Classic Bakewell Tart

Bakewell tarts are a staple of British confectionary. This tart is a variation of the Bakewell pudding which originated in the town of Bakewell in the district of Derbyshire.

A Bakewell pudding is a jam pastry consisting of a flakey pastry base, topped with sieved jam and a filling made from almond paste and eggs. A Bakewell tart begins with a shortcrust pastry topped with a layer of jam, frangipane, almonds and an optional glaze.

This recipe has been knocking around in my head since I binged the Great British Bake Off some years ago, and has taken inspiration from the many variations of Bakewell Tart out there, such as Mary Berry's and Paul Hollywood's versions.

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What you need for this recipe

Equipment

You will need a 23cm loose bottom pie tin. This allows for easy removal of the tart once baked.

Bakewell Tart Ingredients

• Butter - is an essential flavour in the pastry, and adds a nice richness to the filling.
• Flour - plain, all-purpose or standard-grade flour to make the pastry shell. The low protein or gluten content is a must for a shortcrust pastry.
• Caster Sugar is fine and adds a nice sweetness to the shortcrust pastry without being grainy in texture.
• Ice-cold water is essential in pastry making. Add a few cubes of ice to your water before you start making your pastry.
• Ground Almonds/Almond Flour is the entire base of the frangipane filling.
• Almond slices add a nice crunch to the top of the tart.
• Eggs - bind together the frangipane filling.
• Jam - strawberry, raspberry, boysenberry or a mixed berry jam will go really well in this tart. The traditional jam for a Bakewell is raspberry jam.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Making the Pastry

Step 1 - Whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the cold cubed butter to the flour and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Step 2 - Add in the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the pastry just comes together in clumps. Then gently bring the dough together to form a soft dough and shape it into a disk shape.

Step 3 - Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and line a 23cm loose bottom pie/quiche tin. Take care to not stretch the dough and pushing the dough into the corners and the sides of the tin. Trim the sides of the dough until you just have a 1.5 to 2cm overhang. Fold this overhand down to reinforce the sides. Poke the bottom of the dough with a fork across the entire tart, about 3cm apart. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Making the Filling

Step 5 - Spread the jam over the base of the cooled tart shell and set it aside.

Step 6 - Beat together the butter, sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time and beat them together. The mixture should be light and fluffy.

Step 7 - Fold in the almond flour. Spoon the almond mixture over the jam and gently spread the mixture to the edges of the tart. Smooth out the surface using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. Sprinkle with the sliced almonds and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Step 8 - Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

Step 9 - Mix together the icing sugar and water until you have a smooth pourable icing glaze. Then either using a piping bag with a very small edge or a spoon, drizzle the top of the tart with icing sugar.

To create the pattern within the photograph - place the icing sugar into a small piping bag and snip off a 2-3mm tip. Create parallel lines about 1.5 cm apart. Then create parallel lines at a 90-degree angle to the first lines. Then create lines connecting the corners of the squares.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.

For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.

Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.

Pro Tips for Making Shortcrust Pastry

Making a good pastry requires cold butter, ice water, and handling the pastry as minimally as possible.

Take time to rub the butter into the flour. Coating the flour with the butter inhibits the formation of gluten once water is added to a certain extent.

Once the pastry has been rolled out, be careful to not stretch the pastry when placing it into the pie tin. Lift up the edges when pressing the pastry into the corners. If you have a portion of the dough that looks a bit thin, use a piece of the pastry that has been trimmed off to fill in thin bits.

Once the pastry is trimmed to a 1.5 to 2cm overhang, fold these over the edges. Again this will prevent shrinkage.

Allow the pastry to relax in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. This allows the gluten to relax and will prevent shrinkage when baking.

Blind baking allows the pastry to bake all the way through - because nobody likes a soggy bottom. The pie weights or beans prevent the pastry from puffing up too much during the bake.

Use a plastic or wooden knife to trim off the edges once the shell has been blind baked to prevent any scratches from forming on the tin.

Pro Tips for the Filling

For a light and airy filling, spend time creaming the butter and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and the butter has lightened in colour.

Add the eggs one at a time and cream, keeping the light, fluffy texture. By folding in the almond flour you will keep the air within the mixture.

Check the tart about 3 quarters of the way through baking to make sure the almonds are not browning too quickly. If they are, cover the tart with foil and finish baking.

Substitutions / Variations

For the pastry - caster sugar can be substituted with icing sugar or confectioners sugar.

A store-bought shortcrust pastry can be used to make this tart. Simply follow the blind baking instructions within the recipe for a shortcut. Alternatively, you can also use a pre-baked pie shell.

For the filling - caster sugar can be substituted with white granulated sugar.

Change up the flavour using an interesting jam filling.

Storage

This tart can be stored at room temperature for several days. Or a few weeks if wrapped up and stored in an airtight container within the freezer.

Bakewell Tart FAQ