A Bakewell Tart

Despite the lack of posts here lately my dear friends, I am still alive, I am still here.

And I do still bake things and make things and read other posts and not spend all my time obsessed with pinning “new house things” on myPinterest Boards. In fact, I am pretty sure I have baked up a little storm this past July but many of them were never photographed, just shared whole heartedly with their respective go-toers. Cakes and bakes shared with friends and family for birthdays, parties and Sunday tea.

Eaten and enjoyed to rambunctious applause!

Well… in my head they were anyway!

But having said all of that, I am here now and there is nothing I like more then telling you a quick story about how I like to do mundane things…

I like clearing my cupboards of additional ingredients. Yeah that’s pretty much the story… Sorry! But when my cupboards get to thebits and pieces packets of stuff I get itchy. Does that make sense? Like, I need to tackle them, head on. Let’s see what we can get out of the dredges of the packets. There is no waste in the Cupcakery Household. Not if I can help it.

When I can use the ingredients I have handy to make something as super tasty and oh so easy peasy traditional as a Bakewell Tart, then my dears… I clear out my cupboards! This is one cake I really don’t think you can get wrong. It’s very low in materials, it’s very easy on the palate and it just kind of sings “old school” wonderfulness. It looks like it’s a fuss, your family and friends will bow to your culinary creativity…and really all you did was use leftover bits to make a really good cake!

20 mins and you’ll have it in the oven… tops!

The recipe below is a twist on my mothers… I use ground almonds in my cake part… she doesn’t. Pretty much, that’s all the difference.

For the pastry:

• 175g Plain Flour
• 125g butter (cold and diced)
• 1Tbs Caster Sugar
• 1 egg
• Splash of milk
• Raspberry/Strawberry/your favourite
  Jam

For the Bakewell (cake) part:

• 50g self raising flour
• 75g butter
• 75g caster sugar
• Few drops Almond Essence
• 2 Eggs
• 100g ground almonds
• 50g sliced almonds.

The putting it together part:

Preheat oven to
190°C, 375°F, Gas 5. Lightly grease a 8” – 9” loose bottom tart tin with a spot of butter. Don’t worry if you forget (like I did) It’s fine without.

1. To make pastry:
   Sieve flour and sugar into a bowl. Rub in the margarine, and then add the egg
   to make a soft dough. I actually use my food processor for this- so if you want
   to too… add the flour and sugar and blitz. Add the butter one diced lump at a
   time, processor on, until you have them all in and it looks like breadcrumbs.
   Add the egg and the splash of milk until soft and doughy.
2. Transfer the dough
   to a floured surface and lightly knead, roll out and use to line the tin. Pop
   it in the fridge for a few minutes to cool.
3. For filling: Beat your
   butter, sugar and almond essence together until soft, then beat in the eggs and
   flour.  Finally, mix in the almonds.
4. Take your pastry
   out of the fridge, spoon in and spread bottom of pastry with the jam. Scoop in
   the almond mixture and smooth down the top… I decorated the above with a sliced
   almond spiral, not that you can see it but splash a few on, leave them off… It’s
   totally your call
5. Bake for about
   30/40 minutes until the filling is firm. Cool and remove from the tin.

Eat with cream,
custard, crème fraiche… again I don’t actually mind. It’s perfect on its own
with a cup of tea. A glass of milk, while you read your book on the decking of
a fine summers eve…