Bakewell Tarts aka Almond Tarts with Raspberry Jam

Bakewell Tarts

These lovely little pastries are named after the Derbyshire Town where they were first created.  They are described on line on Wikipedia  as an English Confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and a sponge filling with almonds. The Bakewell Pudding on the other hand is a flaky pastry,with a layer of jam and an egg and almond filling. Some versions of the tart are covered with a layer of fondant^]

*Bakewell Tart is an English confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and a sponge filling with almonds. The Bakewell Pudding on the other hand is a flaky pastry,with a layer of jam and an egg and almond filling. Some versions of the tart are covered with a layer of fondant ie Cherry Bakewell topped with a glace cherry^]
Recipes abound, for example those given by Eliza Acton (1845) and Mrs Beeton (1861), and modern commercial examples are to be found in most cake shops and on every supermarket shelf. The name Bakewell tart only became common in the 20th century*

These little tartlettes are just so delicious for Afternoon Tea,you can use the same recipe to make one larger one . Wonderful served warm for a dessert with ice cream, custard or a great dollop of whipped cream.
to make approx 12

I always weigh my ingredients but if you prefer to measure then here's a handy conversion chart

Lovely for afternoon tea 

for the pastry
175 g /6oz/ 1¼ cups  plain (All purpose) flour
45g/1.50 oz  / ¼ cup/butter or margarine
45g/1.50 oz / ¼ cup lard or vegetable fat eg Trex
1 tbsp caster sugar (superfine)
1 egg beaten
a little cold water if necessary to bind
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either rub the fats into the flour & add the sugar or whiz in a foodprocessor until the breadcrumb stage
add the beaten egg and form into a ball, adding a drop of cold water if necessary
leave to chill for 30mins
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grease a 12 hole tartlette tray. diameter of holes around 2.50 ins/6cms
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for the filling
4oz/125 g/ ½ stick butter or margarine
4 oz/125g/ ½ cup  caster sugar (Superfine sugar)
1 egg lightly beaten
4oz/125g / 1 cup ground almonds (you could use ground rice for this which also gives a lovely result)
half a teaspoon almond essence
2oz/60g/ ½ cup  flaked almonds
raspberry jam
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around 1 tsp heaped of raspberry jam per tart
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beat together the butter & sugar, add the egg and beat again, add the ground almonds & essence.
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Roll and the pastry nice & thinly and cut 12 4inch/10cm rounds
line the tartlette tins
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spoon in around 1 heaped teaspoon of raspberry jam
fill the tarts to almost the top
smooth over
sprinkle with almond flakes
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bake in a pre-heated oven approx 180c/gas 4 for approx 25-30 minutes
keep a close eye on them
should be cooked through but still springy.

A large Bakewell Tart. Makes a great dessert with custard or whipped cream 

Pear & Frangipane Tart with Amaretto Whipped Cream

This will make 1 10"/11" 26/28cm round tart
or 1 13"x 4" (34cm x10cm) long tranche type tart plus a few small tartlettes

You will need around 4 ripe pears, peeled, halved length ways, core removed and thinly sliced from the base to the top do not cut through the top,  try to keep the pear half intact, Fan out and sprinkle with a little lemon juice. You should do this while the pastry is cooking not too long beforehand.
A little Apricot jam warmed through with a little water or liqueur to make a glaze.
A few toasted slivered almonds to decorate
Whipped cream to serve. I added Amaretto to mine.

Ingredients

4/5 slightly firm but ripe pears
Apricot jam to glaze
few toasted almonds to decorate
softly whipped double cream flavoured with a little Amaretto

For the Sweet Pastry

125g/4oz unsalted butter
250g/8oz plain flour
2 tbsp sifted icing sugar
2 egg yolks
1tsp lemon juice
2/3 tbsp cold milk
pinch of salt

For the frangipane

175g/6oz ground almonds
225g/7oz butter
225g/7oz caster sugar
50g/1½oz plain flour
4 eggs
1tsp almond extract
4tbsp liqueur I used Kirsch, Amaretto or even Brandy

When I'm making small amounts of pastry I prefer to do it by hand as not only is it very therapeutic it seems to make a much flakier pastry.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Mix the wet ingredients together and add a little at a time to the dry ingredients mixing in lightly with your fingertips.Until the mixture forms a soft dough, be careful as may not need all the liquid, you don't want a sticky dough. Place on a floured board bring together to a smooth ball, flatten slightly, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for a least half an hour.

For the Frangipane

Cream together the butter & sugar until very pale & fluffy.
Mix the flour with the ground almonds in a separate bowl
To the butter and sugar mix add one egg at a time beating well between.
Add the dry ingredients and fold gently through.
Finally add the booze a tbsp at a time and it's ready.

Set the oven at 200c/400f/gas 6

Grease the tart tins well
Roll out the pastry and line the tins. Do not trim to neatly, leave a slight overhang on the tart which can be trimmed off later.
Line the tin with a large piece of crumpled parchment paper. Fill with beans and bake for around 15 mins until the pastry is beginning to brown and the base is reasonably dry when you lift up the paper.
Remove the beans & paper, put back in the oven until the base is golden brown & crispy.
You can now trim off the excess pastry.

Turn the oven down to 180c/350f/gas 4

Place spoonfuls of frangipane in the case and smooth out. Gently arrange to pears on top lightly fanning out while pushing in slightly.
Bake for around 30 minutes until the frangipane is golden, crispy and cooked through in the middle.

Lightly glaze with warmed apricot jam with a little water or liqueur added to make a coating consistency. Pop back in the oven for just a few minutes to glaze.

Serve with either creme Anglaise,   whipped cream or creme fraiche with added liqueur and a little sugar. I used Amaretto for this.