Strawberry Bakewell Pudding

This week's bake is a flashback to our holiday earlier in the year when we took a trip to Bakewell. During our trip, my wife who is a self-confessed Bakewell tart fanatic tasted a proper Bakewell pudding for the first time and really enjoyed it. So here's my version made from homemade puff pastry, filled with strawberry jam, an almond custard and topped with flaked almonds. 

Recipe - Serves 6

For the puff pastry:

• 40g strong white bread flour
• 40g plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 10g butter, diced
• 80ml cold water 
• 60g butter, chilled

For the filling: 

• 3 tbsp strawberry jam 
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 50g caster sugar 
• 50g butter, melted and cooled 
• 20g ground almonds 
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• Flaked almonds, for sprinkling 

Start making the puff pastry by mixing the flours and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and rub in to form rough breadcrumbs, then enough water to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds to smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1 hour. Meanwhile, bash the butter between two pieces of baking paper to a rectangle 5mm thick and chill for 30 minutes to harden.

Remove the dough and place onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a rectangle one third longer and the same width as the butter block. Place the butter over the bottom two thirds of the dough and fold the top down then bottom up. Press the edges to seal in the butter. Turn the dough so that the shortest edge is parallel to you and gently bash up and down to flatten. Roll the dough to a rectangle four times as long as it is wide and fold the top and bottom into the centre, then in half like a book. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes to harden the butter again. 

Remove from the fridge and roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle four times as long as it is wide. Fold each of the short ends into the centre and then fold the dough in half as previous. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes, then repeat the same rolling and folding process twice times more, but with the pastry turned 90 degrees from the previous orientation each time and chilling for 30 minutes in between.

Chill the pastry for 1 hour before rolling out to a square 5mm thick and large enough to line a 13cm diameter cast iron or pie dish. Lift the pastry into the dish and chill for 20 minutes to harden. Use a sharp knife to trim the edges, then prick the base with a fork. Chill whilst you make the filling.

 

Combine all the ingredients other than the jam in a bowl and beat together lightly to mix. Spread the jam in the bottom of the pastry case and pour over the custard filling to 5mm below the rim of the pastry. Sprinkle with flaked almonds. Bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes until browned and set, turning the heat down if it is browning too quickly. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before serving.