Bakewell Tart Traybake

What do you do when you have a large surplus of shortcrust pastry in the freezer?  Devise sweet ways of using it of course.

We’ve been making a lot of things with this pastry, both savoury and sweet, mainly quiches, but this is one of my favourites and just so easy to make.   

The only thing you’re making from scratch really is the almond sponge as both pastry and jam are ready made.  I did freshly grind the almonds though, instead of using pre ground almonds from a packet.  I think it gives a more crumbly texture to the cake, as freshly ground almonds aren't as fine as those from a packet.  Well, mines aren't anyway.

I went for this recipe because I love this combination of raspberry jam and almond sponge.  Do you know those Raspberry and Almond Bake slices you get in Costas?  Well that is what I order every time I nip in for some latte and that was the taste that I wanted to achieve here too.

I think I managed to achieve it with this flavour combination although the texture of the Costas treat is a lot denser than this.  You don’t have to use raspberry jam for a Bakewell, any flavour is acceptable so just choose what you like.   

Did I mention this is so easy to do?  Just roll out your pastry until it fits into a 30cm by 40 cm baking tray.  Spread over the jam, then the sponge mixture and bake.   

The hardest part of the whole recipe is judging the baking time – if you take out the bake too early you might get a raw pastry bottom, but if you take it out too late you might over bake the cake.  I found about 30 minutes in the oven at 180C was just enough to bake all the pastry and not dry out the cake.

I do think that the addition of almond essence really helps give this sponge an almond kick though, so try to incorporate that if you have some lying around.  Also, I didn’t use sweet shortcrust pastry, just the normal unsweetened kind and I loved the way the plain pastry tasted against the sweet jam and sponge.

Bakewell Tart Traybake (adapted from here)

·         500g shortcrust pastry

·         250g raspberry jam (I used half a 454g jar but you can use more to create a thicker layer of jam)

·         200g butter, softened

·         200 caster sugar

·         ¼ tsp almond essence  

·         4 eggs

·         100g plain flour

·         1 tsp baking powder

·         100g freshly ground almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C, prepare a 30cm x 40cm baking tray.

Roll out the pastry until it just fits into the baking tray – it doesn’t have to be exact but try to make it bigger rather than smaller so that you can fit it up the sides.

Beat the butter, sugar and almond essence together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine the flour, baking powder and ground almonds together and fold these into the butter mixture.

Spread the jam over the pastry, spreading it as evenly as possible with the back of a teaspoon.

Spread the almond sponge mixture over the jam layer trying to cover it as much as possible so that it doesn’t show.

Bake for about 30 minutes.  Allow to cool in tin before slicing.

Banana, Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Tart

Admittedly this wasn’t the prettiest of tarts I’ve had but God was it tasty!

I still have that problem of surplus shortcrust pastry in the freezer so this was another sweet way of using it up.

Please do not do what I did and cut the pastry before putting it into the oven.  The rolled out pastry should hang over the sides of the flan tin and this extra should be trimmed off after it has been baked because pastry does and will shrink in the oven.

I know this.  I really do but I still cut it. Why?  Because I’m greedy.  That’s why.  I wanted the extra bits of pastry to make into cheesy twists, that’s why.  And they were so nice and cheesy that it was worth it.  Almost.

Try not to trim the pastry until after it’s baked.  Unless you’re like me and can’t resist cheesy twists.

This is a very easy tart to make but as with most tarts, a bit ‘stagey’.  You have to blind bake the pastry first, allow it to cool slightly then pour in the ganache and allow it to set before you can start layering on the bananas and caramel. 

Everything came from a tub.  Including the caramel and even, I admit, the crème Chantilly which is something I make at home often as its one of the best ways to utilise a vanilla pod.  But again this was rushing against time as I was taking this over to a relative’s house for dessert after dinner.  In situations like that convenience wins every time for me.  But do be careful and mindful of my advice on the pastry, it should really be trimmed after being baked.

This tart is very satisfying with its combination of fresh bananas and luxurious chocolate.  I love the taste and smell of freshly sliced bananas, there is something so refreshing but sweet about it.  I deliberately made the ganache sweet by using half milk chocolate because the shortcrust pastry I was using was the unsweetened kind.  The ganache is also made with single cream which is why the ratio of chocolate needed to be more than the cream otherwise it just wouldn’t set very well.  There’s almost a saucy consistency to the ganache at room temperature which is why it is best to chill it well before adding the bananas.

Banana, Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Tart

·         500g shortcrust pastry

·         300ml single cream

·         200g dark chocolate

·         200g milk chocolate

·         2 bananas, chopped into slices diagonally

·         4 tbsp caramel, from a bottle or homemade (whatever you have to hand)

·         500g crème Chantilly, from a tub (or made by mixing together 500g double cream, one vanilla pod and 50g icing sugar)

Preheat oven to 200C, grease your tart tin.  I used a 14 x 4.5” (36 x 12cm) rectangular tin but you can also use a standard 9” round tin.

Roll the pastry out to roughly the shape of your tart tin.  Make sure it is not too thick, about 3-5mm is about ok and also try to make it consistently thick throughout.

Line your tart tin with the pastry, allow the extra pastry to ‘dangle’ over the edges of the tin but don’t trim to size just yet.  If the pastry is really excessively more than the tin and difficult to handle then cut it a little so that it is easier to manage. 

Prick the base all over with a fork.  Line with greaseproof paper or foil, fill with baking beans (or rice) and bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the baking beans and foil and bake for another 15 minutes until done (remember that this is the only baking stage so make sure your pastry is properly done and not raw – if it needs another 10 minutes then bake it further).  Allow to cool.

Make the ganache by breaking up the chocolate into pieces and placing in a medium bowl, then bringing the single cream to just before a boil.  When you start to see the bubbles on the edge, take the cream off the heat and pour over the chocolate.  Leave for a minute to allow the cream to heat the chocolate.  Then, using a smaller whisk if you have one, gently start stirring the mixture from the middle.  Don’t use very large or vigorous motions just yet.  Let the chocolate and cream emulsify with gentle small circles, keeping to the middle of the bowl, before whisking properly.  Allow to cool slightly.

Pour the ganache into the pastry case and chill in the fridge for about 2 hours (I put mine in the freezer for about 40 minutes).

Slice the bananas and place them over the now set ganache.  Drizzle over the caramel, then spoon or pipe over the crème Chantilly.