I thought I'd post quickly and give you a taster of what I've been up to.
For Christmas my parents got me a practical class at Martin Wishart Cook School which I cashed in yesterday, learning to make 5 different desserts and ultimately having an amazing day. It really was worth using one of my holidays to spend a day in a kitchen and as well as getting some inspiration for new recipes, meeting some lovely people and getting taught some new techniques I also realised that my experiences in the kitchen are so much more pleasant when you have a kitchen porter weighing out all your ingredients and cleaning up after you... It's aspirational at least!!
One of the desserts on the menu was a blueberry bakewell tart and, because I remembered to take photos of it during the baking process, I thought I would share it just now!!
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| blueberry bakewell tart - pre baking |
Pastry: 70g butter; 60g icing sugar; 1 egg; 200g plain flour
Frangipane: 250g butter (softened); 250g icing sugar; 250g ground almonds; 100g plain flour; 4 eggs
Final touches: Fresh blueberries, flaked almonds; blueberry jam
P a s t r y : Place butter, flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until it forms breadcrumb consistency.
Beat the egg into the flour mix. Knead the mix gently until it forms a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge.
F r a n g i p a n e : Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl with the butter and beat together until white and creamy. Fold in the ground almonds and the flour. Beat the eggs into the mix one at a time until incorporated well and beat again for a further 3 or 4 minutes.
F i n a l - t o u c h e s : Butter and flour a 30cm flan ring. Roll out the pastry to 5mm thickness and place onto the ring pressing it into the corners. Prick the base with a fork. Evenly spread blueberry jam onto the base. Spoon the frangipane mix into the flan and spread evenly. Scatter the blueberries and flaked almonds on top of the frangipane and bake at 190 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serve with creme fraiche or just eat the whole thing between you and 3 friends in approximately 15 minutes!
More of my Martin Wishart day will definitely follow as I try to make the rest of my menu by myself!!
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| blueberry bakewell tart - pre eating! |
