Traditional Bakewell Tart
Crisp pastry, sharp raspberry jam, soft almond frangipane, and a scatter of flaked almonds on top — the British tea-room classic done the proper way, with every component pulling its weight.
Plus 1h cooling / chilling time
Method
- 1
Make the pastry: Whisk the flour, icing sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and rub in with your fingertips (or pulse in a food processor) until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- 2
Add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir with a knife or pulse briefly until the dough starts to clump together — add another tablespoon of water only if it stays dry. Tip onto a lightly floured surface, bring together with your hands without kneading, flatten into a disc, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Chill pastry30:00 - 3
Roll the chilled pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a circle about 3mm thick and 28cm across. Lift it on the rolling pin and lay it over a 23cm (9-inch) loose-bottomed tart tin. Press gently into the corners — do not stretch — and let any overhang sit. Trim flush by rolling the pin over the top, or with a sharp knife. Prick the base all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 20 more minutes.
Chill in tin20:00 - 4
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan / 350°F / Gas 4). Line the chilled pastry case with baking parchment, fill with baking beans (or dry rice) right to the top, and place on a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes.
Blind bake15:00 - 5
Carefully lift out the parchment and beans. Return the case to the oven for another 5–7 minutes, until the base looks dry and is just starting to colour. Set aside while you make the filling — leave the oven on.
Pastry crisp06:00 - 6
Make the frangipane: Beat the softened butter and caster sugar together on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each — the mixture may look slightly curdled which is fine. Fold in the ground almonds, plain flour, and almond extract with a spatula until smooth.
- 7
Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the cooled (or just-warm) pastry base, leaving a 1cm border free of jam — the frangipane will spread as it bakes and the jam can leak otherwise.
- 8
Spoon the frangipane on top in dollops, then carefully spread to cover the jam completely. Scatter the flaked almonds evenly over the top.
- 9
Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the frangipane is risen, deeply golden on top, and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes if the almonds are browning too quickly.
Final bake32:00 - 10
Cool in the tin on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then carefully remove from the tin. Dust with icing sugar if you like, slice into wedges, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Baker's Notes
- •Cold butter for pastry, soft butter for frangipane. The pastry needs cold cubes that stay distinct in the flour to give a flaky texture; the frangipane needs creamed soft butter to whip air into the mixture. Take frangipane butter out of the fridge an hour before starting.
- •Shortcut: 320g of bought all-butter shortcrust pastry works well — roll it out, line the tin, and skip to step 4. Avoid puff pastry; the result will be heavy and damp.
- •Why a 1cm border of jam-free pastry? The frangipane spreads as it rises in the oven. If the jam goes right to the edge, it will bubble up the sides and burn against the tin.
- •Stop the soggy-bottom problem by blind baking until the base looks dry. If it still seems pale and damp after 7 minutes, give it another 3 minutes — pale pastry under wet frangipane is the most common Bakewell failure.
- •Storage: airtight at room temperature for 2 days, or refrigerated for up to 5 days. The flavour deepens overnight. Can be served warmed in a low oven for 5 minutes before serving.
- •Cherry Bakewell variation: replace the raspberry jam with morello cherry jam and finish with a thin layer of glacé icing and a halved glacé cherry on top, instead of flaked almonds.
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