Mixed Berry Tarts

This recipe is from the Avoca Teatime book I bought last week and my friend Sinead's favourite Avoca dessert, it's light almondy sponge and and berries are a lovely summery combination and let's face it when it's raining and windy outside we need all the summer we can get.

So here's what you need:

1 quantity of shortcrust sweet pastry so you'll need to half the recipe unless you're freezing a tart case like me
75g butter
75g caster sugar
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
drop of almond essence
65g ground almonds
40g plain flour, sifted
900g mixed berries - I used blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries
Apricot jam to glaze if you want

So, heat the oven to 180/Gas mark 4.
Line a 23 cm tart tin with the pastry (I used 6 1ocm ones ).
Beat the butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy
Beat in the egg, almond essence.
Fold in the ground almonds and flour and spread the mixture into the tart tin. Sprinkle with 75-100g of the berries.
Bake for 35 mins until light brown and firm to the touch.
Allow to cool. Melt some apricot jam and brush it over the top of the tart, cover with the remaining fruit, dust with icing sugar and serve.

I've had this in Avoca but mine was more almondy and I preferred it like this, I was probably a little heavy handed with the almond essence but I love it so a drop to me is like 1/4 tsp or more I'd say, use just a drop if you don't want a very almondy flavour.