CHERRY AND ALMOND BAKEWELL TARTS These little Bakewell tarts celebrate the wonderful combination of cherries and almond. A crisp almond pastry, cherry and amaretto jam, soft buttery frangipane, topped with almond- flavoured icing, with crystallized almond

MAKES 12

● 3 tbsp good-quality cherry jam

● 50g flaked almonds

● 3–4 glacé cherries

ALMOND PASTRY

● 175g plain flour

● 25g ground almonds

● A pinch of salt

● 100g butter, chilled and diced 25g icing sugar

● 1 egg, lightly beaten

●

FRANGIPANE

● 50g butter, softened

● 50g caster sugar

● 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

● 1 tsp vanilla extract

● 50g ground almonds

● 20g plain flour

FROSTING

● 100g icing sugar

● ½ tsp almond extract

● You will need a 10cm round cookie cutter, 12–15 x 7cm fluted tart pans or a 12-hole muffin pan, greased

1. Start by making the almond pastry. Tip the flour and ground almonds into the bowl of the food processor, add the salt and the butter. Using the pulse button, rub the butter into the flour until it is pale and sand-like in texture. Add the icing sugar and pulse again to combine. Add the beaten egg and pulse again until the dough starts to come together.

2. Tip out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring it together into a neat ball. Flatten into a disc, cover in clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour until firm.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the frangipane. Cream the butter with the caster sugar until pale and light. Gradually add the beaten egg and egg yolk, mixing

well between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Tip the ground almonds and flour into the bowl and mix until smooth.

4. Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of no more than 2mm. Stamp out as many discs as you can using the cookie cutter. Gather the scraps together, re-roll and stamp out more discs. Gently press the pastry discs into the tart pans, trying not to stretch the dough but making sure that the pans are evenly lined.

5. Arrange the pans on a baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 170°C/ 150°C fan/350°f/gas 3. Place another solid baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven to heat up while it preheats.

6. Spread ½ teaspoon of jam into the bottom of each tart shell and divide the frangipane evenly between the tarts – spreading it to evenly cover the jam. Carefully transfer the individual pans to the hot baking sheet from the oven and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the frangipane and pastry are golden and the pastry is crisp.

7. While the oven is hot, lightly toast the almonds on a baking sheet for 4 minutes until golden. Leave the tarts to cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for them to cool completely.

8. To make the frosting, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add a drop or two of almond extract and enough water to make a smooth liquid that will coat the back of a spoon. Neatly spoon the icing over the frangipane in each tart and press the toasted almond bits around the edge. Top each tart with a slither of glacé cherry and leave to set before serving.