Ingredients

• 55g of vegan shortening
• 295g of unbleached white flour
• 4 tbsp ground almonds
• 170ml soy milk
• 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 2tsp baking powder
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 80ml oil
• 170ml agave syrup or a 1/2 cup sugar
• 2-3 tsp almond essence
• almods or jam or cherries for decoration

Yes, it is possible and it was so good I almost polished off the whole thing myself. Not only is it delicious it’s also very easy to make, once you have the knack

Method

First you have to make a pastry base for the tart. Basically you need double the weight of flour to fat.

For the pan size in the picture I used 55g of our shortening to 110g of unbleached white flour.

As you can see in the second photo you can also add ground almonds for a little more taste and texture in the base.I added about 4 tbsp.

Rub the fat into the flour/ flour almond mix as quickly and lightly as you can until you have a breadcrumb consistency. Finally add water a little bit at a time, just enough to make a dough.

If you’re making this in the summer using melted ice cubes works much better than room temperature water. Pastry is always better if it’s kept cold (no wonder it’s popular in England!)

Next roll out the pastry and line a pie tin. Prick the bottom and bake for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

Whilst the base is in the oven you can start making the filling. In a measuring jug mix 170ml soy milk with 1/2 tsp vinegar and leave for five minutes. Measure out 185g flour, 2tsp baking powder, 1tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt and sift into a mixing bowl.

Next add 80ml oil, 170ml agave syrup or a 1/2 cup sugar and 2-3 tsp almond essence to the soy milk.

Whisk them all together and pour into the dry ingredients and combine as lightly and quickly as you can. You should end up with a fairly thick batter-type consistency.

Once the pastry base is ready line it with a few heaped tablespoons of raspberry jam (our meridian jam is particularly nice as it is quite tart and a good contrast to the sweet cake filling).

Gently pour in the batter mix trying to cover all of the jam but not spill over the sides. This cake mix will rise to about double the height so make sure you don’t fill the base too full.

You can decorate the top with almonds or jam or even the more traditional icing with a glace cherry in the middle if you can find one! Finally return to the oven and bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cake is a golden brown on top.

Finally return to the oven and bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the cake is a golden brown on top.