I have a special affinity to all manners of pastries over cakes and I'm inexplicably drawn towards pies/tarts for some reason. That buttery, crumbly crust cocooning a myriad of fillings just fills me with a warming sense of comfort...kinda like chicken soup on a depressing rainy day!
If I'm ever down, hand me a pie; that's the only anti-depressant I'll ever need.
Being a big fan of The Great British Bake Off, I was completely taken in by the Comic Relief Bake Off episodes which were bucket-loads of laughs with celebrities attempting recipes which they've mostly never ever heard of!
For the pie fanatic that's me, I was unsurprisingly enthralled with the episode that had the celebs trying their hand at making a Bakewell Tart.
Sweet, buttery, crumbly pastry layered with jam, topped with moist fluffy frangipane? I'm sold! Though, it did take me pretty much a year to get round to making it...I finally did a couple of weeks ago!
I searched high and low for a good recipe and finally settled for a Paul Hollywood one with a couple of tweaks here and there. It may not be the most awesome looking or authentic Bakewell tart ever made, but given that it was the first time I've ever made frangipane or attempted a Bakewell tart, I was pretty happy with what popped out of the oven! Best tart I've ever had in a long while and probably my all time favourite now.
Honestly, a gimme a warm Bakewell any day and I'll probably gobble it all down. It'll be mine and mine only. My preciousss.
