The starting point for this recipe was Vanilla Black‘s Little Cherry Bakewell Tarts (from Vanilla Black: Fresh Flavours for your Vegetarian Kitchen), which I then adapted to allow me to use the acacia flowers, elderflower and Mahonia berries (which I made into jam) I had picked in my foraging walks.

Acacia and Elderflower Bakewell Tartlets Recipe

Makes 6 tartlets

INGREDIENTS

For the shortcrust base:

75 gr plain flour

25 gr sugar

50 gr butter

1 pinch sea salt

2 tablespoons elderflower cordial

(alternative buy ready-made shortcrust pastry)

For the frangipani filling:

30 gr ground almonds

1 head of fresh elderflower (stalks removed)

20 acacia flowers, plus more for decoration

30 gr self-raising flour, plus more for dusting

1.5 eggs

60 gr vegetable oil

60 gr sugar

1 teaspoon elderflower cordial

6 teaspoons Mahonia jam

20 gr flaked almonds

6 silicone muffin moulds

cookie cutter or glass

METHOD

To make the shortcrust pastry for the base, combine the butter, sugar, flour, sea salt and elderflower cordial to get a crumbly dough. Be careful not to handle it too much or it will become greasy and sticky.

Roll out the dough thinly and then cut 6 circles either with a cookie cutter or, like I did, using a normal drinking glass. Line the silicone moulds with one circle each, keep in the freezer for 5 minutes. Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees Celsius. Take the moulds out of the freezer and line them with baking beans or normal beans wrapped in kitchen foil. Bake for 15 minutes, take out of the oven and take out the baking beans, then poke the cases with a fork and put them back in the oven for another 12-15 minutes.

Prepare the frangipani filling by mixing the ground almonds, fresh elderflower, acacia flowers, self-raising flour, eggs, oil, sugar and elderflower cordial.

When the pastry cases are cool, spoon a bit of Mahonia jam on each and then pour the frangipani mixture on top. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds.

Bake for 22-25 minutes until everything is cooked through. Leave to cool and decorate with more acacia flowers.