Queen Elizabeth’s Bakewell Tart

This week’s recipe is in honour of Queen Elizabeth II who was laid to rest and was an inspiration and example to all.

The Bakewell is a British classic and we made these earlier on in the year for the Platinum Jubilee. The tart is simple, but it is super delicious and easy to make. We have made it easier for you and dispensed with the lining of a tart, there is just a tin pastry base which is filled with luscious jam and heavenly almond frangipane.

We have kept the topping simple with a delicious icing and fresh raspberries but of course you can feel free to get creative as you like.

A slice is best served with a nice cup of tea.

Enjoy x

Servings: 8

Components

Sweet Pastry

We used a 20cm diameter springform tin and made a disc for the base. This recipe is enough for three bases. You can freeze any excess bases or pastry.

Method

1. Place the flour, icing sugar, salt and vanilla seeds in a mixing bowl and, using your fingertips, crumble in the butter until you have a fine sandy texture.
2. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix again until the dough starts to come together.
3. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it briefly with your hands to bring it together.
4. Cut the dough into three equal pieces, wrapping two of them to go straight in the freezer for next time.
5. Chill and rest the remaining dough in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before rolling the dough onto a sheet of baking paper. Cut out a 20 cm disk by tracing it around the base of the cake tin with a small knife. Dock the pastry with a fork and place on the bottom of a greased and lined baking tin.
6. Place the tin in the refrigerator to rest the pastry for a further for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) and bake the tart for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Leave to cool and make the almond cream.

Almond Cream

Method

1. Place the butter, salt, vanilla seeds, lemon zest, icing sugar and ground almonds in a freestanding electric mixer and mix on low speed until the paste is smooth and well incorporated.
2. Use a spatula or scraper to scrape the paste from the inside of the bowl and mix well again.
3. Add the egg and mix it in well before adding the flour.
4. Spread 100-150g raspberry jam liberally on the pastry disk and then carefully top with almond cream.
5. Place the tart back in the oven and bake for 25–30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before unmoulding and icing.

Icing

Ingredients

Method

1. Add the water slowly to the icing sugar in a bowl to achieve a thick but fluid consistency.
2. Spread carefully over the top pushing it carefully to the edges with a small palate knife.
3. Top with fresh raspberries and serve with pure thickened cream.