A Bakewell tart is an English confection consisting of a shortcrust pastry shell beneath layers of jam, frangipane, and a topping of flaked almonds. It is a variant of the Bakewell pudding, closely associated with the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Yield: 1, 9″ pie crust
Make the Pâte Sucrée.*
Bakewell Ingredients
300g/10½oz ground almonds
130g/4¾oz sugar
6 eggs, beaten
Splash almond essence
3 tbsp raspberry jam
25g/1oz flaked almonds
TIPS
Keep the Pâte Sucrée cold in the fridge when not using.
A true British classic pudding, Bakewell tart is best served slightly warm with a dollop of lightly whipped cream.
Can be made as individual tarts in a muffin tin.
STEP 1
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and put a heavy baking tray in the oven to heat up. Grease a deep pie/tart tin with butter.
Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured work surface and line the prepared tin with the pastry.
Prick the base with a fork, to stop the base rising up during baking. Pop in fridge while you make the filling.
STEP 2: BLIND BAKE THE SHELL
Cover the pastry lightly with some baking parchment. Cover the parchment with baking beans or uncooked rice and place into the oven to bake blind for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and remove the baking beans or rice and the baking parchment and set aside to cool. If the pastry base is still a little raw, return to the oven for a minute or two to dry out.
STEP 3
Reduce the oven temperature to 165C/145C Fan/Gas 2.
Meanwhile, for the filling, place the ground almonds and caster sugar into a bowl and mix well.
Add the beaten eggs and almond essence and mix well.
When the pastry has cooled spread a generous layer of raspberry jam onto the pastry base.
Pour the filling mixture over the raspberry jam to fill the pastry case.
Top with flaked almonds, then bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is baked through and golden-brown all over.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve warm or cold.