Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tarts

IMAGE CREDIT: wikipedia (oops, I forgot to snap the end product!)

After following a friend and fellow foodie's blog (check-out Conor's entertaining and salivating musings at http://holdthebeef.blogspot.com) I was introduced to the Daring Bakers.

Once a month, a new and challenging baking recipe is released to members only. All members try the same recipe, and after 4 weeks of kitchen kraziness, we post our triumphant victory on our respective blogs. Sign up and come play!

What's a Bakewell Tart?

"Like many regional dishes there?s no ?one way? to make a Bakewell Tart?er?Pudding, but most of today?s versions fall within one of two types...the ?pudding? where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry...the ?tart? where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling. The version we?re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavored shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam..."


BAKEWELL TART...er...PUDDING
Makes one 23cm Pie or 24 mini tartlettes in a muffin tin
SOURCE: Daring Kitchens (traditional UK dish)

Sweet shortcrust pastry:
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)

Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes


INGREDIENTS:

SHORTCRUST PASTRY
225 g (8oz) all purpose flour
30 g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110 g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

JAM FILLING
1/2-1 cup Jam of own choice, no seeds!

FRANGIPANE
125 g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125 g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125 g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30 g (1oz) all purpose flour


METHOD:

SHORTCRUST PASTRY
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

FRANGIPANE
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is light yellow in color and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don?t panic. Really. It?ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow color.


ASSEMBLING
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface, or a cool & sensible trick I spotted on the Masterchef finale: just roll the dough out onto greaseproof paper. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatized for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4?) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pastry should form a casing
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Be as stingy or generous as you like. I couldn't decide between IXLs Strawberry, Raspberry & Cranberry conserve or their Mango, Pineapple and Passionfruit so I bought both and made half-half. Forcing the jam through a strainer is a pain, but makes it so much easier to spread onto the base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart (Frangipane does not rise when baked). Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes (or 15 minutes if making Tartlettes). Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish. When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.


VERDICT:
Despite my goof-ups, the end result was very delicious. I'm quite pleased with the results. My housemate and I ate the set in one night! Don't judge, there was only, like, 12 mini-tarts left after I had to make a new batch with the right shaped crust :)