Mary Berry Almond Slice Food

EASY ALMOND SLICE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200/220 fan/425/gas 7. Grease a baking tin that measures roughly 8" or 20cm squared.
• Cream the butter and sugar together.
• Stir in half the beaten eggs and half the flour. Mix well.
• Add the remaining egg, flour and the baking powder. Lastly, add the ground almonds and a splash of milk to make the mixture soft.
• Spread out evenly in the greased tin and top with the flaked almonds.Press them down gently with the back of a fork.
• Pop in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

EASY BAKEWELL TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, measure the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the water, mixing to form a soft dough.
• Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use to line a 20cm/8in flan tin. Leave in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 (180C fan).
• Line the pastry case with foil and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for about 15 minutes, then remove the beans and foil and cook for a further five minutes to dry out the base.
• For the filing, spread the base of the flan generously with raspberry jam.
• Melt the butter in a pan, take off the heat and then stir in the sugar. Add ground almonds, egg and almond extract. Pour into the flan tin and sprinkle over the flaked almonds.
• Bake for about 35 minutes. If the almonds seem to be browning too quickly, cover the tart loosely with foil to prevent them burning.
• Meanwhile, sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in cold water and transfer to a piping bag.
• Once you have removed the tart from the oven, pipe the icing over the top, giving an informal zig zag effect.

RASPBERRY & ALMOND TRAYBAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Butter an oblong cake tin (about 31 x 17 x 3cm). Tip the flour, ground almonds, butter and sugar into a food processor and whizz just until the butter is evenly distributed - or rub together by hand. Remove 85g/3oz of the mix, stir in the coconut and put to one side. Add the eggs to the remaining mixture in the food processor and whizz quickly - or mix with a wooden spoon. It doesn't need to be very smooth.
• Spread this mixture over the base of the tin, then scatter half the raspberries over the top. Sprinkle with the coconut mixture and bake for 45 mins. Dot the remaining fruit over the surface and cook for a further 15 mins, until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin and cut into slices, squares, whichever shape you want. They will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge.

RASPBERRY BAKEWELL SLICE

Steps:

• 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.