Ingredients
150g caster sugar
150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
150g ground almonds
good pinch ground cinnamon
150g cold butter, cut into cubes
1 egg, beaten
200g good-quality raspberry jam
½ tsp icing sugar, to decorate (optional)

Method

Put the sugar, flour, almonds and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.

Add the cubes of butter and rub them into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. It should feel quite moist.

Add the egg and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together, then knead lightly into a ball. Weigh the dough and take a quarter away to use for the lattice topping.

Roll the rest into a ball and turn it out on to a well-floured surface.

Flatten the ball with a floured rolling pin, until it is about 2.5cm thick.

Place the dough in the centre of a 24-cm loose-based, fluted tart tin and press it with your fingers over the base until it is about halfway up the sides of the tin and the tin is evenly covered.

Spread the jam over the dough as evenly as possible.

Shape the reserved dough into a fat sausage and roll it out on a well-floured surface to make a rectangle 3mm thick. Cut the dough into 1.5cm strips. Place the strips over the jam, first in one direction and then the other, to create a criss-cross pattern over the filling.

Refrigerate the tart for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Put the tart on a baking sheet and bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the almond pastry is pale golden brown.

Decorate with a light dusting of icing sugar, if you like, and cut it into cubes or wedges to serve.

Emanuel Aquilina is an Executive Chef at Coastline Hotel, Salina Bay.