This tart is a taste of home and I love to make this dessert as my favorite treat. Just a slice and good cup of tea and I’m a happy girl. What I love most about this tart is the layers. The almond filling (frangipane) bakes up like a sponge cake that is dotted with crunchy almonds. Then you reach the sweet jam, then the buttery, flaky crust. It is divine! What is Frangipane? Frangipane (French origin) is a batter made with melted butter almond extract and ground almonds. Usually a filling for tarts, cakes and French pastries. Picture the scene. The summer weather is here, the garden is blooming and the birds are chirping. A nice teapot full of English tea, some cucumber finger sandwiches and a slice of Bakewell tart. Sounds lovely doesn’t it?
What is the difference between Bakewell Tart & Bakewell Pudding? Both with similar ingredients with a slight difference in taste. The pudding is more freeform using puff pastry and topped with a custard-like almond topping. It is served warm with ice cream or custard and it did originate in the city of Bakewell. The tart is made in a tart pan with flaky, short crust pastry, jam and a filling of an egg almond paste. As far as the origin of the tart, it remains a mystery, but it would make sense that both dessert did originate from Bakewell. The tradition of the layers of the tart differ to who you may talk to, some are just topped with sliced almonds, others they add frosting with a decorative pattern or just a cherry. I like the simple sliced almonds and leave it at that. Another popular British dessert is Victoria Sponge Cake, also very good for afternoon tea. This classic Bakewell tart starts with a simple short-crust pastry. This is pressed into a tart pan. I prefer fluted tart pans with removable bottoms with help pop the tart out very easily. But, before it receives its toppings, the crust is blind baked. What is blind baking? This simply means it is baked with no filling and weighed down with dried beans so it doesn’t puff up. This way, the base of the tart gets cooked before the filling goes in and you not only have a sturdier slice, it is less doughy and sometimes can even seem raw (and no one wants to eat raw dough). If you’ve tried this Classic Bakewell Tart or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see daily recipe updates.
