Goose-bump bakewell pies

Baking the tarts this way not only looks cute, but saves you the hassle of lining a tart tin and baking it blind. You could use 500g ready-made sweet shortcrust instead of making your own and skip to step two.

■ Serves 8 ■ Prep 30 mins plus chilling ■ Cook 35 mins

FOR THE PASTRY

1 large egg, separated

225g unsalted butter, softened

50g white caster sugar, plus 25g for sprinkling

350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

FOR THE FILLING

50g unsalted butter, softened

50g caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp almond extract

50g ground almonds

1 tbsp plain flour

300g gooseberries (medium-sized are best, 6 per pie), topped and tailed

1 For the pastry, put the egg yolk, butter, sugar and ½ tsp salt in a food processor and pulse until creamy and soft. Add the flour and pulse until the mix comes together in clumps, but don’t overwork it. Tip onto the work surface and squish the dough together to make a smooth disc. Wrap and chill for 30 mins.

2 For the filling, beat the butter, sugar, egg, extract and almonds together until creamy, then fold in the flour and a pinch of salt.

3 Line a large, flat baking sheet with baking parchment. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface until just thicker than a £1 coin. Stamp 16 x 9cm circles using a pastry cutter, re-rolling the trimmings. Put eight of the rounds on the sheet, allowing a little space between each one. Spoon 1 tbsp of the filling onto the middle of each round, flatten it out a little, then press in 6 gooseberries, pointy end up, in a flower shape.

4 Briefly beat the egg white with a fork until frothy. Brush some of this over the remaining circles, then sit them on top of the berries, like hats – the pastry on top will fold over the berries as it cooks. Sprinkle with the 25g sugar and chill while you heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.

5. Bake the pies for 35 mins or until golden. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.

PER SERVING 539 kcals, fat 34g, saturates 19g, carbs 54g, sugars 20g, fibre 3g, protein 8g, salt 0.4g