Gateau Basque

Here is the tart Besnik made for Gam's birthday...it is a little bit involved, and a little bit rich...but very tasty!

Pastry

3 1/4 c flour

1/2 c finely ground almonds*

2/3 c caster sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

¼ tsp vanilla

10 tbsp butter, softened

Filling

6 egg yolks

1 c (scant) caster sugar

1/2 c flour

1/2 c finely ground almonds

4 c milk

1tsp vanilla

4 tbsp jam

1 egg lightly beaten

1. Sift together flour and ground almonds for the pastry. Make a well in the middle and put sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and butter in the well.
2. Mix together wets and flour/almond mixture with fingertips, then use a butter knife to incorporate the flour, chopping through. Bring dough together with your hands, wrap in plastic, put in fridge for 30 min.
3. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy--a couple of minutes. Sift in flour and almonds; mix well. In a saucepan, bring milk and vanilla just to a boil, then pour slowly over egg mixture,stirring continuously. Pour egg, sugar, milk mixture back into clean sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Will go from lumpy to smooth as you stir, and will gradually thicken. (Consistency should be exactly halfway between water and play-doh.) Once it has thickened, boil 2', continuing to stir. Take off the heat, transfer to a bowl, and cover top of custard with plastic so a skin doesn't form. Put in the fridge to cool. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Roll out two-thirds of pastry for 10" tart ring--we did not have a tart ring, so we used a 10" springform pan (same thing, the edges are just higher). Put the pastry you rolled up over and shape it to form a bottom and sides. 
5. Spread the jam over the base of the pastry then spread with filling. Roll out remaining third of pastry, put on top (gluing it to the base w/ some lightly beaten egg) and trim edges. Brush top w/ egg and score with a fork. Bake 50min or until golden brown. (You can check to see if it is done by lightly jiggling it--if the sides are firm, but the middle still jiggles, you can take it out and let it set as it cools.)
6. Refrigerate and serve cold. 

*Older almonds seem to grind best--newer ones tend to have a higher water content, and grind into a paste (which is harder to work with).