Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between Bakewell pudding and Bakewell tart? ›

Many visitors ask us whether they should buy a Bakewell Tart or a Bakewell Pudding, and the answer of course is to buy both! That said, a tart is made with short crust pastry and a Bakewell Pudding is made with puff pastry. The recipe for the filling is very similar.

Frangipane is also a key component in Bakewell Tart, where it teams up with jam as a filling between layers of pastry. And it's imperative in Bostock, a breakfast pastry made by saturating slices of day-old brioche with sugar syrup, then slathering on frangipane and baking until golden.

The Bakewell tart is an English classic of shortcrust pastry with layers of jam, frangipane, chopped almonds and icing. It dates back to the 19^th century when a woman named Mrs Greaves, who was the landlady of the White Horse Inn in Derbyshire, created the Bakewell pudding.

If the filling still feels very liquid after 40 mins baking, cover the top with foil to stop it from browning and return to the oven for another 5-10 mins or until the filling is just set.

The Bakewell tart developed as a variant of the Bakewell pudding in the 20th century. Although the terms Bakewell tart and Bakewell pudding have been used interchangeably, each name refers to a specific dessert recipe.

Try to avoid opening the oven before 15 minutes have passed, as the delicate structure of the frangipane means they have a tendency to sink.

Harrogate Tart is a very old Yorkshire recipe and is traditional served cold in a pre-cooked pastry case. The filling, however, can be served as a dessert in individual serving glasses, with cream and ratafia biscuits or macaroons. Either way, it's delicious!

Frangipane is a pastry filling made with finely ground almonds or almond meal. It is sometimes referred to as almond cream. And, being more or less like a pie filling, frangipane is never consumed raw because it contains raw eggs.

Marzipan and frangipane are only similar in the fact that they use almonds and have very similar-sounding names. Their purposes and textures, however, are very different, making them unable to be substituted with one another.

Why is it called Bakewell? ›

The town was originally called Baedeca's wella, which meant Baedeca's Springs. The name was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 924, it is thought that there must have been a Saxon who settled by the warm springs which rose at Bakewell and the town was named after them.

Blind-bake your base before adding a filling to help to firm the base and avoid liquid being absorbed into it. Prick the base with a fork to help steam escape, cover with foil or parchment, and weigh it down with ceramic baking beans, uncooked rice or white sugar.

Brush Your Pie in Egg Wash

Once you've pre-baked your pie, brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg wash, then reheat at 400° for 4 minutes to set the glaze. This creates a seal between the crust and the filling so that your crust stays crispy and golden once the filling is added.

Scatter over the flaked almonds and bake for 25-30 mins until golden and firm. Leave to cool in the tin (or eat warm at this stage and leave out step 4). Mix together the icing sugar and 1-2 tsp water and drizzle over the tart. Slice and serve with cream or custard, if you like.

Bakewell pudding is said to have been invented following a culinary accident in the mid-19th century at the White Horse Inn (now the Rutland Arms Hotel) in Bakewell, England. As the story goes, a cook failed to follow instructions and spread the egg-and-almond paste on top of a pastry base instead of mixing it in.

This local delicacy is only available in Bakewell, or for purchase online from Bakewell. Made with puff pastry, instead of short crust pastry that Bakewell Tarts are made with, it can be served cold but we recommend serving it warm with custard.

The mass-marketed cross between a cake and a tart, pictured above, consists of a spongy layer of frangipane baked in a tartlet case over a layer of raspberry jam, the whole lot smothered in thick white icing – sometimes striped with chocolate – and topped with a candied cherry.

It combines a crisp shortcrust base with a layer of fresh cherries, nutty frangipane, flaked almonds and icing. I like to make my own sweet shortcrust pastry for this recipe, it's not difficult to make, although it can be a little time consuming when it comes to chilling the dough… but so worth it!