Stephanie Johnstons Bakewell Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Center a rack in the oven, and preheat it to 400. Prick the crust all over with a fork, cover with buttered foil and fill with dried rice or beans. Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights, and bake for 3 minutes more, until lightly colored. Set aside to cool.
• To make the filling: Reduce the oven temperature to 350. Whisk the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and sea salt together. Working with a mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 3 minutes, until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl as needed. The mixture may curdle - it's O.K. Beat in the almond extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add half of the dry mixture. When incorporated, add the rest, and beat only until it disappears into the batter. Finish blending with a spatula.
• Spread the jam in the crust, and top with the filling, covering the jam as completely as you can. (The filling doesn't spread easily, but imperfections work out in the end.) If you'd like, sprinkle with sliced almonds.
• Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top feels firm and is puffed all the way to the center. (Check the tart after about 25 minutes, and if it is browning quickly, tent it loosely with foil.) Transfer to a rack, and let it cool before icing, if you'd like, and serving.
• To make the icing: Stir the sugar and 1/2 tablespoon water together. If the icing doesn't run off the spoon slowly and steadily, add more water drop by drop. Drizzle over the tart, and let it dry at room temperature.

Steps:

• Make the meringue: Heat oven to 250 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together both sugars.
• Working with an electric mixer, beat the egg white, vinegar and salt on medium-high speed until the mixture forms soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition. Once the sugar is incorporated, beat 2 minutes more; you'll have stiff, glossy, white peaks. Put the meringue on the baking sheet and spread it 1/4-inch thick. (It will cover only a small part of the sheet.)
• Bake the meringue undisturbed for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, prop open the oven door and let it dry for 1 hour. When you're ready to use it, chop it into pieces about the size of chocolate chips. Precision doesn't matter.
• Make the shortbread: Working with a mixer (use the paddle if it's a stand mixer), beat the butter, both sugars and the salt on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until smooth but not fluffy. On low speed, beat in the yolks, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Add the flour in three additions, mixing on low until the dough comes together in large clumps. Turn out the dough and knead it into a ball. Cut the ball in half.
• Shape each half into a 6-inch log. Wrap it and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You could also freeze it for up to 2 months; leave it on the counter for 1 hour before baking.)
• When you're ready to bake the cookies, heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 1 or 2 muffin tins with butter (or nonstick baking spray).
• Slice each log into 12 rounds (each 1/2-inch thick); drop one into each muffin cup. (If you don't have enough tins, you can work in batches.)
• Bake for 21 to 23 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the rims. Transfer the tin(s) to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, then lift the cookies out and onto racks; cool to room temperature.
• Just before serving, top each cookie with lemon curd, then top with ample chunks of meringue, pressing them into the curd. The meringue will keep in a cool, dry place for a few days, and the cookies can be kept at room temperature for about 3 days. But once you top the cookies, they're best eaten soon after.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Arrange tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove shells from oven and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam into the bottom of each tart shell.
• Beat butter and white sugar together in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add flour, egg, baking powder, and almond extract and mix well. Spoon 1 tablespoon butter mixture on top of raspberry jam layer.
• Bake tarts in the preheated oven until filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Stir confectioners' sugar and water together in a bowl until icing is smooth; drizzle over warm tarts.