Mary Berry has shared her go-to recipe for an English Bakewell tart that can be made in only an hour. Not one to skip corners, the baking legend makes her pastry and raspberry jam, but so can you.
While it is possible to quicken the recipe by using store-bought jam, for example, it’s up to you whether you want to follow Mary Berry’s instructions step by step.
If you do decide to make raspberry jam, any more left over can be stored in a sealed jar for up to six months, or in a tub in the fridge for three weeks.
First, make sure you have the required equipment for the bake, such as a nine-inch fluted flan tin, baking beans, a piping bag, and a few cocktail sticks.
Then you will need all the ingredients gathered, although shop-bought pastry and jam would save some time and kitchen cupboard space.
Mary Berry’s Bakewell tart recipe
Ingredients
For the jam:
200g raspberries
250g jam sugar
For the pastry:
225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g butter, chilled
25g icing sugar
One large egg, beaten
For the filling:
150g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
150g ground almonds
One large egg, beaten
One tsp almond extract
For the icing:
300g icing sugar
One tsp almond extract
Pink food colouring gel
Equipments:
A nine-inch fluted flan tin
Baking beans
Piping bag fitted with small, plain nozzle
A few cocktail sticks
Method
For the jam
Put the raspberries in a small, deep-sided saucepan and crush them using a masher. Add the sugar and bring to a boil over low heat until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat and boil for four minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a shallow container. Leave to cool and set.
For the pastry
Measure the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar. Add the egg and two tablespoons of cold water, mixing to form a soft dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Line a nine-inch fluted flan tin (watch the video on how to do this) and transfer it to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice.
Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and cook for a further five minutes to dry out the base. Set aside to cool a little before adding the filling.
For the filling
Spread the base of the pastry case with four tablespoons of raspberry jam. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the ground almonds, egg and almond extract and mix. Spoon the mixture into the pastry case and smooth the surface using a palette knife.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.
For the icing
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the almond extract and about three tablespoons of cold water to make a smooth, fairly thick icing. Place three tablespoons of the icing in a separate bowl and add a little pink food colouring gel to make a raspberry-coloured icing. Spoon the pink icing into a small piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle.
When the tart has cooled completely, spoon the white icing on top and spread to form a smooth surface. Pipe parallel lines of pink icing over the white icing, then drag a cocktail stick through the lines (at a 90-degree angle to the lines) to create a feathered effect. Leave to set, then serve in slices.
