Bakewell Tart

It's hard to argue with a Bakewell Tart. One of my first forays into pastry (inspired by the GBBO, obviously); it's absolutely gorgeous!

• For the pastry
• 175g plain flour (plus a little extra for dusting the surface)
• 75g chilled butter
• 2 - 3 tbsp chilled water
• For the filling
• 125g raspberry jam
• 125g butter
• 125g castor sugar
• 125g ground almonds
• ½tsp almond extract
• 1 egg
• 50g flaked almonds
• For the icing
• 60g icing sugar
• 2tsp water
• Utensils
• 8" loose bottomed tart tin
• Baking beans

First make the pastry. Start by pre-heating the oven to 200C (180C fan oven). Put the flour into a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes, handling it as little as possible (you want it to remain as cold as long as you can - I go so far as to wash my hands in cold water before I start). Put the butter cubes in the bowl with the flour and mix it in by rubbing the cubes with your fingers so they slowly break down into the flour and you end up with a mixture that looks like off-white bread crumbs. This might take as long as 5 minutes to get it completely consistent.

Then add 2 tablespoons of the chilled water to the mixture and work the mixture around the bowl. You're aiming for a solid ball of dough that picks up the crumbs from the bottom of the bowl, but you don't want it to be too wet. If it's a bit too dry (it won't pick up all the crumbs) add just a little more water and try again. Keep adding water in tiny increments until you have just enough to get the dough solid. Put the mixing bowl in the fridge while you clean yourself up a bit.

Next spread a little plain flour over a clean surface and roll out the dough until it's 2 or 3 mm thick, and large enough to completely cover an 8" loose bottomed tart tin. Carefully line the tart tin with the pastry, gently pressing it into the edges, before cutting away any excess. Blind bake the pastry (by lining the tart with foil and putting in the baking beans) for 15 minutes, before removing the foil and beans and baking for a further 5 minutes. Take the case out of the oven and leave to cool (still in the tin) for a few minutes.

Once the pastry has cooled cover the bottom of the case with raspberry jam, right up to the edges and as evenly as possible.

Next you need to make the filling (frangipane). Put the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a small pan and then pour it into the sugar, mixing well. Then put the ground almonds, the almond extract and the egg into the bowl and whisk until smooth and well mixed. Pour the mixture into the pastry case on top of the raspberry jam, spreading it out a little if necessary to get it nice and even. Finally scatter the flaked almonds across the top (or place them neatly in a pattern, your call).

Put the tart back in the oven (still at the same temperature) and bake for 35 minutes. Start to check occasionally after 25 minutes - if the flaked almonds are starting to look like they might be burning you can loosely cover the whole thing with foil until the cooking time is up.

Once the tart is baked take it out and let it cool for a few minutes before taking it out of the case and letting it finish cooling on a cooling rack. While you're waiting you can make the icing...

Sift the icing sugar into a small mixing bowl and then add the 2 teaspoons of water. Mix thoroughly until you have a smooth paste. Drizzle this from a spoon in a zigzag pattern across the top of the tart.

Serve with ice cream. Or custard. Or cream. Or just snarf it on its own when no one's looking.