Bakewell Tart

Whether you are a fan of The Great British Bake Off or just a fan of fruity, flaky pastries, you’ll love this classic British dessert made of frangipane (a soft, slightly chewy almond filling made from almond flour) and raspberry jam. While common across the pond, if you’re American, you’ve likely never had an authentic one before, and that’s a true shame. The sweet tart is easy to make, with a crust that's like a cross between a pie crust and shortbread. With just a few staple ingredients and a handful of hours, you’ll feel like a star baker in no time. On your marks, get set—bake!

What People Are Saying:
“This tart is seriously delish! The combo of tart jam with the frangipane and almonds is a perfect match. I've made it three times now and everyone loves it. I'm going to try to adapt the recipe to make 3 inch tarts. Thank-you for this lovely dessert!!” - Flosee

How To Make A Bakewell Tart

INGREDIENTS

• All-Purpose Flour: AP flour is the perfect base for the shortbread crust here. The crust is crisp, buttery, and sweet, and doesn’t need to rise too much.
• Confectioners’ Sugar: Confectioners’ sugar is the standard sugar used with shortbread. Because it is much finer, confectioners’ sugar will dissolve more easily and result in a tender cookie.
• Kosher Salt: A little bit of salt helps to emphasize the sweetness of the crust and bring out the other flavors.
• Unsalted Butter: The most important part of this crust is in using cold butter. Very cold. You don’t want the butter to melt and spread throughout the dough, but instead are looking for pieces of butter in the dough for a flaky, buttery crust.
• Egg Yolks: The yolks add further structure and smoother texture to the crust.
• Cold Water: Just like the butter, it is important to use cold water. This will help keep the crust light and slightly flaky.
• Frangipane: Frangipane is an almond cream made from almond flour and extract, among other things, and adds that nice, rich almond flavor to many of your favorite baked goods. If you bake frequently, you may want to consider making a large batch of frangipane and freezing what you don’t use here.
• Raspberry Jam: This is the traditional choice for a Bakewell tart. The tartness of raspberries is sweetened a bit when they are made into a raspberry jam, and this works perfectly to balance against the rich, nuttiness of the almonds and shortbread.
• Sliced Almonds: The sliced almonds add a slightly chewy bite to the top of the tart and add in some extra almond flavor and flair.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

To start off the crust we need to combine the dry ingredients. Flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt all go into a large bowl and are then whisked together. Once this is done, add in cold, cubed butter and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until pea-sized pieces form. Then add in the egg yolks and cold water and mix together until a dough forms. Be careful not to overwork the dough here.

Lightly flour a clean work surface and then transfer the dough to the surface and roll it out to a 12” round. Transfer the round to a 9” tart pan. For an even crust without rips or thin sections, gently lift the dough as you press it into the tart pan so that it has a little bit of give and isn’t stretching. Once you have pressed the dough to form to the bottom and sides of the tart pan, hang the excess dough over the top edge of the pan and roll the rolling pin across the top to cut off the excess dough. Place the tart into the refrigerator for about 1 hour until chilled.

As the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350°. Place the tart on a baking sheet and use a fork to poke holes all over the bottom of the dough. This will help any steam escape as the tart cooks, resulting in a more even cook and no large air bubbles. Place a piece of parchment over the dough and fill the tart with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the crust for 20 minutes before removing from the oven and carefully removing the parchment and weights. Then add the tart back to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes until the bottom is dry and the edges are lightly golden. Set aside to let cool.

As the crust cools, make the filling. Start by combining butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beating together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and continue to beat until fully incorporated. Beat in the almond extract and then add in the almond flour and salt, and beat until just combined.

Spread the raspberry jam evenly over the crust and then add the almond filling on top, spreading gently into another even layer. Top with sliced almonds.

Then, add the tart back to the oven and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes until the top is set and the crust is golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely. Sprinkle over with confectioners’ sugar and slice to serve.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Blind bake the crust. If you’re familiar with baking shows, you’ll know to dread a soggy bottom. The best trick for avoiding one in this recipe? Blind bake your crust. It only takes 20 minutes, but makes all the difference in the end result of your tart.
• Use cold ingredients. Just like in many of our recipes, your butter and water should be cold here—real cold—to achieve the best crust.
• Flour your surface. To prevent any sticking, flour the surface you're working on before rolling out your tart.
• Don’t overwork your dough. We want to keep our ingredients cold here. If you overwork your dough, you risk everything warming up, and creating a less-than-ideal pie crust.

How To Serve A Bakewell Tart

This classic tart can be topped in a few different ways. I love the classic sliced almonds and light dusting of confectioners' sugar, but a confectioners' sugar icing is also common.

Storage

Once made, the tart stays good at room temperature for several days wrapped tightly or in an airtight container.