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.

If you are looking for a simpler, quicker version check out my Bakewell Blondies!

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 push 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 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 center 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.

Weighing & Measuring Ingredients

Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.

However, I have activated the metric-to-cup conversions. Simply click on "cups" or "metric" for your preferred measurements. For these conversions, cups are equal to 240 millilitres/8 fluid ounces, tablespoons are 15 milliliters and teaspoons are 5mL.

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 gluten formation once water is added to a certain extent.

Once the pastry has been rolled out, be careful not to stretch it 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 pie 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 baking.

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 color.

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

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

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