Tom Cribb revisted, mulled wine and cherry bakewell tarts

 

Well it just wouldn't be proper if we didn't return to Tom Cribb's. I had my usual fish and chips and my husband had the steak and ale pie, see in the background. Both scrumptious as ever, and yes, I needed help with mine, because look at the size of the fish!

Mulled wine in three glasses. Being in London so close to Christmas had some inviting drinks to try. Along with the Hotel Chocolat beverages this, was second and at almost every pub and restaurant. When it was festively offered we happily had a glass... or two.  

This time we tried Waitrose cherry bakewell tart. Similar to the M&S we tried on our last visit, from what I can remember. Very buttery and flaky and still sweet. They went down lovely with a nice cup of tea at the end of the day. 

Mr. Kipling

 

Obviously our household knows I was seeking out Mr.Kipling's Cherry Almond Bakewell tarts and during the Christmas holidays look what was given to me. When I saw them I had a laugh and so did my son. It was a surprise considering my husband and I looked high and low for them when in London. I will absolutely enjoy and share these sweet treats.

The Cherry Bakewell Tart

For me nothing says Christmas like the bakewell tart. The sweet smell of almonds. The impeccable white cap of icing and the ornate glacé cherry on top. I do not know exactly where or when my love affair with the bakewell tart began... probably from Christmas' past. After years of buying store bought Bakewell's out of shear convenience and thinking anything I made will ever compare. I recoiled from making them. That was until now.  

The bakewell tarts I made, pictured above, are less manufactured and more a reflection of sweet admiration. Easy and simply divine these Bakewell tarts will have one never look at store bought again. Sorry Mr. Kipling...  

 Cherry Bakewell Tart   

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makes about 20 tarts

Filling:

Scant 1/4 cup raspberry jam or strawberry jam

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, softened

1/2 cup superfine caster sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup ground almonds

1/3 cup self-rising flour, sifted 

1 teaspoon almond essence

Icing:
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract, pure or imitation is fine

1 tablespoon hot water, approximately

glacé cherries sliced in half 

Pastry Crust:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cold water 

Mix flour and salt together in a larger bowl. Add the oil and mix with a fork until it looks crumbly, like meal. Sprinkle in the water and mix with a fork. If the pastry is a bit dry  then add more cold water. I find that I need to add about 2-3 more tablespoons of cold water. Gather the dough and press into a ball. Roll out in-between sheets of wax paper.

1. Make the pastry crust. 

2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease a patty/muffin pan(s). I used a non-stick muffin pan therefore I did not need to grease it. Roll out the pastry and cut as many circles, as the patty/muffin tin will hold... 6, 12, 24, using a 3 in/7.5 cm cutter. Use to line the prepared pans and spread a little jam in the base of each. 

3. Beat together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding half the ground almonds after each one. Add the flour and almond essence and stir well. 

4. Spoon batter into the pastry cases and bake for 20 minutes until well risen, firm and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pans.

5. Combine the confectioner's sugar, almond extract and enough hot water to make a  thin icing. When the tarts have cooled, spoon the icing over the tops. Decorate each with a  whole glacé cherry or half a glacé cherry.   

Notes: You may use whatever recipe you like for the pastry or even buy ready made tart shells to save time. Again, I used a non-stick muffin pan so I did not need to grease the pan. 

Empire Biscuits

I have been trying to make a dent in my Christmas baking. I started with shortbread and have move on to the Empire biscuit. They are a bit labour intensive however I quite enjoy that fact. These are very reminisent of the Bakewell tart which gives me a bit of comfort. I had received a manual cookie cutter with cut out shapes as a gift and wanted to put it to the test and this was the perfect recipe. 

It is considered that the Empire biscuit is traditionally a Scottish snack. The biscuit was originally known as the "Linzer Biscuit" and later the "Duetch Biscuit". However, when World War I broke out it was renamed to the Empire biscuit. 

Empire Biscuits 
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1/2 cup (125ml) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (125ml) casters sugar 
1 egg
1 teaspoon (5ml) almond or vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5ml) baking powder
1/3 cup (75ml) raspberry jam 

Icing
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1 cup (250ml) icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon (1ml) almond or vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15ml) hot water, approximately
6 candied cherries, quartered 

Notes:

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- I found that I needed to add a bit more butter so I increased the butter to 2/3 cup.

- You may use strawberry or apricot jam. I used a Peach Raspberry Champagne preserve.

- You can use 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 inch (4-4.5cm) cookie cutter. The cookie cutter I used was a bit smaller therefore the baking time was not a full 10 minutes. So tweak the baking times according to cookie cutter size. 7 minutes was all the time needed to bake mine. 

- You could sandwich the cookies after putting jam on the bottoms however I found it easier to icing the tops separate and then sandwich them together. 

- I know 3 hours seems long for the icing to set. Trust me they need that length of time. 

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) 

In a large bowl beat the butter with the sugar until fluffy; then beat in the egg and almond extract.

In a separate bowl whisk flour and baking powder together; then stir into the butter mixture.

On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to a 1/8 (3mm) thickness. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely on wire racks. 

When completely cool divide the cookies into tops and bottoms. Spread raspberry jam on the bottoms and set the tops aside. 

Time to make the icing...

In a small bowl, combine icing sugar, almond extract and enough water to make a thin icing. Spread over the tops that were set aside. Top with a cherry piece and let stand for a few minutes then sandwich the tops and bottoms together. And let the icing dry for about 3 hours.