An English delicacy known as a “Bakewell tart” is made of a shortcrust pastry shell, jam, and frangipane.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Additional Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 1 8-inch tart |
Ingredients
- ¼ pound pie crust pastry
- 7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons ground almonds
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup superfine sugar
- 1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch pie plate.
- Roll pastry into a round shape a little larger than the pie plate. Cut off a 1/2-inch wide strip from the edge of the pastry circle, and line the lower sides of the pie plate with the strip, placing the cut side upwards; the pastry will not reach the rim of the pie plate. Dampen the strip with water, then place the remaining pie pastry circle into the pie plate, pressing to seal the edges of the circle onto the strip where the pastry overlaps. This will create a crust that is slightly thicker around the lower edges.
- Whisk flour, ground almonds, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. Whisk egg and lemon zest together in a small bowl.
- Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add egg mixture, beating well after each addition. Gently fold in flour mixture, a spoonful at a time, until just incorporated.
- Spread strawberry jam evenly over the center of the pastry shell, then spread batter over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until filling is firmly set and browned, about 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 212 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 39 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 134 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
The flour/egg mixture was too dry – baked up too dry even when the crust was clearly just barely done. It needed to be thicker, and wetter, for a 9 inch pie pan. There needed more jam in the jam layer as well (my photo has triple the jam but the frangipane layer is as directed in the instructions). Thanks for sharing, it tasted good even with being a bit dry!
Admittedly, this is my first ever attempt at a Bakewell Tart, and I found that I really did enjoy it. However, I had a few issues with this recipe. The steps for putting the crust in the pan seemed somewhat odd to me, so I simply rolled it out, and laid it into the tart pan like I would with a pie crust. That worked just fine. I would also pre-bake the crust next time, because I got a bit of the dreaded ‘soggy bottom’, and I think pre-baking would eliminate that. I also found that 2 tbsps of jam (I used peach jam, as that’s what I had on hand) was not enough to cover the bottom of the tart at all. I’d probably double that, at the very least. Finally, I found that the frangipane/cake layer just wasn’t what I was hoping for. When comparing this recipe to other Bakewell Tart recipes, I found that the other recipes used a higher ratio of almond meal/flour to plain flour, and they also added almond extract. I think that would help a lot. Overall, this was a fun baking experience, and I would make it again with some tweaks.
I think you will find the original 1820’s recipes all call for Raspberry not Strawberry jam, and there should be a goodly layer across the base of the tart. At least 0.25″ thick (7 – 10 mm.) So your a bit light on the jam quantity!
I didn’t do all the fiddling with pie shells, just used the no roll pie crust recipe from this site (doubled), added extra jam as per the other reviewers. Everything else was the same, and it came out better than store bought!
This is go to recipe. I am asked to bring this to pot lucks and for special occasions. I make this into tarts, rather than a pie, and include almond extract in the filling. I also ice these with a royal icing (almond extract in that as well), and either put a glace cherry or sliced almond pieces on top. Beautiful, delicious, and not too difficult, these ALWAYS turn out and are a hit.
One of our favorite tarts and sometimes I use rice flour rather than all purpose. I think originally that was what it called for . Gives an interesting texture.Always use a little almond flavoring and omit lemon zest.
YUM! I’ve always wanted to make one of these, and it did not disappoint. I made 12 minis actually, in a muffin tin. I probably used a thicker layer of jam than in the recipe. I also added almond extract to the cake part, only because I like it like that, but it would have been good without! Yumyum, will make again!
I made this into mini tarts instead of a big one and they turned out fantastic. Added some almond extract. Delicious and easy!
My British husband wasn’t very impressed. I think if it had enough jam to make a substantial layer on the crust it would’ve been much better.
The Bakewell Tart is a bit of a tradition for my family and I. Having lived in the pretty market town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England. Home to the original Bakewell tart, before we moved here to America 2 years ago. The dessert dates back to the 1860s. Bakewell tarts are often called Bakewell puddings, but the two desserts are essentially the same. While this recipe is pretty good, I have had to make a few changes to make the recipe more traditional. The pastry should be an almond short crust pastry, I make my pastry as usual but add 1/3 cup of ground almonds. For the frangipane centre I use Clementine zest not lemon. Once the tart has been baked, I always top with Royal icing. A Bakewell tart can essentially be iced or not, but for me the icing just finishes off the cake entirely.
You can omit all the pastry trimming stuff and just fill a regular pastry pie shell!
WOW!! I made this at home and it was awesome!! I think that A LOT more people should try making it.