Almond & Raspberry Traybake

This is another renamed traybake.  My recipe book calls this ‘Economical Almond Cheesecakes’ and the look on my husband’s face when I told him this (after he had already eaten one or two, or was it three…) reinforced the need for a better name!

Now I’m no cheesecake aficionado, in fact cheesecake rates fairly far down my list of favourite dessert items, but there is nothing resembling a cheesecake in these that I can see.  They are more like a Bakewell Tart, really.

Names aside, these were yummy.  The Peanut Butter & Chocolate Squares had been the greatest success with Mr Traybakes and Little Miss Traybakes to date, but these Almond & Raspberry Slices were possibly even more successful!  It might be the jam.  Four year olds like jam.  Forty-something year old grown men also like jam.  Maybe I should bake more with jam?!

These have a soft, shortbread-like base.  Then a layer of jam.  Finally topped with an almond flavoured sponge mixture and sprinkled with sugar.  The sugar coating did leave the tops quite brittle.  Just call them rustic and eat!

I then made them again a week later and topped them with flaked almonds instead.  They were still a little crumbly to cut but this worked just as well as the sugar topping and added a nice crunch.

Ingredients

Base

6oz/170g plain flour (all-purpose flour)

2 tsp baking powder

2oz/60g sugar

4oz/110g butter

6-7 tbsp raspberry jam

Topping

5oz/140g butter

5oz/140g ground rice/rice flour

5oz/140g sugar

1 tsp almond extract

1 egg, beaten

sugar or flaked almonds to sprinkle on top (your choice!)

1.  Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl.  Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs.  Add the sugar and press into the bottom of your tin of choice (I used my 8inch/20cm square tin, lined with parchment paper).

2.  Spread the jam over the base.  I used a pastry brush to do this gently to try to avoid disturbing the base too much.

3.  Now make the topping.  Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat the egg and the almond extract and then add to the butter and sugar mixture a little at a time.

4.  Fold in the rice flour and then spread over the top of the jam.

5.  Now, either top this with some flaked almonds or sprinkle over a little sugar and bake at 350F/180C for 20-30 minutes (it took 30 minutes in my oven).