Bakewell
Makes one 9” tart or 6 x 3” tarts
I grew up with something called Bakewell tart: A rich & buttery almond filling, a layer of jam and a pie crust base. I concocted s cheat’s version when I had some leftover cake filling from this mix.
I enriched it with almond meal & my favorite baking accomplice: Almond extract. I layered in some almond cream, a delicious jam and topped it all with almonds. Voila!
This is basically an assembly exercise of my favorite recipes. I often have frozen pie dough in the freezer when I make a triple batch or I take the leftover dough and line a pie shell & freeze.
Almond cream is a must to have on hand for brioche rolls, cookie filling & tart bases.
The Bakewell part is, as mentioned, an enriched cake mix of almonds & extract in lieu of a buttery frangipane.
What you need:
One recipe basic pie dough*
1/4 cup almond cream*
2-3 heaping tablespoons of jam (raspberry or apricot are a great match for almonds)
Slivered almonds
Canned fruit for top, apricots or peaches (optional)
Cake filling made with Gusto Cake & Waffle Mix
(This recipe is easily a plant based, but use whole milk & butter if not dairy free.)
Ingredients:
255 g Gusto Cake & Waffle mix
60 g (1/3 cup) sugar
220 g (1/2 cup) milk of choice
1 tbsp apple cider or white vinegar
25 g (1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp) almond meal
57 g (1/4 cup) melted butter
1 tsp each Almond extract & Vanilla extract
Almond cream recipe here
Pie dough recipe here
Preserves of choice.
Slivered almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Line a 9” pie plate with pastry. See basic pie dough recipe for how-to. Bake at 350°F until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes depending on freshly rolled or frozen.
Remove pie and allow to cool a little.
Place the flour mix in a bowl. Combine the milk & vinegar with the melted butter. Gently mix and add in the almonds & extracts, until mix is smooth with only a few lumps remaining is ok.
Spread the base of the pie shell or shells with the almond cream. Top with the jam and spread into an even layer.
Fill the pie shell with the cake batter, top with slivered almonds and bake for 40-50 minutes until batter is set and top is brown. You may need to make a cut into the top of the cake to see if it’s entirely baked through or insert a toothpick.
Makes little individual tarts also
Note: Make an apple slice:
If you don’t want jam you can also use stewed or canned fruit on the base. Again, this is something I grew up with, as everyone I knew baked back then, and every mother had her own ways to serve a tart-style treat with tea. It’s pastry, apple filling & cake/pie filling!
