What are the true ingredients of a Bakewell tart?

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Takes: 30 minutes plus chilling

Bakes: 40 minutes

For the pastry

250g plain flour

125g unsalted butter

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon fine salt

125ml water

For the frangipane

100g unsalted butter, softened

100g light brown sugar

100g ground almonds

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond essence or 1 tablespoon amaretto

1 tablespoon self-raising flour

5 tablespoons seeded raspberry jam

2 tablespoons Flaked almonds

  1. First make your pastry. Combine the butter, flour, salt and sugar in a food processor or between your fingertips until the mixture is like breadcrumbs. Beat in the water using a wooden spoon until the dough is smooth. Flatten into a disc and wrap in clingfilm, before refrigerating for 2 hours.
  2. Roll the chilled pastry into a circle about half a centimetre thick, roll this up onto your rolling pin, and gently lay into a 9 inch tart tin. Chill for half an hour.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Trim the overhang pastry, prick the base with a fork, line with baking paper and weigh the pastry down using rice or sugar or baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the pastry weights and baking paper, and bake for a final 5 minutes.
  4. Reduce the oven to 180°C. For the frangipane, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy and noticeably lighter in colour. Add the egg followed by the almonds, self-raising flour and almond essence or amaretto.
  5. Spread the jam into the base of the tart and gently smooth across the pastry which will still be fragile as it is still warm. Spoon the frangipane onto the tart, level it, and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully sprinkle the flaked almonds over the baked frangipane and bake for a final five minutes.

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