Raspberry Bakewell

As English as Bakewell tart. We used to eat it at school in Gt Yarmouth, smothered in custard.

But hang on, isn’t frangipane Italian? Made for St Francis?

Chi sa? as they say in Bakewell.

• Ingredients

For the pastry: 2oz/60g white flour, 1oz/30g butter, a squeeze of lemon juice, a small spoonful of brown sugar, a tiny amount of cold water.

Fruit: 5oz/140g fresh or frozen English raspberries, plus more if making the compôte. In reality, just use a pack or punnet. A tablespoonful or so of sugar, fruit liqueur or apple juice.

For the frangipane: 3-4oz/100g ground almonds, the same of butter, 2oz/60g brown sugar, 3 smallish eggs, 15ml single cream, 1 Tbsp plain flour. Strawberry or raspberry jam. Flaked or crushed almonds.

Alternatives: This makes an 8 inch/20cm tart. For larger sized dishes, try using the recipe here for pear frangipane tart. Other fruits like redcurrants, apples, and blackberries are all good but you might have to adjust the sugar and precooking times.

• Method:

First make a shortcrust base by rubbing the butter into the flour, adding a squeeze of lemon and a spoonful of brown sugar, then just as much water as is needed to be able to form a ball. Cover and place in the freezer.

Next place the raspberries in a non-stick frying pan along with a little fruit liqueur or apple juice and another spoonful of sugar. Heat gently so that the juice runs but the berries retain their shape. Then leave to cool.

Make the filling by combining butter and sugar, then adding the egg yolks, followed by the whites and then approximately 15ml/1Tbsp single cream. For the first time practically ever I used a machine for this process rather than a wooden spoon and it did seem lighter than usual. Then fold in the flours.

• Assembly

Remove the pastry from the freezer and place on a lightly floured surface. knead once or twice and roll out very very thinly. Use this to line the buttered tart dish. Then spread some good jam over the pastry base, followed by a layer of frangipane. Now place whole raspberries on top of this layer. There should be plenty of frangipane still visible. Next carefully spoon the remaining batter over the raspberries and sprinkle with a handful of sliced or crushed almonds. Place the dish on a baking sheet and thence into a heated oven. I cooked this one at around 220°C for 35 minutes. It is ready when golden and firm. As usual, check on the tart after 20 minutes and lower the oven temperature/cover the surface if necessary. Remove when done and leave to cool. Check that the base is fully cooked before eating.

While the tart is baking, crush the raspberries remaining in the pan into their juice and add some sugar. Stir them to dissolve the sugar and then bring to the boil, gently stirring with a wooden spoon pretty much continuously for a few minutes to thicken the juices and go some way towards jam. Then leave to cool.

Serve with cream, ice cream or the like, along with a dollop of the alcoholic raspberry compôte. If like me you were a dinner prefect once, remember to slice and pass around the table with poise and confidence