Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tart
Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tart

Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tart

  • Prep time:

  • Cook time:

  • Total time:

  • Portion/Yield:

    serves 6 - 8

  • Difficulty:

    Intermediate

Mulberries are fruits from my childhood. Mum has a large mulberry tree in her front garden and it came in handy when I had silk worms, as the leaves were perfect food for them. Dad disliked the mulberry tree as the birds got a bit fruity and decorated the drive rather unpleasantly!

Mulberries are fragile, perishable fruits and they start to deteriorate as soon as they are picked. I too have a tree in our garden at home here in the UK and as soon as the fruits ripen, I pick and freeze them immediately to make sure they don’t get wasted in any way. Our generous customers at the pub often bring us some wonderful fresh produce and mulberries are one of those. Our bartering or exchange system is definitely working and it’s heart-warming to get the whole community involved.

I have glazed this tart with a gin glaze using Adnams gin. This is following a visit to their distillery in Suffolk. I like this gin, you can distinctly taste the botanicals used to distill the gin, the taste works particularly well with mulberries and that is why I have chosen to use it in my glaze. This is purely optional , if you do not want to use gin then simply replace it with more lemon juice instead.photo of Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tartphoto of Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tartphoto of Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tartphoto of Mulberry and Adnams Gin Bakewell Tart

Ingredients & Method

For the bakewell tart

  • 300g Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
  • 150g unsalted butter, softened
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon gin
  • 4 eggs
  • finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 170g ground almonds
  • 160g Mulberry Jam
  • 50g fresh mulberries
  • 20g flaked almonds

For the glaze

  • 50g icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon gin
  • juice of 1 lemon

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to about 2mm thickness and use it to line a (loose-bottomed, if you like) 35 x 10 x 2.5cm fluted oblong flan tin (leaving a slight overhang of pastry). Leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3. Prepare the bakewell mixture. Cream the butter and caster sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy, add the gin, then add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lemon zest and juice, then fold in 150g of the ground almonds until well mixed.

Spread the mulberry jam evenly over the base of the chilled pastry case, then sprinkle over the remaining ground almonds. Spoon the bakewell mixture over the top, spreading it evenly, then scatter over the mulberries and flaked almonds. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the filling is well-risen and golden brown.

Remove from the oven to a wire rack and leave the tart to cool completely in the tin before trimming the pastry and pouring over the glaze. Once cold, trim the overhanging pastry from the top edges of the tart with a small, serrated knife.

For the glaze, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl, stir in the gin, then gradually stir in enough lemon juice, mixing to make a smooth, pourable glaze that is not too runny in consistency. Pour the glaze evenly over the cold tart and leave to set. Once the glaze has set, carefully remove the tart from the tin and cut it into slices. Serve with whipped cream, crème fraîche, vanilla ice cream or custard.