Today was the first Saturday off Iv'e had off work in ages and what a depressing day it has turned out to be. Once again the great British weather has destroyed any chance of doing anything outside! So with that in mind it was the perfect excuse to bake.. not that I need an excuse to. With nothing else planned to do today I could finally dip my hand into some pastry making, I needed sweet short crust pastry, was there any in the shops? no.. So I had to make my own, which actually turned out amazing considering I never make it as it always ends up to crumbly or to wet and then I end up throwing it in the bin.. #bingate!
Cherry bakewells are my absolute fave! I love the icing on the top and the moist almond sponge that mixes so well with the raspberry jam so this bake today was really to fulfill my own bakewell needs - minus the cherry. I will not lie to you that the pastry bottom adds so much to this tray bake, it gives it a real crunch which matches so well with the soft almond sponge. I also will not lie and say that I am super proud of how these turned out considering I am not a pastry queen. I like to have these cold with a cup of tea but you can also warm them with custard to serve as a traditional pudding.
Equipment
Traybake tin about 20cm x 30cm
Electric mixer
Rolling pin
Grease proof paper
Ingredients
375g pack of sweet shortcrust pastry (if you can find it) OR
300g Plain flour
110g Butter
80g Caster sugar
1 Egg
5 Tbsp Seedless raspberry jam
25g Flaked Almonds
200g Butter
200g Golden caster sugar
100g Ground almonds
150g Self raising flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Almond extract
4 Eggs, beaten
4 Tbsp Icing Sugar
1 Tbsp Water
To make your own pastry, crumb together by hand the butter in to the flour until it resembles small bread crumbs, Add the sugar and mix together, Mix in the egg and a splash of milk if needed to form a soft dough. You want it to the dough is not sticky and can be molded into a ball. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge to firm for half an hour.
Heat the oven to 180 degrees fan and line the base and sides of the tray bake tin with grease proof paper. When the pastry is ready, take out of the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface, until it is big enough to line the tin. You want the pastry to be a thin layer, but not so thin that it breaks. Lift it into the tin and press in at the corners of the tin. Prick with a fork and leave in the fridge for a further 20 mins.
Take out of the fridge and place in the oven, bake for around 10 minutes until it is cooked but not coloured. Cool for a few minutes before spreading the jam over the pastry,
To make the sponge put all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer (K-beater attachment) or a mixing bowl, whisk together until soft and light. Spoon the mixture over the raspberry layer, then smooth evenly with a spatula or pallet knife, scatter over the flaked almonds and place in the oven. Turn the heat down to 160 degrees fan, and bake for 30 minutes, until golden and firm - do the skewer test to see if cooked.
Take out the oven and leave in the tray to cool down.
To make the icing, place the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water, mix together until a thick icing appears, you want it to be a runny consistency but thick enough to set on top. Take a spoon and drizzle it over the tray bake - only do this when the bake is completely cool to avoid it from melting.
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