Hi friends. Again, I'm sorry for the lengthy time in between posts, but 2017 was a BUSY year! I bought a house, and more importantly got married in December of 2017! Life has been so wonderful to me and I'm so thankful for what the past year has brought!

Currently my now husband (!!!!) Lee and I, are planning a trip to Peru for this summer. Machu Picchu is at the top of my bucket list. Pretty surreal I'm crossing that off. We are beyond excited. I'm also headed to Las Vegas at the end of this coming week for the first time! We have all sorts of adventures planned, and I wouldn't want our first year of marriage, or honestly any year of our marriage to be any different!

Now onto the important stuff. Cherry. Amaretto. Bakewell. Tart. I've had an obsession with the Great British Baking Show, or the Great British Bake Off for a hot second now. The 2016 winner, Candice Brown, is honestly everything I want to be when I grow up. She's beautiful, ridiculously talented, and generally seems like the most pleasant person.

This recipe comes from her cookbook Comfort: Delicious Bakes and Family Treats. I had never made a bakewell tart before, and it's a traditional English tart made with a layer of shortcrust pastry, a layer of jam, and then a layer frangipane. In this case, the jam is an Amaretto cherry jam and the frangipane has a little splash of Amaretto too. Oh and it's topped with beautiful flaked almonds for a nice toasty crunch. It's wonderful, and decadent without being too rich. Also, amaretto. Just. It's everything. More things should have amaretto. Without further ado, here's some beautiful pictures and the recipe.

Quick note: the recipe will be in metric units as the book was written and published in London. If you don't already have one, get yourself a kitchen scale! It makes things so easy!

Cherry Amaretto Bakewell Tart

Short Crust

100g turbinado sugar
100g unsalted butter
4 egg yolks
175g plain flour
25g ground almonds
pinch of salt

Jam

200g frozen cherries
100g turbinado sugar
2 tbsp Amaretto liqueur
grated zest of 1 lemon

Filling

120g unsalted butter, softened
120g turbinado sugar
1 tbsp Amaretto liqueur
2 eggs
120g ground almonds
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp plain flour
30g flaked almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350℉.
For the short crust, beat together the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy and pale. Beat in egg yolks, followed by flour, ground almonds, and salt. Bring together with your hands to form a ball of dough. Flatten into disc and wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface to 3-4mm thick. Lift with a rolling pin and drape into a 9 inch loose-bottomed fluted tart tin. Gently press the pastry into the flutes and remove the excess pastry so it is just at the top of the tin. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork.
Line the pie with parchment paper and fill with dry beans, or blind baking beans. Blind bake the crust for 15 minutes then remove the parchment paper and beans and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until set and golden. Set aside to cool. Leave oven on, but turn the temperature up to 375℉.
Next up, the jam. Place a plate in the freezer. Put the frozen cherries, sugar, Amaretto, and lemon zest in a small sauce pan. Set over a low heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat and allow to bubble away for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then test to see if it has set. Remove the pan from the heat and spoon a blob of hot jam onto the frozen plate. Leave for a few seconds, then run your finger through the jam - if the surface wrinkles, the jam is ready. If it doesn't, return to the heat and bubble for a further 5 minutes, then test again. Set aside to cool.
For the frangipane filling, beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the Amaretto and eggs, then mix in the ground almonds, salt, lemon zest and flour.
Up next, assembly! Spread the cherry jam evenly in the baked pastry crust. Top with the almond filling and level out with a spatula. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the filing. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the filling is just set and the almonds look toasted and golden. Cool before serving.

Hi all! Sorry it's been a couple of weeks! The fiancé and I have been very busy with house buying processes. We're under contract on an adorable house here in KC! WooHoo! If all goes right, we'll close a day before my birthday (bday is May 13th). Easily the biggest birthday present I've ever received, but also the most awesome. It's been a scary process, but I've learned a ton. But real life, who decided I was adult enough to buy a house?

OK on to the makes. This one doesn't look super impressive, but I PROMISE it tastes super impressive. Think pecan pie without the pecans, but creamier, and packed with more flavor. I know pecan pie seems like more of a wintry pie, but because there's honey involved in this one it makes it lighter, and more spring-like? I don't know. I don't need to justify eating this pie in May. It's freakin' delicious so I'll eat it whenever. Add a bit of salt on top and you have an addictive, rich custard pie that should be enjoyed at all times of the year.

My crust skills still need a bit of work. It always tastes delicious, but isn't always beautiful. But when I get upset about my ugly crust my dear fiancé reminds me it's the taste that matters (have I mentioned I love him). He's ultimately right, and this pie has no shortage of flavor. I found this pie on Life Love and Sugar's blog.

Also, quick side note: bees are important people. They give us delicious nectar that we can turn into these pies. BUT MORE THAN THAT, they make sure we have all sorts of food. Because pollination. So. Don't kill bees. Just leave 'em bee (see what I did there). OK I'm done now. Enjoy this pie.

Salted Honey Pie

Pie crust of your choice (I used Ina Garten's recipe because she's goals)
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup unpacked light brown sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
Sea salt for sprinkling, optional

Make the pie crust, or place store bought pie crust in a 9 inch pie pan and set it in the fridge while you mix up the filling. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Add egg yolks to a large bowl.
Make the filling by heating the heavy cream, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a full boil. Stir regularly while it heats up. It will become very thick like pudding. Remove from heat once it comes to a full boil.
Temper the eggs by adding a little bit of the cream mixture to the eggs and whisking, then adding a little more. Add the remaining cream mixture and stir until combined and smooth.
Once fully combined, add the honey and vanilla. Stir to combine again.
Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
Bake the pie for 40-45 minutes, or until it begins to brown on top and the crust is also golden brown.
Remove the pie from the oven. It will still be pretty jiggly, but it will set up as it cools. Set it on a wire rack until it cools fully to room temperature.
Refrigerate the pie until it becomes fully cool and firm. Sprinkle with salt right before serving.

Cherry Amaretto Bakewell Tart