Jason Atherton's Bakewell Tart Recipe

If you're looking for the perfect dessert recipe to serve up for your next gathering, give this delicious dinner party recipe a go. Bakewell tart is such a favourite, everyone will love it.

HOW TO MAKE BAKEWELL TART

Extract taken from Social Sweets by Jason Atherton (Absolute Press, £25). Photography © John Carey

Ingredients

For the sweet pastry (makes 550g, but you'll need around 250g for the tart):

• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 50g icing sugar, sifted
• 50g caster sugar
• 250g plain flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• warm apricot jam, for glazing
• sifted icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

For the filling:

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 125g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 125g ground almonds
• 25g plain flour
• 3tbsp raspberry jam
• 50g flaked almonds

Method

1. For the sweet pastry, put the softened butter and both sugars into a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Add the flour and egg alternately, in two batches each, and mix until just combined.

2. Gather the dough together and lightly knead it on a lightly floured surface. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. (Any excess pastry can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month).

3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin. Gently roll the pastry over the rolling pin, then lay it over a 23–24cm round tart tin with a removable base. Line the tin with the pastry, smoothly pressing it over the base and up the sides; leave about 1cm of excess pastry hanging over the rim of the tin. Cover with cling film and chill in the freezer for at least 1 hour to let the pastry firm up.

4. Preheat the oven to 200C, gas 6. Take the pastry case out of the freezer and remove the cling film. Line with baking parchment, then fill with baking beans. Blind bake for about 15 minutes or until the sides are lightly golden brown. Remove the baking beans and parchment, then return to the oven to bake for a further 5 minutes or until the pastry is lightly golden with no grey patches of uncooked pastry. Remove from the oven and trim off the excess pastry round the rim with a sharp knife. Set the pastry case aside. Lower the oven temperature to 180C, gas 4.

5. For the filling, lightly beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs. Add the ground almonds and flour and fold through until evenly combined.

6. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over the base of the tart case, then fill it with the almond mixture. Sprinkle the flaked almonds evenly on top. Bake the tart for 25-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Leave to cool slightly before brushing the top with warm apricot jam, then leave to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar before serving.