The ultimate bakewell tart

The ultimate bakewell tart recipe, as it should be, with crisp sweet shortcrust pastry, a layer of jam, a generous frangipane filling, white icing and glacé cherries. “This is a foolproof recipe for a classic bakewell,” says Head of food Tom Shingler. “It’s easy to see why it’s been a British favourite for over two hundred years.”

“If you ask me, frangipane is one of the greatest inventions within the world of sweet baking. I can take or leave ganache, I’m indifferent to buttercreams and I shrug my shoulders at sponges. But nutty, rich, almond-filled frangipane is something special. And it’s always best enjoyed in that icon of British baking – the bakewell tart.”

• The essential elements: “There are just three elements in a traditional bakewell tart – pastry, jam, frangipane – so you really have to nail each one,” says Tom. “I’ve kept the pastry simple, enriched with a tiny bit of milk, egg and sugar, but it’s easy to work with and rolled thick enough to accommodate the fillings. The frangipane is made with room temperature eggs and butter, which is key to stop it splitting and turning greasy.”
• Try different jam flavours: “The jam is where you can have the most fun, as there doesn’t seem to be a specific variety required for the traditional one (although it’s almost always raspberry). Any berry-based jam will be great, but in homage to the great Mr Kipling I tend to use a cherry jam, which has just the right amount of sweetness and tang.”
• Decoration ideas: “I turn to our main man Kipling once again for inspiration. Covering the entire thing in icing is a bit much, but a nice zig-zag of simple icing (along with, of course, some glacé cherries) brightens things up without creating an imbalance of flavours.” You could also leave plain or add flaked almonds – see below.

If you fancy something a little different, try Nathan Outlaw’s bakewell tart made with apricot preserve and amaretto liqueur.