Freakin' Delicious!

So here it is, the reveal date for the Daring Bakers Challenge!

This month’s challenge was to bake a Bakwell Tart…er…Pudding.

Yes, that is the name! It’s a combination between a tart and pudding.

A very decadent tart with the perfect “melt in your mouth” crust.

It consists of a sweet shortcrust pastry with a layer of jam and Frangipane.

The Frangipane texture is a lot like a cake mix, creamy, sweet and fluffy.

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Now I must say this Bakewell Tart of mine didn’t bake so well…

After 20 minutes in the oven, I jiggled the tart to see how firm it was and it felt

like the inside was a hot bubbly pool wanting to ooze out!

Luckily my oven was turned to 180C, so I still had the time to place it in a lower

rack and to change the heat style without letting it burn.

I made it that only heat would blow from the bottom of the oven to work on the

inside of the tart… after 30 more minutes, the tart was firm and golden.

Anyway, once I took it out of the oven, FLOP it went. It sunk down, but still

maintained a pleasant appearance, I finished it off with dusted sugar on top and viola!

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INGREDIENTS:

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Sweet shortcrust pastry

225g (8oz) all purpose flour

30g (1oz) sugar

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)

2 (2) egg yolks

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)

15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

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Frangipane

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened

125g (4.5oz) icing sugar

3 (3) eggs

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract

125g (4.5oz) ground almonds (I used ground cashews)

30g (1oz) all purpose flour

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Jam of your choice (I used my homemade Papaya Jam, infused with cloves)

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DIRECTIONS:

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Sweet shortcrust pastry

Sift together flour, sugar and salt.

Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater.

Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture

resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture.

Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

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Frangipane

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine.

After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape

down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well.

The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its

pallid yellow colour.

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Assembling the tart

Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface.

If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatized for about 15 minutes before you roll it out.

Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start

from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll.

When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the

excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits.

Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base.

Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart.

Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done,

the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and

return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking.

Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard

sauce if you wish.