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

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Bakewell tart is such a British classic, and Mary Berry’s got the best recipe, but I’ve made a few changes for those of us in the US. Thanks to a friend’s suggestion, I’ve also discovered that using up leftover mincemeat instead of jam, makes a fabulous treat!

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (1)

For those of you in the UK, Mary Berry is a household name, but this is not the case in the US.

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EDIT: This post was written before the Great British Bakeoff made it BIG in the USA!

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (2)

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (3)

Click to buy Mary Berry’s cookbook.

If you live outside the UK, you may not know who Mary Berry is. She is an extremely accomplished baker, cookbook author, and celebrity in the UK, as she is a judge in a highly popular TV show called The Great British Bakeoff, and she just happens to have been born exactly one year, to the day, before my Dad! You needed that piece of information, right?

Updated: I met Mary Berry and “hung out” with her, Paul Hollywood and James Martin in the VIP room at the BBC Good Food Show Scotland! I even rode in the same taxi with them when we went out for dinner!

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (4)

I love Mary’s English style and classic British recipes, like her Bakewell tart. Most of you in the US have probably never even heard of a Bakewell tart, let alone have tried one, so this is the recipe I decided to share with you.

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (5)

Bakewell tart begins with a homemade crust which is partially baked, then the bottom is covered in jam (please see below for a very delicious alternative filling to use up your Christmas mincemeat).

Bakewell tart is very simple almond flavored, cake-like filled (frangipane) tart, which is topped with sliced almonds and drizzled with icing. Mary Berry’s Bakewell tart recipe is fantastic. When the tart has cooled, it’s drizzled with a plain sugar icing. Need I say more?

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe

adapted for US kitchens (and to my taste) and to make a larger, 9″ tart serves 10

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Tart Shell

  • flour
  • salt
  • butter
  • sugar

Filling

  • jam or mincemeat
  • butter
  • sugar
  • ground almonds
  • eggs
  • almond extract (optional)

Topping

  • flaked almonds
  • confectioner’s sugar
  • water or milk

Special equipment: tart dish(I like this one as it’s made in France, but I have a less expensive option in above)

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 (180C fan).

Making the pastry

Placethe flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture looks likefine breadcrumbs.

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (7)

Add the sugar, then add the water and mix gently to make asoft dough. (Or you can make it in a food processor,like this.)

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, then line a 9″in tart tin. Using a fork, press the tines into the bottom and sides of the pastry in the tin.

Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (8)

Refrigeratefor 30 minutes.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked, but not completely (it’s going back in the oven.) Remove and set aside.

Spread the jam or mincemeat on the bottom of the crust then make the frangipane filling.

Making the filling and baking the Bakewell tart

Melt the butter in a pot,remove fromheat and stir in the sugar, ground almonds, egg and almond extract (if using.) Pour the mixture over the jam or mincemeat andsprinklethe flaked almonds on top.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F(180°C) and bake forabout 30 minutes, until golden-brown and a skewer pushed into the middlecomes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completelyin the pan. Drizzle with icing and allow to set.

Finally, cut the Bakewell tart into slices and enjoy! If you enjoy Mary Berry’s Bakewell tart recipe in it’s original form, then give my mincemeat version a try, too!

Mincemeat Bakewell Tart

Here is a photo of the mincemeat Bakewell Tart. The homemade mincemeat combined with the other flavors works really well, and it was perfect in January to use up some leftover mincemeat from the holidays.

In the meantime, I am flying to Scotland today, so I hope you’ll understand I won’t be posting much here on my site whilst traveling, but I’ll be much more active on Facebook, and Instagram.

I hope you will follow me home to Scotland–first on the agenda is the Scottish Baking Awards at Mar Hall this Sunday! I cannot wait!

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Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart Recipe with a twist! (11)

Mary Berry's Bakewell Tart

Yield: one 9" tart

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

A classic British tart which has a jam base, cake like frangipane filling and almonds and icing on top. Delicious!

Ingredients

Tart Shell

  • 2 cups (9 oz) all purpose flour
  • (pinch of salt -my addition)
  • one stick (4 oz) good quality butter (I use Kerrygold)
  • (1 1/2 tsp sugar -my addition)
  • 4 to 5 tbsp ice-cold water

Filling

  • 3 to 4 tbsp raspberry jam, or any other flavor (you can also use mincemeat for a delicious twist)
  • 1 1/2 stick (6 oz) butter
  • 3/4 cup (6 oz) sugar
  • 3/4 cup (6 oz) ground almonds
  • 2 eggs (preferably organic), beaten
  • 1/2 tsp. almond extract (I omitted this as it's not my favorite flavor)
  • 1/2 cup (3 oz) flaked almonds

Icing

  • 2/3 cup (3 oz) confectioner's sugar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water or milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F

PASTRY-

  1. Place the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, then the water and mix gently to make a soft dough. (Or you can make it in a food processor, like this.)
  2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, then line a 9"in tart tin. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Using a fork, press the tines into the bottom and sides of the pastry in the tin, then bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked, but not completely (it's going back in the oven.) Remove and set aside.

FILLING

  1. Spread the jam or mincemeat on the bottom of the crust then make the frangipane filling.
  2. Melt the butter in a pot, remove from heat and stir in the sugar, ground almonds, egg and almond extract (if using.) Pour the mixture over the jam or mincemeat and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.
  3. Bake for about 35 minutes. If the almonds begin to brown too quickly, cover the tart loosely with aluminum foil.

ICING

  1. Place the confectioner's sugar into a bowl. Stir in cold water or milk. Using a knife or spoon (any kitchen cutlery would probably work), drizzle the icing all over the cooled tart (make sure it isn't warm or the icing will not look as pretty as it should.) Allow the icing to set before serving.
  2. Cut into slices and enjoy!

Notes

Leave off the icing if you prefer a less sweet tart (my mum prefers it this way).

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 197Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 46mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is only estimated.

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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.

What is the difference between frangipane and Bakewell tart? ›

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.

What is the original Bakewell tart? ›

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

Why is my Bakewell tart soggy in the middle? ›

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.

What is another name for a Bakewell tart? ›

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.

Why did my Bakewell tart sink? ›

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.

What is the best tart in the world? ›

Top 43 Tarts in the World
  • Tart. Tarte Normande. Normandy. France. ...
  • Tart. Pastafrola. ARGENTINA. shutterstock. ...
  • Tart. Flan pâtissier. FRANCE. shutterstock. ...
  • Tart. Treacle tart. ENGLAND. shutterstock. ...
  • Sweet Pastry. Egg tart. Guangdong. China. ...
  • Tart. Pastiera. Naples. Italy. ...
  • Tart. Crostata. ITALY. Matija Babić ...
  • Tart. Tarte à l'oignon. Alsace. France.

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.

Is Bakewell tart eaten hot or cold? ›

The filling will firm up as it cools and is best sliced and served while just warm (allow to cool for 10-15 mins once out of the oven) or once completely cold. This makes it a great dessert to prepare ahead; the baked tart will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container.

How do you keep the bottom of a tart from getting soggy? ›

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.

How do you keep tart crust crispy? ›

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.

How do you eat Bakewell Tart? ›

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.

Why is it called a Bakewell pudding? ›

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.

How should you eat Bakewell pudding? ›

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.

What is the Flavour of Bakewell tart? ›

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.

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