Bakewell Slice

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In our house there’s an unspoken rule that pudding must be served on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and that yoghurt won’t cut it. One of those days will undoubtedly be covered by ice cream, but that still leaves a couple to fill. I quick scroll online for some inspiration over the weekend led me to a Raspberry Bakewell Slice recipe from BBC Good Food.

As so often is the case, I started making this recipe convinced that I had all the ingredients when I didn't, so I made a couple of slight adaptions. Firstly I didn’t have almond essence, so replaced it with a tsp of vanilla essence and I fell short at the full quota of raspberry jam, so I just added a few more of the frozen raspberries. It’s a great base recipe that I’m going to play around with - I think a blackcurrant and bay version would be rather special. The best thing is that the slices freeze really well, so I now have stock in the freezer to keep us going for the next few weekends.

BAKEWELL SLICE

375g pack shortcrust pastry
5 tbsp thick seedless raspberry jam
100g frozen raspberries, just thawed
25g flaked almonds
4 tbsp apricot jam
For the sponge
200g butter, very soft, plus a little extra for the tin
200g golden caster sugar
100g ground almonds
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp almond extract
4 eggs, beaten

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line the base and sides of a buttered traybake tin, about 18-20cm x 30cm, with baking parchment. Roll out the pastry to line. Lift into the tin and evenly press right into the corners. Prick with a fork and chill for 20 mins.

Bake the pastry for 8-10 mins until it‘s cooked but not too coloured. Cool for a few mins and turn down the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Dot the raspberry jam over the pastry (there's no need to spread) and scatter over the raspberries.

For the sponge, put all the ingredients into a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until soft and very well mixed. Spoon this over the raspberry layer, then smooth evenly. Scatter over the flaked almonds and bake for 35-40 mins until golden and firm. Cool completely in the tin. Will freeze for up to 3 months – overwrap the tin with baking parchment and foil beforehand.

To serve, thaw for 4 hrs at room temperature, then reheat in a low oven. Melt the apricot jam with 1 tbsp water and brush over the top of the sponge just before serving.