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If you have a sweet tooth and love marzipan, then a classic British Bakewell Tart is just what you need!
Bakewell tart is a British classic and you can now buy all kind of treats inspired by the classic flavours of a Bakewell: almond, jam/fruit (often raspberry or cherry) and pastry or sponge.
However, a classic Bakewell tart is made with a shortcrust pastry case and filled with a layer of raspberry jam and almond frangipane. This version is finished with a layer of thick water icing – you definitely need to be ready for a sugar high when eating this tart!
The recipe for this Bakewell tart is largely based on Mary Berry´s recipe, which she gave the bakers in one of the technical challenges in season 7 of the Great British Bake Off.
You definitely need a bit of a sweet tooth for this one…
This was originally a Mary Berry recipe, I have, however, changed the recipe up a bit, altering parts of the method slightly, and changing some of the recipe quantities, in particular when it comes to the jam.
I used half the amount of sugar than in the original recipe and you could probably even half that amount again if you wanted to. This Bakewell tart is extremely sweet – you have been warned! But it tastes soooo good!😋❤
Check out my most recent twist on this classic British recipe: Mini Blueberry Bakewell Tarts!
Master multiple baking techniques in one bake…
This Bakewell tart recipe is great to master multiple baking skills: Making shortcrust pastry, homemade jam, almond frangipane and, lastly, feathered icing.
Shortcrust pastry can be tricky to make at times, but you can check out this post for tips on how to make the perfect shortcrust pastry here. For tips on lining a tart tin, check out this Baking Skills post here.
Knowing how to make a jam and almond frangipane should be a skill every baker has, and you can see in this recipe how easy they actually are to make.
Lastly, feathering your icing is another skill that you will find is much easier than you think! Why not check out my video tutorial here to see how it´s done!
Of course, you could always use shop-bought shortcrust pastry and raspberry jam to speed things up. But you´ll get a lot more satisfaction from the end result if you make your own!
More British Baking Classics
For more British baking classics, why not check out some of the recipes below?
- Carrot Cake Traybake
- Classic British Trifle – perfect for feeding a crowd!
- Orange Zest and Fruit Scones
- Strawberries and Cream Swiss Roll
- Cheese and Chive Scones
- Hot Cross Buns
- Mini Custard Tarts
- Pork Pies
- Lemon Drizzle Cake Traybake
- Homemade Caramelised Onion and Thyme Sausage Rolls
Mary Berry´s Bakewell Tart with Feathered Icing
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE JAM:
- 200g fresh raspberries
- 100g jam sugar
FOR THE SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY:
- 225g plain flour
- 150g butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 25g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 large egg, beaten
FOR THE ALMOND FRANGIPANE:
- 150g butter, softened
- 150 g caster sugar
- 150g ground almonds
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp almond extract
FOR THE ICING:
- 300g icing sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1-2 tbsp water
- a squeeze of pink food colouring
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 23cm fluted flan tin
- Ceramic baking beans or uncooked rice
- Piping bag or sturdy freezer bag
- 1 toothpick
Method:
- To make the jam, put the raspberries into a deep saucepan and crush them using a potato masher. Add the jam sugar and bring to the boil over a low heat until the sugar has melted. Once melted, turn up the heat and boil for 4 minutes. Take the saucepan off the heat and pour the jam into a shallow Tupperware to cool and set.
- Next, make the pastry. Add the flour to a bowl and rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar, followed by the beaten egg. Mix to form a soft dough, adding some water, a little at a time, if the dough is too dry (click here for more tips for making shortcrust pastry).
- Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough until about ¼ cm thick. Carefully place it into the flan tin, gently pressing the pastry against the sides, to make sure it has a nice fluted effect once baked. Leave any overhang on for now, and chill the pastry in the fridge for 30 minutes (click here for more tips on lining a tart tin).
- Preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C fan.
- Before baking, remove the pastry case from the fridge and prick the base all over with a fork. Put some baking paper over the pastry and fill the case with ceramic baking beans or uncooked rice. Bake blind for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and cook for a further 5 minutes to dry out the base.
- Remove the baked pastry case from the oven and trim the edges whilst the pastry is still hot by carefully running a sharp knife along the top of the flan tin. Leave the case to cool slightly whilst you prepare the filling.
- To make the almond frangipane filling, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in the ground almonds, egg and almond extract and beat until smooth.
- Reduce the temperature of the oven to 180°C or 160°C fan.
- To assemble the Bakewell tart, spoon the set jam into the bottom of the pastry case and even out using the back of a spoon. Then spread the frangipane evenly on top and level the surface.
- Bake the tart for about 25-30 minutes until the top is golden-brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the tin.
- For the icing add the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the almond extract and 2-3 tablespoons of cold water to make a smooth, fairly thick icing. Take 3 tablespoons of the icing and put them into a small bowl before adding a squeeze of pink food to make a light pink icing. Spoon the pink icing into a small piping bag (or use a sturdy freezer bag instead). Use a pair of scissors to cut a tiny corner off the end of the piping bag (or the edge of the freezer bag).
- Once completely cool, remove the Bakewell tart from its tin and place it on a serving plate.
- Spoon the white icing over the top of the Bakewell tart and smooth the surface with a pallet knife. Next, pipe parallel lines of the pink icing on top, leaving about 2 cm between each line. Starting at one end, drag a cocktail stick through the lines at a 90-degree angle to them. Alternate between dragging the cocktail stick towards you and away from you to create a feathered icing effect (see pictures). Wait until the icing has completely set before cutting the Bakewell tart into slices!
