Almost Mary Berry Bakewell Delight

There is something about the combination of flavors and textures of a Bakewell Tart that I just love. There is the custardy almond filling juxtaposed with the raspberry jam and a nice crust, too. It smells heavenly of raspberry and almond, too.

The Bakewell Tart is a British favorite. Recently I borrowed a Mary Berry book from the library. She was the female of the two judges on the first six episodes or so of the Great British Baking Show and she has a nice, easy way with recipes. The Bakewell Tart was in her Fast Cakes - Everyday Cakes  book.

As I do, I messed with the recipe right off the bat. I had a nice round sheet of ready made pie pastry in the fridge which I wanted to use up, so instead of the given tart crust, I used that. I also put it into a deep dish pie plate instead of into a fluted tart pan. Because of my dairy allergy, I used room temperature non-dairy butter for the filling.You'll notice that if you use weights for your ingredients that the butter, sugar and almond flour are all very similar weights...4 oz... and the jam is half that. Proportions are such an important of baking!

 Beyond swapping out the pastry for the tart dough and using margarine instead of real butter, I pretty much stuck to the recipe until right before I put it into the oven, when I folded over the excess pastry from the sides of the pan, folding it over the almond filling as you would a crostata. I also topped the filling, just inside that folded pastry, with halved fresh raspberries...just a few for decoration, really.

This pastry is sublime, especially if you like raspberry jam, which I do. The pastry is flaky and golden, the filling is soft and delectable, and the jam ties the almond flavors to the fruit flavor. Do try it!

For those who follow this blog to know a bit about what is happening in our life, Sweetie is in the midst of another project. This time it is a door replacement on the farmhouse. As usual he is doing a super job. This will be a fairly utilitarian door, so I probably won't even post photos. It allow safety access from the bedrooms to the east side of the property in case of fire or another disaster. It's entirely possible that it will be used rarely, but it's still good to know that, once ready to use, I can stop worrying about people getting stuck in a bedroom in a disaster.

On the creative front, I'm making some more tea cups on painted table legs for going in the garden. They are meant for decoration, but do also hold water or seed for birds. I'll post some photos once they are finished.

Almond Bakewell Pastry
based on a recipe by Mary Berry
Serves 8

1 round ReadyCrust pie pastry or pie dough for 1 crust
1/2 cup (4 oz, 114g, 1 stick) butter, softened (I used non-dairy margarine)
1/2 cup (4 oz, 100g) sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 oz, 100g) almond flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) raspberry jam
a few sliced or slivered almonds (or raspberries in my case)

Line a 9" pie plate with the pie crust dough, rolled out thinly. Prick the bottom all over and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/Convection 350 degrees F (I used 375 degrees F) and put a baking sheet in the oven on the shelf just above the center. (Putting the filled pie tin on this preheated metal sheet helps crisp up the bottom crust.)

For the filling, put the butter and sugar into a mixer or food processor and mix until fluffy and light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix again until thoroughly incorporated. Add the almond flour and the almond extract and mix one last time until thoroughly mixed.

Spread the base of the pie dough with the jam evenly, then pour the filling over the top. Fold down any pastry dough that is above the filling, overlapping as necessary, and then scatter almonds or place halved fresh raspberries over the filling randomly or in a nice pattern.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes (because I used a higher heat, mine took a little less than 20 minutes with Convection), or until the pastry is pale golden brown at the edges and the filling is set.

Leave to cool in the pie plate. Serve cut into wedges.

More Peaches...With Blueberries

I confess. These cute little tartlettes were made weeks ago when blueberries were at the peak of ripeness and peaches were just starting to ripen. Life got in the way of sharing the recipe with you, but in many places there are still peaches and blueberries to be found and baked with!

For the crust, use your favorite pie crust recipe. You can use the ready make kind (I'm partial to the Pillsbury kind, especially now that they come in a roll instead of folded) or make the dough yourself. I have included my Mom's recipe for 2 Crust Pie Pastry if you'd like to try making your own.

My Dad loved pies above all other desserts. One of the first things I learned to make from scratch was a good pie crust. Pie pastry is made with very simple ingredients...flour, salt, water and shortening. The technique is the key to flaky pie crusts. My Mom had me read the how to section in the Fannie Farmer cookbook which explained not only what to do but why.

Key points include having all ingredients cold, using a light hand in cutting the fat into the flour, and also to use ice water, not just cold water, and to sprinkle the ice water into the flour mixture a tablespoon at a time (using a fork) so that you gradually moistened the dough. As each portion is dampened with the ice water, you push it aside. Even so over mixing is discouraged, so you can imagine how daunting the prospect was for beginning baker! The good news is that once you figure out just how to do it and how much ice water the flour needs to make a flaky dough, you don't forget how to do it. Maybe one day the Daring Bakers will have a challenge that includes making pie dough by hand.

These little tarts taste great with either peaches or nectarines. You could substitute blackberries for the blueberries, too. The crystal sugar sprinkled on the top of the pastry not only looks pretty, but adds a textural contrast that is a perfect complement to the soft, juice baked fruit.

2 Crust Pie Pastry
(Use half the amounts for one crust, or make two and save the second crust dough for your next single crust pie)

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
ice water - have ½ cup or more ready
¾ cup shortening

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle water, a tablespoon at a time, over mixture, stirring gently with a fork until all flour is moistened (usually 6 – 8 tablespoons). Press dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill before rolling out. Divide dough into two pieces. (Some like to divide the dough and then wrap each in plastic wrap, flattening into discs before chilling.)

Roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface until it is slightly larger than the pie tin.
Makes 1 2-crust pie or 2 pie shells.

Peach Blueberry Tarlettes

1 recipe for 2-Crust Pie Pastry
5 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 pint fresh blueberries, wash, picked over and drained
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Optional:
2 tablespoons milk
2 - 3 tablespoons sanding sugar...larger crystal sugar if possible

Roll out the pastry and cut three discs from each crusts worth of pastry. I have a 5 inch in diameter cookie cutter ring, but you can also cut around a small plate's rim.
Place the 6 discs on a parchment or silicon baking mat lined baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough and use for another purpose. (We used to roll out again, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, then cut into fingers and bake along with the pie, removing as soon as they were browned around the edges. Eating them made it easier to wait until after dinner for the pie.)

In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, blueberries, flour, sugar, and nutmeg. Spoon the filling into the center of each disc, making sure to leave an inch of dough uncovered all around the edge of each disc. Divide the filling among the discs as evenly as possible.

Have a small bowl of water nearby. Using clean hands, pull the edges of the pastry, on each disc in turn, toward the center, pleating as needed and moistening the dough surface as needed to have the pleats stick together.

Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the milk on the top of each pastry, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. (This step is optional, but makes a nice textural contrast and is pretty. I didn't have any sugar when I did these tartlettes, but I have used it in the past and recommend it.)

Bake tartlettes in preheated 400 degree F. oven for 15-20 minutes, or until pastry is browned and flaky.

Serve warm or cooled. Nice with whipped cream or ice cream garnish.