2009 June 27 | dinner with Julie

Archive for June 27th, 2009

Strawberry-Rhubarb Bakewell Tart

Considering the events of the week I was going to skip this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge, but when I woke bolt straight up this morning far too early – too early to work on the assignments I have due on Monday or to go to the hospital – I decided to hell with it, we had a barbecue to go to this afternoon and would need something to bring along anyway. So ahead I went, prompted by the opportunity to use some strawberry-rhubarb preserves I had in the fridge in something a little bit different. It was actually easier than trying to come up with another idea; and I couldn’t bring myself to show up with a 20-pack of Timbits, even with an excuse. My only other option at 6:30 am was cleaning the bathroom.

The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800′s in England. It reminds me of those raspberry coconut squares that have raspberry jam topped with a sweet, eggy layer of coconut; only this is made in a pastry shell and topped with a frangipane – a spongy almond filling made with ground almonds and almond extract, for which I substituted Mexican vanilla. (I’m not a huge fan of the almond extract.)

And yes, this particular version is actually called “tart..er..pudding” – as in, the British refer to dessert as “pudding”, and this was inspired by great UK eaters like Allan Davidson, Tamasin Day Lewis, Anton Edelmann, Jane Grigson, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. But if you look into it you’ll find that Bakewell Tart and Bakewell Pudding are in fact two different things, and this more closely resembles a Bakewell Tart. I have taken the liberty of calling a tart a tart.

The notes said I could use anywhere between 1/4 and 1 cup of jam; I used a cup and still didn’t find it enough – perhaps because it was a less sweet, more tart rhubarb compote than sticky, sugary, intensely sweet jam. The fun thing about this tart is it can be made different each time depending on the preserves you use – lemon curd, spiced pear, marmalade, sour cherry… each would produce an entirely different tart. I did make the shortcrust pastry, but cheaped out at the egg part (I was running low) and so left the yolks out and upped the water a bit.

Bakewell Tart

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour (don’t you love UK slang? this means the extra flour you’ll need for rolling out the dough)
1 cup jam or curd, warmed for spreadability if necessary
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful sliced almonds

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 acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 1/4” thickness by rolling in one direction only (start from the middle 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 a tart pan (mine was about 10″), fit it into the bottom and up the sides without stretching it, and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F. Remove shell from freezer, spread an even layer of jam onto the crust. 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 if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
1-2 Tbsp. cold water

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 extract 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.

Frangipane

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
1 cup ground almonds
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour

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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