June Daring Bakers - Bakewell Tarts

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

I don't do tarts very often, mostly because its been easier to accomplish the same thing as pies, bars, etc.  This month's challenge was surprisingly easy and very versatile.  Regardless of the 'controversy' related to what these actually are and where they came from, mine couldn't be mistaken for anything but a tart.

We had the freedom to choose fillings and size, so long as we used the sweet shortcrust pastry and frangipane.

Shortcrust Pastry

225g all purpose flour 

30g sugar

1/2 tsp salt

one stick cold unsalted butter

2 egg yolks

1/2 stp almond extract

1-2 Tbsp cold water

Sift together flour, sugar, and salt.  I processed the butter and flour mixture in the food processor and set aside.  Lightly beat egg yolks, and almond extract and add to dough, processing will adding.  Keep mixing while adding water a little at a time just until the dough starts to come together.

Frangipane

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g icing  sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp almond extract

125g ground almonds

30g all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture is fluffy.  Scrape down bowl and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  The batter may appear to curdle, this is okay. After the three eggs are added, pour in the extract, then add nuts and flour.  Mix well.  I loved how yellow the farm raised eggs made the filling :).

To assemble, roll chilled dough disc out on a lightly floured surface, rolling in one direction and turning a quarter until the disc is about a quarter of an inch in thickness.  Place dough in pan, and freeze for at least 15 minutes before using.  Pull out of freezer and spread jam filling.  Then add the frangipane and bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  At 5 minutes left, pull out the tarts and sprinkle slivered almonds on top of each tart.

I made apricot jam and cherry jam for fillings, however the cherry filling ended up in a mediterranean cherry pie for last night's dessert to use up some dough I had left over from making spinach pies and meat pies earlier in the day.  So I used up some store bought raspberry jam and also made some nutella ones.

They turned out pretty good.  I was initially disappointed that the shortcrust wasn't sweet enough, but it balanced well with the sweet jam and the frangipane  filling.  The hubs loved the apricot the best.  He' not a big fan of apricots normally, but said it was the best flavor combination of the three.