Bakewell Tart

This one is an English classic - half tart, half cake, with jam, almond-flavored sponge and simple white icing. My mother used to make this quite often when I was a child, and it brings back memories.

There seem to be two schools of thought on how to make the cake. You can make a sponge cake, or you can make a pound cake. The ingredients are the same; what matters is exactly how you combine them. I made a sponge, but I'll detail how to do it as a pound cake at the end.

First, you need a tart shell, and it should be baked blind (this means empty; baked without filling). Find a recipe for the tart dough here, and you should barely need half of the recipe. Or you can use any other suitable pie/tart dough recipe. Roll it out fairly thinly and use it to line a greased 9-inch tart pan. I used a shallow 9 inch pie pan, as it is all I have, but I would recommend something deeper, as it will allow for a thicker cake layer (I was left with some extra sponge mix that wouldn't fit in the pan). Put the pan in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill the dough.

Next, top your dough with a piece of foil, and top that with some oven-safe weights (e.g. baking beans - dried beans reserved for baking). Bake at 350 F until it begins to brown (maybe 10-15 min), then remove the foil and weights and bake another 5-10 minutes to brown the base. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once your tart shell is cooled, brush the base with 1 egg white, beaten (save the yolk), then top with a thick layer of jam. I prefer raspberry, but the type of fruit is not set in stone. Set the pan aside while you make the filling.

For the filling, start by putting your yolk into a mixer bowl. Add 3 more eggs and 6 oz sugar, and set up like a double boiler - get about 1 inch of water simmering in a small saucepan, and set the mixer bowl in the top of the pan, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl is clear of the water. Whisk the eggs constantly while they are over the heat. Keep going until the eggs are very warm (you do not want them to get real hot, as they will eventually curdle). At this point, put the mixer bowl on your mixer and whisk the eggs until they triple in volume.

Meanwhile, melt 6 oz butter (and then allow to cool at room temperature) and sift 6 oz almond flour (aka ground almonds) or a mixture of almond flour and flour, or all flour if you prefer, with a pinch of salt.

Once the eggs are done, carefully fold in the flour mixture, the melted butter and a few drops of almond extract (use more if you did not use almond flour), just until blended. Pour into your tart shell and put straight into the oven (at 350 F) for about 30 minutes, until set and just starting to brown on top. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack.

Once the tart has completely cooled, you can ice it. Combine 2 floz milk and 4.5 oz powdered sugar and whisk until fully combined. Pour over the cake and spread into an even thin layer with a spatula or knife. Transfer the tart to the refrigerator to chill.

Once chilled, you can decorate the top of the tart with glacé cherries (candied preserved cherries; I could not find them so I substituted drained maraschino cherries). Slice; serve; enjoy!

Note 1 - Pound cake variation (this should yield a firmer cake filling): Keep quantities and ingredients the same, but begin by softening the butter (just leave at room temperature for about an hour; do not melt) and creaming it with the sugar in a mixer with the paddle attachment. Keep going until it is very light and creamy. Stir in the eggs (and yolk) and almond extract on low speed, then fold in the flours, pour into the prepared tart shell and bake until cooked through (toothpick inserted into center comes out almost clean).

Note 2 - Metric Info: 9 inches = 23 cm; 350 F =175 C; 6 oz = 170g; 2 floz = 60 ml; 4.5 oz = 130g.