BAKEWELL TART RECIPE

Is 10:00am TOO EARLY FOR CAKE?

It is according to James Ashton, our new Security Contracts Manager!

James has now been with us for 4 months and we are pleased to have him, or we were until his comment at the start of this Monday’s Whole Staff Meeting where Karen always provides us with a homemade cake/tart.  

James joined WINNS Services in March as Security Contracts Manager. He comes from a military background having served 23 years in the Irish Guards. Having left the Army in 2013, he continued to enhance his Security knowledge as a Close Protection Officer for G4S Risk Management (Iraq) and eventually progressed to Deputy Operations Manager within that organisation. James has strong family values and is a fan of Liverpool Football Club, but like his reservations about 10 o’clock being too early for cake, we won’t hold that against him.

Before he expressed his concerns before Monday’s Whole Staff Meeting, Rachael Agaombar, Operations Manager, had this to say about James;

“James is a happy and fun person to work with but is also professional in the way that he works, he is willing to learn and wants to continuously improve. This benefits Winns as the business is always pushing forward’

And James said that:

“Since I have been employed with WINNS Services I have enjoyed the new challenges which the job has brought and am looking forward to enhancing my knowledge of the Company and its clients”.

We soon got over being flabbergasted by James’ indication that like alcohol, there is a specific time frame within which cake can be eaten when we realised his abstinence meant there would be more for everyone else.

Karen has provided the recipe for everyone to have a try.  She assured us that, although it looks complicated, it is one of the easiest foolproof recipes she has and she doesn't even like Bakewell Tarts, but she does this one, so give it a go and let us know and definitely send us a photo of your results.

KAREN’S BAKEWELL TART RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

TART CASE

200g Plain Flour

100g Butter

40g Icing Sugar

1 Medium Egg Beaten

FILLING

130g Softened Butter

150g Caster Sugar

150g Ground Almonds

40g Plain Flour

2 Medium Eggs, beaten

Strawberry Jam

TOPPING

250g Icing Sugar

Red Food Colouring

EQUIPMENT

Rolling Pin

23cm Loose-bottomed Tart Tin

Greaseproof Paper

Baking Beans (I use dried chickpeas)

Electric Beater

Small Icing Bag

Cocktail Stick

MAKE TART CASE

1. Rub chilled butter into sifted plain flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
2. Add icing sugar and stir
3. Make a well in the centre and add the beaten egg
4. Mix together until it forms a smooth ball.  Add a little water if needed.
5. Roll pastry out on a floured surface until about 30 cm in diameter.
6. Using rolling pin, lift and position over fluted, loose bottomed tart tin.
7. Using fingers, gently press the pastry into the corners.
8. Roll rolling pin across the top to get rid of excess pastry.
9. Prick the base several times with a fork and then place tin in the fridge for 20 minutes to chill.
10. Meanwhile, heat oven to 190/170 fan/Gas 5
11. Cut a large piece of greaseproof paper and then scrunch it up.  
12. Lay it on top of the pastry and place baking beans on top.
13. Bake for 15 minutes until the pastry is lightly golden.
14. Carefully remove greaseproof paper and baking beans into a bowl and bake tart case for a further 5 - 10 minutes.  Do not let the sides of the pastry case do not colour too much.
15. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
16. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 180/160 fan/ Gas 4.

MAKE THE FILLING

1. Evenly spread the jam over the bottom of the pastry case.
2. Beat the sugar and butter together until smooth.
3. Add the almonds, plain flour and eggs and beat again until smooth
4. Spread evenly to cover the jam.
5. Bake for 30 -35 minutes until golden brown and a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
6. Set aside to cool for 1 hour.

TOPPING

1. Sift icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add water 1 teaspoon at a time until you have a smooth fairly thick icing.
3. Spoon 2 tablespoon of the icing into a separate bowl and add the red food colouring to create a deep pink colour.
4. Smooth the white icing evenly over the tart.
5. Work quickly and ensure the icing goes across the whole tart.
6. Put pink icing into icing bag and snip a small hole at the end.
7. Whilst the white icing is still wet, pipe seven even lines across the tart
8. To create the feathered effect, carefully drag a cocktail stick through the centre of the lines.
9. Leave the icing to set for about 30 minutes. 

READY, STEADY, BAKE 😂