BAKEWELL TART

For this classic, you want to achieve perfectly cooked pastry – not a soggy bottom in sight! Serves 12

For the jam

200g (7oz) raspberries 250g (9oz) jam sugar (sugar with added pectin, from supermarkets)

For the sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) plain flour 150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, chilled and diced 25g (1oz) icing sugar, sifted 1 large egg, beaten 2tbsp ice-cold water

For the filling

150g (5½oz) unsalted butter, softened 150g (5½oz) caster sugar 150g (5½oz) ground almonds 1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten 1tsp almond extract

For the icing

300g (10½oz) icing sugar, sifted 1tsp almond extract 3tbsp water Pink edible food colouring (gel or paste) To make the jam, put the raspberries in a small deep-sided pan and crush them with a potato masher. Add the sugar and dissolve over a low heat. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, then boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a shallow container. Cool, then cover and chill until set.

For the pastry, weigh the flour into a bowl. Add the diced butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar with a round-bladed knife. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, pour in the beaten egg and water, and mix to form a soft but not sticky dough. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured worktop and roll out to a large disc. Use to line a 23cm (9in) fluted, deep, loose-based flan tin. Prick the base of the pastry case well, then chill for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Line the pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beans, then bake blind (see tip along the bottom of the page) for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base. Set aside to cool.

Reduce the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 and put a baking sheet into the oven to heat up.

For the filling, put the butter and sugar in a bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy using a hand-held electric whisk or wooden spoon. Add the ground almonds, egg and almond extract and mix in with a plastic spatula. Spoon 4tbsp of the raspberry jam into the pastry case and spread over the base. Spoon the filling on top and spread out level using a palette knife. Set the flan tin on the baking sheet and bake for 25-35 minutes until the filling is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer the tin to a wire rack and leave to cool. To make the icing, mix the icing sugar with the almond extract and cold water to get a smooth, fairly thick but still fluid consistency. Transfer 3tbsp of the icing to a separate bowl. Tint with a little pink food colouring so it’s raspberry coloured. Spoon into a small piping bag. Spoon the white icing on top of the tart and spread out evenly with a palette knife. Pipe the pink icing in parallel lines over the white icing, then drag a cocktail stick through the lines to create a feathered effect. Leave to set.