One favorite thing that I became very fond of in the UK was Bakewell Tarts. They are a real British favorite teatime treat, and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
You can get individual tarts such as I have baked here, slices, and full sized tarts.
The Bakewell Tart is a popular treat in the UK, name after the Derbyshire town of Bakewell. It consists of a pastry case filled with a layer of jam, frangipane, and then topped with flaked almonds and/or a glacé icing and glacé cherry.
Bakewell Tart (s) are actually a variation on the original Bakewell Pudding, which was created in the town of Bakewell, which is in Derbyshire in the U.K.
It is said that Mrs. Greaves, who was the landlady of the White Horse Inn, left instructions to her cook to make a jam tart.
Instead of stirring the almond paste and eggs into the pastry as instructed, the cook spread the mixture on top of the tart. When cooked, it set like an egg custard. The resulting pudding proved to be very popular with visitors to the inn.
In later years, the egg custard was replaced with an Italian frangipane filling, composed of ground almonds, eggs, butter and sugar. The tart was often topped with flaked almonds and a glace cherry.
You will most often in the UK see the tarts in the shops topped with a glaze of almond flavored icing and a cherry.
These tarts which I am sharing with you today are a variation on all of that. They have a sweet jam filling and are topped with an almond frangipane, flaked almonds, an almond drizzle glaze and a glace cherry. And they are delicious!
Not only that, but they are very quick and easy to make, especially if you use frozen tart shells, which I did today.
You can of course make your pastry from scratch, but if you are in a hurry and want a treat fast the frozen tart shells are the way to go!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY BAKEWELL TARTS
Nothing outrageously out of the ordinary. Simple ingredients done really well.
- 12 frozen tart shells, thawed
- 4 TBS strawberry jam
- 3/4 cup (170g) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
- 1 cup + 3 TBS (100g) ground almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 large free range egg
- 4 TBS flaked almonds to sprinkle
To finish (optional)
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- few drops almond extract and a bit of water
- 6 glace cherries, washed, dried and halved
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I used the Tenderflake brand of tart shells that I had in the freezer. I have used them before and they are excellent.
You will see that it also calls for sweetened condensed milk. Do not confuse this with evaporated milk. They are not the same thing at all.
One (evaporated) is simply milk which has been heat treated to have a lot of the water removed. The other (sweetened condensed) has been treated to have water removed but has also been cooked with sugar to make a sweet thick product that is excellent in desserts.
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I get my ground almonds from Costco. What you want is ground almonds that have not been ground with the skins.
I also get my flaked almonds from Costco. Again, they have no skins on them.
I opted to add the optional glaze and of course the glace cherry on top. Don't worry if you can't get glace cherries, you could use maraschino cherries that have been rinsed and dried really well if you want, or you can leave them off entirely.
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HOW TO MAKE EASY BAKEWELL TARTS
I like to prebake my tart shells for five minutes to set them. There are no soggy bottoms here!!! My sister and I will sometimes pick up tarts at the local Foodland shop and I have to tell you we are ALWAYS disappointed.
The bottoms are always soggy. It never fails. it is such a simple thing to just pre-bake your shells for five minutes. It really does prevent this from happening.
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Preheat the oven to 350*C/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with some foil for ease of cleaning in case of any spill-overs.
Whisk the condensed milk, almonds, egg and almond essence together until smooth. Place the thawed tart shells on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for five minutes. Remove.
Spoon 1 tsp of jam in the bottom of each tart shell. Divide the almond mixture between the tarts, covering the jam in the bottom of each shell. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to18 minutes until just starting to brown.
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Remove and allow to cool. Whisk the icing sugar together with some almond extract and just enough water to make a thick drizzle icing.
Flick this icing over top of of the tarts and place a cherry half on top of each. Leave until set to serve.
.JPG "Easy Bakewell Tarts")
If you are a fan of Bakewell goods like I am then you may also be interested in my other Bakewell recipes on here. Every one of them delicious!
Bakewell Slices - very similar except they are baked in a tray bake tin and cut into fingers to serve. Fabulously tasty!
Bakewell Tart Muffins - almond flavored muffins with a lush jam filling, an icing glaze and a cherry on top! Delicious!
Bakewell Whoopie Pies - two almond flavored cake like cookies, sandwiched together with jam and then sweetly glazed and topped with flaked almonds. Simply wonderful!!!
I have to say I was never overly fond of the ones in the shops. Not enough filling and far too sweet. These delicious tarts are a perfect balance of sweetness and are very generously filled.
Quick and easy to make as well. They are a real favorite with me!
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The recipe does make 12 tarts. I am sharing them with my sister. My dad is coming to pick them up before he goes there for supper tonight. I am only keeping a few for myself.
These are fabulously tasty. I think you best prepare yourself to discover a new addiction! If you are a fan of jam tarts and of almonds, then you are going to be a real fan of these!! Enjoy!!
Easy Bakewell Tarts
Yield: 12
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 23 MinTotal time: 33 Min
An easy version of one of Great Britain's favorite Teatime treats! You can make your own pastry if you wish, but good ready made frozen tart shells work quite well and make baking these a breeze!
Ingredients
- 12 frozen tart shells, thawed
- 4 TBS strawberry jam
- 3/4 cup (170g) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
- 1 cup + 3 TBS (100g) ground almonds
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 large free range egg
- 4 TBS flaked almonds to sprinkle
To finish (optional)
- 1/2 cup (65g) icing sugar
- few drops almond extract and a bit of water
- 6 glace cherries, washed, dried and halved
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*C/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with some foil for ease of cleaning in case of any spill-overs.
- Whisk the condensed milk, almonds, egg and almond essence together until smooth.
- Place the thawed tart shells on the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for five minutes. Remove.
- Spoon 1 tsp of jam in the bottom of each tart shell. Divide the almond mixture between the tarts, covering the jam in the bottom of each shell. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to18 minutes until just starting to brown.
- Remove and allow to cool.
- Whisk the icing sugar together with some almond extract and just enough water to make a thick drizzle icing. Flick this over top of of the tarts and place a cherry half on top of each.
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These look wonderful, Marie. I've never made one before but this recipe looks terrific. Maybe I'll make them for the Jubilee tea. Thanks for the Costco recommendation on the almonds. I was wondering about the ground ones and where to get them. Hopefully I can find the frozen shells here, too!
ReplyDeleteI hope you can also Jeanie. If not I recommend my lard and butter pastry and medium muffin cups or tart tins. Buying the pastry ready made sure saves time however! xoxo
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