EPICURIOUS A BITTERSWEET SURPRISE.

As anyone who has ever watched an episode of The Great British Bake Off can attest to, no one does desserts like the British. Their mix of indulgent tarts, biscuits, scones and puddings are every sugarholic Pakistani's dream. Who doesn't have a hankering for lemon tarts with chai? Or who wouldn't love to dunk a digestive biscuit into their cup of tea? Yes, the British have got very little right historically when it comes to food, but their desserts are the exception.

The Bakewell tart - unlike its cousin the lemon tart - isn't about that tricky balance between the sweet and the sour, but the bitter - from the almond-based frangipane filling - and the sweet. All good desserts don't simply indulge in sweetness but add some nuance and complexity with other flavours such as bitterness, umami or sourness, and this is what this classic English tart does so well.

Named after the town of Bakewell in England, the tart evolved from the Bakewell pudding, which was apparently created by mistake at the town's White Horse Inn in the 1800s. The owner had asked for a jam tart but the cook misread the recipe and made a paste of almonds and eggs spread on top of the tart instead of incorporating it into the crust. The result was a new kind of dessert, the Bakewell pudding, which proved very popular with the inn's clientele. Bakewell tart replaced this paste with frangipane and became a popular dessert in the 1900s.

Mini Cherry Bakewell Tarts

This is a time-consuming dessert but well worth the effort. Cherry Bakewell Tarts have a glazed icing but if you want your tart to be less sweet, skip the icing. The traditional topping is a cherry (you should be able to find canned cherries in the market) but it's always fun to just add any topping of fruit that is in season or decorate with a dusting of chopped or ground almonds.

An English classic that will speak to your inner sugarholic

I prefer raspberry jam (because it isn't too sweet) but feel free to experiment and add whatever jam is in season or is your favourite (apple, strawberry, mango) - you can't go wrong. Don't want to waste time making the shortcrust pastry? Just buy some from your local bakery.

Ingredients

For the pastry

1 A1/4 cups flour A1/4 cup icing sugar A1/2 teaspoon salt A1/2 cup cold butter 2 egg yolks A1/2 teaspoon vinegar

For the frangipane filling

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup sugar 2 eggs A3/4 cup almonds, ground A1/2 teaspoon almond extract A1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract A1/4...