All About Traditional Bakewell tart (2024)

FAQs

What is the story behind the Bakewell Tart? ›

It is thought it was baked by mistake, when she asked her cook to create a jam tart, but instead of incorporating the almond paste and jam into the pastry, the cook spread the mixture on top. This created an egg custard resembling a pudding. The mistake proved so successful, that the recipe stuck.

Frangipane is not an alternative to Bakewell tart, but instead one of the ingredients in a Bakewell tart, used for the filling. Frangipane is an Italian word, recorded in a confectioners dictionary as far back as 1732 and is thought to have come from Marquis Muzio Frangipani or Cesare Frangipani.

About our Bakewell tart recipe

It's a real 'make your tummy happy' tart. What's not to love? Buttery crisp shortcrust pastry base, squidgy almondy frangipan middle, and soft runny icing with delicate feathering and the finishing touch is literally “the cherry on top”.

The pudding is generally considered to be the sweeter of the two and consists of a puff pastry base with a layer of jam that is topped with a mixture of ground almonds, eggs, butter and sugar, while the tart has a shortcrust pastry base, with the layer of jam covered with a sponge-like mixture of the same ingredients ...

The Bakewell Tart

Mrs Greaves asked her cook to pour a mixture into pastry cases and then add jam, but the cook added the jam first in error. The result was so good that the recipe stuck. It is said that this happened around 1820 although some believe it was as late as 1860.

The name Bakewell means a spring or stream of a woman named Badeca or Beadeca, so deriving from a personal name with the Old English suffix wella. In 949 it was called Badecanwelle and in the 1086 Domesday Book Badequelle.

The Bakewell Tart, on the other hand, was developed as a variant of the Pudding later in the 20th century. The Tart's base is made from sweet shortcrust pastry, which is then layered with seedless strawberry jam and finished with a pale, fluffy frangipane sponge filling of eggs, almonds and sugar.

Richard's solution: Soggy bottoms can be a right nuisance, even though they don't really alter the taste of your bake. They are usually the result of either a filling that's too wet in your bake or an under-cooked or thin pastry base. These are easily remedied though using a few simple tips.

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.

An original Bakewell Tart, layered with delicious icing and a cherry. Can be served warm but we would recommend it is served cold, with cream or ice-cream, or on its own.

What is the flavor of the Bakewell tart? ›

With a crisp and buttery shortbread crust, cherry jam, and an almond frangipane sponge layer, this Traditional Bakewell Tart is a perfect breakfast or dessert.

In essence, frangipane is an almond filling, sometimes called frangipane cream. It isn't the same as marzipan, which is an almond-sugar paste that's so dense it can be formed into decorative shapes and painted in bright colors.

In November 2019, Duncan, along with his wife Fay, completed the purchase of The Bakewell Tart Shop and Coffee House in Bakewell, England. This is an iconic English business and home to the original Bakewell Tart.

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.

Tarts have a long history, and their origins can be traced back to ancient Rome. The word “tart” is thought to derive from the Old French word tarte, which itself is derived from the Latin word torta, meaning “twisted bread”. Tarts were initially made with a variety of fillings, including meats, fish, and vegetables.

Bakewell, you could say, is best known for a confection made by mistake. In around 1860, a cook at the Rutland Arms was baking a jam tart but misunderstood the recipe and in turn created what is now known as the Bakewell Pudding. Now, almost every visitor to the town samples this culinary delight.

The dessert had its origins in the 17th century when the chef of King Louis XIV created a type of almond-paste pastry. This pastry was given the name frangipane after the marquis Frangipani, who made a plumeria flower-scented perfume famous at the time.

Frangipane is a mixture of butter, eggs, ground almonds, sugar, and usually a small amount of flour. It's hardly a delicate procedure; making frangipane is more like making a simple cookie batter.