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Cherry Bakewell Tarts

A layer of cherry jam followed by a light almond flavoured cakey frangipane, covered in a soft white or pink icing and encased in a gorgeous sweet, soft pastry shell. Oh and not to forget the obligatory cherry on top!
4.20 from 10 votes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: British
Keyword: almond tarts, bakewell tarts, cherry, sweet pastry
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Resting time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 16 tarts
Calories:
Alter quantities (metric only) 16 tarts

Here's what you'll need...

Ingredients you'll need...

Sweet Pastry

  • 225 g Plain (all-purpose) flour (1 Cup and 10 level tablespoons)
  • 80 g Icing (confectioner's) sugar sifted (10 level tablespoons)
  • ¼ teaspoon Fine salt
  • 115 g Unsalted butter cold and cut into small chunks plus extra for greasing tins (1 stick or ½ Cup)
  • 1 Large egg yolk cold (US = extra large)
  • 3-4 tablespoon Milk cold

Almond Frangipane Filling

  • 65 g Unsalted butter (plus a little extra for greasing) at room temperature (⅓ Cup)
  • 65 g Caster (super fine) sugar (⅓ cup)
  • 1 Large egg at room temperature (US = extra large)
  • 2 tablespoon Plain (all-purpose) flour must be level
  • 65 g Ground almonds (⅔ Cup)
  • 1 teaspoon Almond extract
  • 65 g Cherry jam (12 teaspoons)

Icing

  • 150 g Icing (confectioner's) sugar sifted (1¼ Cup)
  • 4 teaspoon Cold water
  • 8 Glace cherries halved
  • Red paste food colouring

Here's what we do...

Sweet Pastry

  • Using your pastry brush, so that you can get into all of the crevices, grease each of your tartlet tins.
  • Add your flour, salt and icing (confectioner's) sugar to your food processor with the blade attachment fitted and give it a whizz to combine evenly. Or you can mix it together in a large bowl.
  • Dot over your cold grated/cubed butter and pulse about 15-20 times until the mixture becomes sand-like. Or rub in by hand by rubbing the butter into the flour between your fingers.
  • Add your cold egg yolk and 3 level tablespoons of milk and pulse for about 10-15 pulses by which time the mixture should be starting to form clumps of various sizes. If this is not happening add another tablespoon of milk. I find I usually need 4 tablespoons.
  • Lightly flour your work surface and tip your pastry mixture out. Bring the pastry gently together into a ball (it will be quite soft) but do not knead it. Then flatten out into a square shape with a depth of about an inch, wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Cut your chilled dough in half and then half again and then do the same in the opposite direction, so that you have 16 squares of dough. They should all be the same size and weigh around 28 grams each.
  • Roll a square of dough in your palm into a ball and then flatten it out to a circle of roughly 6 centimetres in diameter and pop it into a tartlet tin. Using your thumb flatten the pastry out so that it fills the base, then push it up the sides to fill the groves. Push the pastry just above the edge of the case, it will then have space to shrink a little when baked but will still retain its flower-like shape.
  • Prick the base with a fork, pushing right through to the tin, then refrigerate again for about 15 minutes, so that the pastry sets and hardens a little.
  • Place about ¾ of a teaspoon of cherry jam into each pastry case and gently spread it out a little to fill the base.
  • Pop back into the fridge whilst you make your frangipane filling.

Almond Frangipane Filling

  • Heat your oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/355°F/Gas mark 4.
  • Place your large baking tray into your oven to heat.
  • Using your hand mixer, beat your butter a little to ensure a soft and spreadable in consistency. Add your caster (superfine) sugar and continue to beat on a medium-light setting until lighter in colour and soft and spreadable, this can take 1-2 minutes. Wipe your bowl down as you go with your spatula to ensure everything mixes evenly.
  • Add your egg and level tablespoons of flour and beat on low until fully incorporated, then beat in your almond extract. Again wipe down your bowl to ensure all of the mixture is incorporated.
  • Beat your frangipane batter for 10-15 seconds to ensure lots of air is beaten in.
  • Gently fold in your ground almonds. The mixture should then look a bit like curdled egg.
  • Cut off the base of a piping bag, about 2cm is enough, and then fill it with your frangipane mixture.
  • Pipe frangipane into each pastry case, I find it easiest to pipe a swirl around the outside and then finish in the middle. Ensure that you leave a gap of about 5 millimetres from the top of the pastry case, so it has room to rise.
  • Spread the frangipane out using a teaspoon, making sure that it completely covers the jam and there are no gaps between the batter and the sides of the tart, otherwise the jam will bubble through during baking.
  • Place your tartlets onto your heated baking tray and bake for 20 minutes until the frangipane is golden, has risen and has a domed shape and the pastry is just starting to get a little light brown in colour.
  • Remove from your oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tartlet tins on the heated baking tray, this allows the base to continue to bake. Then gently press the frangipane down using the back of a spoon so that it flattens out.
  • Leave to cool for about 20 minutes until the tartlet tins are cool, then tip out of the tins and leave to fully cool on a cool rack.

Soft fondant icing

  • Split your icing (confectioner's) sugar into two equal amounts.
  • Mix 2 teaspoons of cold water into each and keep mixing until smooth. The icing should be thick and gloopy, too soft and it will spill over the sides of the tart and too thick and it will not spread.
  • Add a tiny dot of red food colour to one lot of icing and mix in, so that it turns light pink.
  • Take a teaspoon of your icing and let it fall onto the centre of your tart.
  • Using a skewer or a butter knife, gently spread the icing out so that it covers the frangipane. It is worth taking your time to just coax the icing out so that you keep control of the flow and shape.
  • As soon as you have iced a tartlet carefully place half a cherry on top!
  • Enjoy! xx
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Supporting Notes

These Coconut tarts easily keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container.
You can freeze them but they should be consumed within a month.

Make Your own Notes on this Recipe here...