Bakewell Tarte (Bakewell tart)

Method

1. Rub the cold butter into the flour, sugar and salt until it looks like coarse crumbs, then work in the egg yolk and water just until a dough forms. Wrap and chill for 20 minutes.
2. Roll out the dough and line a 24 cm tart tin. Prick the base, line with baking paper and baking beans, and blind bake at 200°C for 12 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake 5 more minutes, until pale gold. Reduce the oven to 180°C.
3. Grind the almonds finely in a food processor, in short pulses, stopping before they turn to paste.
4. Spread the jam evenly over the base.
5. Beat the softened butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the ground almonds, flour and almond extract, if using.
6. Spread the frangipane evenly over the jam, right to the edges, and scatter the sliced almonds over the top.
7. Bake at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes, until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the tin before slicing.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers grinding the almonds; the frangipane and baking are the same as the hand method.

1. Almonds into the dry bowl. Grind 8 sec / speed 8, stopping before they turn oily and clump.
2. Continue mixing the frangipane by hand or with a stand mixer, folding the ground almonds through as in the hand method; the dense butter and sugar mixture is too stiff for the machine’s blades once the eggs are worked in.

Notes

• Freshly ground almonds are the whole point of this tart. Pre-ground almond meal from a packet has usually lost much of the oil that carries its flavour; a food processor gets there in seconds.
• Spread the jam right to the edges under the frangipane. A jam layer that stops short leaves an obvious ring of plain frangipane with no fruit note at the rim.
• The frangipane should stay dense, closer to a firm cake than a light sponge. This is correct and traditional; do not whip extra air into it expecting a lighter result.
• It keeps for 4 days at room temperature, covered, and the flavour if anything improves on day two.

Ingredient substitutions

• Raspberry jam is the traditional filling; a good cherry or apricot jam both work well as alternatives.
• Almond extract is optional but reinforces the almond flavour; a few drops go a long way, so do not overdo it.
• For a glazed finish, whisk 80 g icing sugar with 15 ml water and drizzle over the cooled tart in thin lines.
• Whole blanched almonds can be swapped for ground almonds from a packet if pressed for time, though the flavour is noticeably milder.