Bakewell Tart
I’ve mentioned it before on here, but it bears repeating that (like many of you, I’m sure) I am a HUGE fan of the Great British Bakeoff.
On the one hand, it’s a cooking competition, but on the other hand, it’s also a cooking show that is just as much about the science/skill behind baking as it is the ‘competition’, which I appreciate.
I was already pretty fond of baking by the time I first started watching the show, but I can say that my love for it increased even more after Bakeoff. I’ve learned new techniques, tried out new recipes, and become a better baker from it, which is probably one of the reasons why I always keep coming back for more.
If you’re familiar with the show and have been watching for several seasons, you’ll know that while in some cases they introduce variation, overall there are some ‘staples’ that are bound to appear in some form or fashion throughout the respective season. For instance, there are consistent themes assigned to every week such as ‘Biscuits’, ‘Cake’ or ‘Bread’, and during those themed weeks, there’s always going to be at least one contestant who bakes a certain recipe, just because they’re so common in British baking.
The Victoria Sponge cake is one of them, as is sticky toffee pudding, or ginger biscuits, or lemon drizzle cake. Another, is the Bakewell Tart.
Like several other recipes, the Bakewell Tart is one that prior to watching Bakeoff, I had never even heard of before. We don’t really see very many of them across the pond in America, at least not in the places I’ve been. It’s a tart composed of a shortcrust pastry that gets topped with jam or preserves, frangipane, almonds and a glaze of some kind.
The Bakewell Tart is considered a staple English dessert and as such, it’s been featured more than one on Bakeoff in both the technical challenge and as signature where contestants can try to remix it with their own special twist. In honor of the fact that the newest season of Bakeoff is soon to come in the US, I decided to finally get around to making one myself.
I’d watched the show enough to know that Bakewell Tarts are relatively easy to put together, and since this was my first go around with it, I tried to keep things ‘simple’ so far as the ingredients were concerned. My personal touches were to use raspberry preserves for my fruit filling, and to also decrease the amount of icing used on top to a drizzle. If you watch the show and remember the Bakewell Tart technical challenge, you’ll remember that the icing in that recipe is laid on pretty thick–I thought a drizzle was plenty, especially when combined with the sweetness of the frangipane.
Now that I’m on the other side of my own Bakewell Tart ‘challenge’, I can say that I see what all the fuss is about and why it’s a staple over there across the pond. They’re delicious, and well worth the try. So as they say on the show: “On your mark, get set, bake.”
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Bakewell Tart
Recipe Adapted from Bake from Scratch
Ingredients
For Pâte Sablée
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup powdered/confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, or emulsion
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cups all purpose flour
For Filling
- ¾ cup raspberry preserves
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, or emulsion
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1¼ cups almond fl our
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
For Almond Glaze
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 4 teaspoons milk, or more as needed
Directions
For Pâte Sablée
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Add confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and salt, and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
Add egg yolk, and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Add flour in two additions, beating just until combined after each addition.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and gently knead 3 to 4 times. Shape dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
For Filling & Assembly
Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C).
On a lightly floured surface, roll Pâte Sablée into an 11-inch circle, about ¼ inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch fluted round removable bottom tart pan, gently pressing into bottom and up sides. Trim excess dough.
Freeze until hard, about 10 minutes. Prick bottom of dough with a fork. Top with a piece of parchment paper, letting ends extend over edges of pan. Add pie weights.
Bake until edges look dry, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove parchment and weights. Bake until crust is dry, about 10 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
Spread preserves into prepared Pâte Sablée. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating just until combined.
Spread filling onto preserves, and sprinkle with almonds.
Bake until golden and set, 45 to 50 minutes. While tart is baking, combine ingredients for glaze together in a small bowl with a fork.
Let finished tart cool in pan for 15 minutes.
Remove from pan, and drizzle with Almond Glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Sharing at Fiesta Friday #450, hosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
Sounds yummy. I’d probably leave the drizzle off, as it all sounds sweet enough. I see that once I have a home again, I’ll need to get a tart pan 🙂
Thank you! My tart pan was a great investment–one of my favorite kitchen gadgets 😉
Delightful!
Thanks Dorothy 🙂
This Bakewell looks very tempting Jess. Have you heard of the Great Bloggers’ Bake Off? Melody has told us it is going ahead next month.
Thank you! I have not heard of it, but it sounds like something worth Googling now for sure lol 😉
Oh Jess…the fabulous three do such a wonderful job of hosting the BAKE OFF. Melody as asked me to be her assistant this year because the weekend of the BAKE OFF is very full on for her. I am going to find a link to one of her posts from last year to give you an idea of it.
My favourite. I usually have some in the freezer.
Thanks! It’s a new favorite of ours too now 🙂