Sunday, October 05, 2014

A Bakewell tart

Our friend Jean is an accomplished baker. Her cakes and pies are always delicious and we always enjoy them. Last year, she shared with me a recipe for Bakewell tart, a local specialty from the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England, near to where she is from. The tart is made in a pâte brisée (what I would call a standard pie crust), with a layer of jam and a filling made with ground almonds.

The finished tart can be served plain or sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Interestingly, the link to the recipe that Jean provided had somehow been modified and, when I followed it, led to a different version of the Bakewell which called for fresh blueberries in place of the traditional layer of red jam. Since I have blueberries in the freezer (from our berry-picking adventure in June), I decided to give it a try.

Blueberry Bakewell tart fresh from the oven. Sliced almonds are baked onto the top.

The photos here are from my first Bakewell a couple of weeks ago. I used the berries still frozen and they released a little too much juice into the tart while cooking. The filling didn't set up as firmly as it should have. Still, it was mighty tasty. Last week, I made another one, but I let the berries thaw and drained the liquid off before adding them to the tart. The second tart had a much firmer texture and was as delicious as the first. Good thing, too, because I made it to share with Jean and her husband.

Here's a link to the recipe. It makes individual tarts, but I used it to make one larger tart with no trouble.

11 comments:

  1. I really love Bakewell's so much so that each summer I always make a batch of raspberry jam just for them. I've never made them with blueberries but sometimes I use fresh raspberries. If I've friends for dinned I make individual tarts which freeze well as does the almond filling as I found out when I made too much!

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  2. The French version of this tart is called une amandine, and it's often made with very ripe or even poached pears. One of the best amandines Walt ever made was with peaches.

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  3. A good bakewell tart is really delicious. Curiously, the worst bakewell pudding I ever had was in Bakewell itself.

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  4. Don't get involved in the Bakewell Tart/Pudding argument! That way lies madness! Likewise which bakery in Bakewell has the original recipe for the eponymous tart/pudding. Just bake'em and enjoy!

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    1. A Bakewell tart is quite different from a Bakewell pudding. Both have a pastry bottom but the tart has an almond sponge topping and the pudding has a set custard topping. Most people prefer the tart version but the pudding was the original famous culinary mistake:

      http://www.bakewellpuddingshop.co.uk/pudding-shop-history-1-w.asp

      I suspect that anyone expecting the delicious almond topped tart would be disappointed if they bought a pudding instead!
      The blueberry version was delicious!

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  5. One should not read this kind of post before breakfast!

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  6. Wow, I would like to try a piece. Looks delicious.

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  7. (holds out plate for a slice)

    and what a co-inky-dink but it's 6:50a here and I have my CAWfee (philly pronunciation) so I'mma ready for breakfast! :-)

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  8. Yumm, yumm, yumm! I haven't looked at the recipe, but is it much different than what you do for your Tarte Amandine aux Fruits, that you usually put pears into?

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    1. judy, it's pretty close to an amandine.

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  9. You continually inspire me to cook; or at least eat 'well'.

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