Bakewell Tart

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (180ºC Fan). Grease and line the base of a 25cm loose bottomed tart tin with parchment paper. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to the approx. depth of a £1 coin. Lift into the tin and evenly press into and around the tart tin. Cut excess pastry, but leave a little overlapping the top. Prick with a fork and chill for 20 mins. Screw up some parchment paper then use this to line the tart case, over the top of the pastry. Fill with baking beans or rice. Bake blind for 15 mins, then remove baking beans/rice, and parchment paper, and bake for a further 5 minutes.  Remove tart from the oven and brush with the beaten egg yolk. Trim the edge of the tart case to remove any excess pastry. Allow to cool slightly then evenly spread the jam in the base of the tart leaving a 1cm gap from the edge. To make the frangipane, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  Use either a kitchen mixer with a paddle or a hand mixer. Add the eggs and beat together then stir in the ground almonds and essence. Add the frangipane mixture to the tart case and spread out evenly using a spatula or palette knife. Place the tart on a baking try in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer is inserted and comes out clean. For the topping, in a bowl add the almond essence to the icing sugar and add a little water until you have a thick smooth fondant. Take two tablespoons of the fondant and place in a separate bowl, add the red food colouring and mix. Place in a disposable piping bag. Pour the white fondant mix over the tart and spread out evenly.  Then pipe parallel lines of red fondant across the tart.  Drag a toothpick across the lines to create the feathered effect.  Top with a glacé cherry and serve in slices.