Elderflower Bakewell Tart
The classic Bakewell Tart filling is almond frangipane with raspberry jam, but we’ve added a splash of elderflower for a seasonal variation. Feel free to play with this base recipe - hazelnuts with plum jam would be delicious in the autumn, for example.
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MAKES 1 LARGE TART
FOR THE PASTRY
250g plain flour
175g butter
90g icing sugar
2 egg yolks
Pinch salt
FOR THE FILLING
200g butter
200g sugar
200g ground almonds
30g plain flour
3 eggs
1 jar of raspberry jam
2-3 tbsp of elderflower cordial
4 tbsp flaked almonds
To make the pastry by hand, rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the icing sugar and salt and mix gently, making sure everything is evenly distributed. Add the egg yolks and bring everything together to form a dough, being  careful not to knead too heavily. Once you have a smooth dough, wrap it in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30-40 minutes.
Alternatively, place the sugar, butter and egg yolks in a food processor and blitz until everything is well combined. Then add the salt and flour, and pulse until a dough has formed. Remove from the processor and knead gently to form a dough. Wrap and pop in the fridge to rest.
Once rested, remove the pastry dough from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin until it is 3mm thick (around the thickness of a pound coin). Using your fingertips and working quickly so not to heat the pastry up too much, lift the pastry dough into the tart pan 23cm/9inch, making sure it is pushed right into the corners. Any overhang can be left on and trimmed after the tart case has been chilled or blind baked. Chill for another 30 minutes in the fridge (this allows the gluten to relax after being handled, which will help prevent the pastry shrinking when it is baked).
Line the chilled pastry case with baking paper, then fill with baking beans. Bake in an oven preheated to 160°C for 30 minutes, or until the pastry begins to look golden. Remove the baking beans and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
At this stage the blind baked pastry case could be left covered in clingfilm for up to two days before you add the filling.
To make the filling, beat the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs with one spoonful of the ground almonds and beat again to incorporate. Fold through the remaining ground almonds and flour.
Add the elderflower cordial to the jam and give it a quick stir to combine before spreading the infused jam around the base of the pastry case. Spoon the frangipane into a piping bag and pipe the frangipane to cover the jam, starting from the edge of the tart. Leave a little space between the frangipane and the top of the pastry case to allow for a rising. Scatter the flaked almonds over the top and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C until the filling is firm and bounces back when pressed.
Remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool until the tart is at room temperature. Remove carefully from the tin, slice and serve on its own, with cream or ice cream.
