The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800′s in England.
“Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.
Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.
The version we’re daring you to make is a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.”
I had never tasted nor heard of a Bakewell Tart nor Bakewell Pudding before this challenge, but I’m happy to report that my tart turned out perfectly delicious!
There were two mandatory elements of the challenge: the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry and the Frangipane (a filling made from almonds). An optional element was to make homemade jam or curd. Having never made jam before I was planning on giving it a go, but when I had some unexpected dinner guests, I decided to use Smuckers Seedless Blackberry jam.
The shortcrust came together easily. I’m not a fan of almond extract, so I substitute vanilla in the crust and the frangipane. I don’t have a kitchen scale, so converting to cups was a bit of a challenge because the online converters I Goggled gave me different measurements. I ended up using 1 3/4 cups flour in the crust, which was probably too much and I had to use 4 1/2 T. water.
I used 1 cup powdered sugar, 2/3 cup almond meal and 1/4 cup flour in the frangipane, which seemed about right to me. I put little dollops of the frangipane all over the top of the jam, which really helped when spreading the frangipane. My tart was nicely browned and set after only 25 minutes.
Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds
Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.
The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.
When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.
Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It’s a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn’t have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).
Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film
225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract
Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.
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I love to bake, especially cookies, cakes, and pies. I’ll post my adventures in the kitchen, my favorite new recipes, as well as our family favorites.
Barbara, this looks good!
LOL I have a kitchen scale and still have a hard time with metric measurements. I'm getting better at it though. So many good recipes are in metric that I am determined to learn!
I bought a new scale because you had mentioned the weight measurements. i ha been looking at them for months and this challenge was just what I needed to get me to pull out my wallet.
Loved the recipe. I had to use much more water in the dough too. Your looks great and I bet the blackberry was good with it!
You made a beautiful tart. Congrats!
Looks awesome!
Great looking tart. The layer of jam seemed to set perfectly in yours, I'm envious!
Your tart looks delicious! Love the blackberry jam. Awesome job!
Your tart looks great! That big dollop of cream on the piece of tart is sooo yummy… can I have some?
Cheers.
Yum!! Your tart is beautiful!! Awesome job on this challenge =D.
YUM, Barbara, your tart looks amazing! Great job as always..and as I always say!
Never heard of this bakewell tart..looks so delish..and thanx for sharing..
Looks great! I am so jealous of the tarts that set up.
I've really enjoyed looking at the variations of the same recipe. I think I like your version better than the mini ones. Well done!
These look like so much fun to make!
That looks fantastic Barbara and I love the sound of a blackberry and vanilla version! I almost didn't make my jam too but I had a bit of free time. I'm also not a fan of almond extract so I used rosewater instead
Oh my goddness! Your tart is lovely. Great job on this month's challenge.
It looks like it is definitely worth the effort! Yum!
I've never heard of a Bakewell Tart, er pudding either. Your's looks great!
The blackberry jam sounds awesome. The crust sounds terrific.. an overall winner.
You may not like almond extract, but blackberry jam works perfectly with the almond flavor. I'm sure the vanilla crust and frangipane was fantastic, too.
That's a great looking tart! I hadn't made or tasted one before, but am glad to have tried it
It looks beautiful!
This sounds really delicious. I love frangipane anything.
I've never heard of this dessert. I like the combination of flavors and textures. The jam sounds perfect. Beautiful.
I hope your guests enjoyed your tart because it looks wonderful!
Great job on all of your "googled" conversions – that must have been tedious!
Great job!
Your tart looks beautiful with the blackberry jam. I have to be forced to use my scales and I still struggle, getting ingredients sprinkled outside of the dish I was using to weigh with.
Your tart looks delicious! I'm glad you got it all to work out without having a scale. I also do not own a scale, and had to get my BF to weigh all the ingredients on his lab scale. Great job on the challenge!
Great job with your tart…er pudding.
Fantastic job on the tart. They look delish!
Great job on your challenge, it looks delicious. I too have never heard of nor tasted a Bakewell Tart before this challenge.
very nice tarts,
nico
Barbara that looks so good! I'd never heard of this tart either. I've seen a few of the sites featuring them today and now I want to make one also!
Your tart looks seriously yummy! That pork loin below is calling my name too!
That's a fabulous tart!
that's awesome and tempting tart!!!
you should get a kitchen scale! they're only $20 or so at bed bath and beyond w/a coupon
great job
That slice at the top looks delicious and perfect!
Yummy! Yummy! Your tart or pudding looks fabulous!! Surely is really tasteful!
Your tart looks so Southern Living Good! BUT, I could not help but drool over the pork tenderloin you posted before this tart. Amazing stuff!
Lovely tart, Barbara.
Thanks for participating.
j
Yum!!
I've actually never been scuba diving. We're going to the beach w/ Ben's parents in a few weeks and I want to try snorkeling. I've never been to a warm beach so I'm really excited!
Luscious looking tart and I love the blackberry jam addition! Yum! Great job, it is beautiful! I have got to make one of these!
What a lovely tart! Very well done!
Cheers,
Rosa
this looks delicious! yummy wish I had a slice
That looks beautiful – I bet the blackberry was yummy!!