Mary's Bakewell Tart

Ingredients

For the jam

• 200g (7oz) raspberries
• 250 (9oz) jam sugar

For the sweet shortcrust pastry

• 225g (8oz) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 150g (5½oz) butter, chilled
• 25g (1oz) icing sugar
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten

For the filling

• 150g (5½oz) butter, softened
• 150g (5½oz) caster sugar
• 150g (5½oz) ground almonds
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• 1 tsp almond extract

For the icing

• 300g (10½oz) icing sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• pink food coloring gel

Instructions

1. 1
   For the jam, put the raspberries in a small, deep-sided saucepan and crush them using a masher. Add the sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a shallow container. Leave to cool and set.
2. 2
   For the pastry, measure the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar. Add the egg and 2 tablespoons cold water, mixing to form soft dough.
3. 3
   Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of a pound coin. Line a 9in fluted flan tin and transfer to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
4. 4
   Preheat the oven to 390F.
5. 5
   Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and cook for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base. Set aside to cool a little before adding the filling.
6. 6
   For the filling, spread the base of the pastry case with 4 tablespoons of raspberry jam.
7. 7
   Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the ground almonds, egg and almond extract and mix together. Spoon the mixture into the pastry case and smooth the surface using a palette knife.
8. 8
   Reduce the oven temperature to 355F and bake for 25–35 minutes, until golden-brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.
9. 9
   For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the almond extract and about 3 tablespoons cold water to make a smooth, fairly thick icing. Place 3 tablespoons of the icing in a separate bowl and add a little pink food coloring gel to make a raspberry colored icing. Spoon the pink icing into a small piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle.
10. 10
    When the tart has cooled completely, spoon the white icing on top and spread to form a smooth surface. Pipe parallel lines of pink icing over the white icing, then drag a cocktail stick through the lines (at a 90 degree angle to the lines) to create a feathered effect. Leave to set, then serve in slices.