, I simply had to find a Bakewell Tart! Crazy, but there you are. I thought we had found one in a bakery, but it turned out that either their interpretation was not what I considered a Bakewell Tart or she gave us the wrong tart; which meant that when we returned from the trip, I absolutely had to bake one. And here it is! If you have British or European cookbooks, you will notice that the ingredients are given by weight. This is a by far a more accurate way of measuring. If you do a lot of baking, a scale is an indispensable tool. Try to get one that weighs in lbs. and ounces as well as metric. I couldn’t live without mine!
Makes 1 – 9” Tart
Toast 8 oz. blanched whole almonds (see below) cool, then grind in the processor until fine, making sure not to over-process or you’ll end up with almond butter; which is not a bad thing but not what you’re looking for here!
For the Pastry:
7 ½ oz. unbleached flour + extra for dusting
½ large egg, beaten
1 large egg yolk
125 grams (4 ½ oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
50 grams (1 ¾ oz.)caster sugar/ berry sugar fine granulated sugar)
¼ tsp. salt
25 grams (1 oz.) toasted ground almonds
For the Filling:
7 oz. toasted ground almonds
175 grams (3 oz.) caster/berry sugar (fine granulated sugar)
4 large eggs, beaten
¼ + 1/8 tsp. almond extract
5 – 6 Tbsp. good quality raspberry jam
Approximately 1 ½ oz. sliced unblanched almonds
Make the Pastry:
Place the flour, salt, sugar, butter and 1 oz. almonds into a food processor, pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, pulse until the mixture clumps together. Remove from the processor, form into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, chill in the fridge for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Grease and flour a 9” tart pan with a removable bottom, or spray with baking spray. Set pan aside. Unwrap the chilled pastry, roll out on a floured work surface to approximately 11”. (The pastry is very “short”, so don’t worry if it is a bit difficult to handle at first, you can always patch it up). Line the tart pan with the pastry; folding over excess to form a double sided tart shell; trim off any excess with a knife; patching if necessary with excess pastry. Prick the tart shell all over, including the sides, with a fork. Cover the pastry lightly with a piece of baking parchment, then fill the tart shell with pie weights (I use dried beans). Place in the oven and bake “blind” for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the pie weights and baking parchment; set aside to cool. If the pastry base seems a little raw, return to the oven for a minute or two, or longer to dry out. If it rises up during this time, poke the risen bits, gently, with a fork.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
Meanwhile, for the filling, place the remaining 7 oz. ground almonds and berry sugar into a bowl, mix well. Add the beaten eggs and almond extract, mix well.
Once the pastry is cool, spread it generously with the raspberry jam. Top with the filling mixture, bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the filling is baked through and golden-brown all over. Remove from the oven, allow to cool. Serve warm or cold.
