Strawberry-Rhubarb Bakewell Tart
Considering the events of the week I was going to skip this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge, but when I woke bolt straight up this morning far too early – too early to work on the assignments I have due on Monday or to go to the hospital – I decided to hell with it, we had a barbecue to go to this afternoon and would need something to bring along anyway. So ahead I went, prompted by the opportunity to use some strawberry-rhubarb preserves I had in the fridge in something a little bit different. It was actually easier than trying to come up with another idea; and I couldn’t bring myself to show up with a 20-pack of Timbits, even with an excuse. My only other option at 6:30 am was cleaning the bathroom.
The June Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart… er… pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800’s in England. It reminds me of those raspberry coconut squares that have raspberry jam topped with a sweet, eggy layer of coconut; only this is made in a pastry shell and topped with a frangipane – a spongy almond filling made with ground almonds and almond extract, for which I substituted Mexican vanilla. (I’m not a huge fan of the almond extract.)
And yes, this particular version is actually called “tart..er..pudding” – as in, the British refer to dessert as “pudding”, and this was inspired by great UK eaters like Allan Davidson, Tamasin Day Lewis, Anton Edelmann, Jane Grigson, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. But if you look into it you’ll find that Bakewell Tart and Bakewell Pudding are in fact two different things, and this more closely resembles a Bakewell Tart. I have taken the liberty of calling a tart a tart.
The notes said I could use anywhere between 1/4 and 1 cup of jam; I used a cup and still didn’t find it enough – perhaps because it was a less sweet, more tart rhubarb compote than sticky, sugary, intensely sweet jam. The fun thing about this tart is it can be made different each time depending on the preserves you use – lemon curd, spiced pear, marmalade, sour cherry… each would produce an entirely different tart. I did make the shortcrust pastry, but cheaped out at the egg part (I was running low) and so left the yolks out and upped the water a bit.
Bakewell Tart
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour (don’t you love UK slang? this means the extra flour you’ll need for rolling out the dough)
1 cup jam or curd, warmed for spreadability if necessary
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful sliced almondsAssembling the tart: Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 1/4” thickness by rolling in one direction only (start from the middle and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to a tart pan (mine was about 10″), fit it into the bottom and up the sides without stretching it, and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F. Remove shell from freezer, spread an even layer of jam onto the crust. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.
The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard if you wish.
When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
1-2 Tbsp. cold waterSift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with the extract and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
Frangipane
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
1 cup ground almonds
3 Tbsp. all purpose flourCream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.
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June 27 2009 08:41 pm | dessert
thepinkpeppercorn on 27 Jun 2009 at 9:28 pm #
Sorry to hear the hospital stuff is dragging on! I hope this tart kind of helped to cheer you up? Perhaps the bbq helped too. Hope all is calmer, and better soon!
robyn on 28 Jun 2009 at 12:48 am #
Mmmmm. This sounds delish! I don’t know why, but the British referring to any dessert as “pudding” drives me nuts. Maybe because I grew up with Brits? Who knows….
Carolyn on 28 Jun 2009 at 4:17 am #
Julie, I’ve been thinking of you and praying for you and your family a lot since I read Friday’s post. I hope things resolve themselves soon. Take good care of yourself.
Christina on 28 Jun 2009 at 4:38 am #
I’m sitting her, WAY TO EARLY in the morning, drinking my favorite morning cup of coffee wondering if I close my eyes, wish and pray hard enough a piece of this will magically appear!
This looks DELICIOUS!
PS You made the right decision to bake over clean. I cleaned all my bathrooms yesterday and wish I had made something like this instead!
the other Allison on 28 Jun 2009 at 8:08 am #
Distraction is the best medicine. You are amazing.
JulieVR on 28 Jun 2009 at 8:12 am #
Ha – I love that. Distraction is the best medicine. I just wish I could distract myself with work instead of cooking, web surfing, twittering…
Erica B. on 28 Jun 2009 at 9:11 am #
I’ve spent far too much time in hospitals recently… My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
I baked as a sort of therapy last night too…althoughit was just oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately it was really procrastination – I still have to get packed.
Dana mccauley on 28 Jun 2009 at 9:12 am #
Nice work! I haven’t made a Bakewell tart since chefs school. I wish I’d found the time to participate this month.
jasmine on 28 Jun 2009 at 12:33 pm #
Glad you found time to participate–the tart looks lovely.
j
glenda on 28 Jun 2009 at 5:17 pm #
Poofy, spongy and squidgy – gotta love the Brit adjectives! Sounds and looks yummy!
Audax Artifex on 29 Jun 2009 at 1:19 am #
Love that shot of the cream on the tart…er…pudding. Sorry to hear this flavour wasn’t up to stratch try another it is a lovely tart I thought. Lots of work and you still did the challenge. Bravo and cheers from Audax
Hilary on 29 Jun 2009 at 2:54 am #
I’m so glad I found your lovely site – can’t wait to have a look around!
Your tart is beautiful (and this is indeed the tart, not the pudding). I love your pie pan too – is that Emile Henry?
Rachael on 29 Jun 2009 at 12:29 pm #
Wow, Julie it looks good. Like other here, I’m thinking about you and your family and hope things get better soon.
I’m writing to draw on the collective wisdom of everyone who reads/posts here: the Bakewell tart reminded me of two pasties my mom would make for me. The first she called a banbury tart, it was a small pastry shell filled with red jam and then topped with white cake, baked and iced with icing sugar glaze. The second, was called a fern tart and it was a small pastry shell filled with spiced cake and had the same icing, but this a choclate fern drawn on top.
I just did a quick search and found nothing for banbury tarts and a decription of a fern tart that matched what my mom called a banbury tart.
Is there such a thing called a banbury tart? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Liberty London Girl on 29 Jun 2009 at 8:30 pm #
LOVE Bakewell Tart. Lovely to see it here. And lvoe your blog too! But Bench Flour? I’m English, a fervent cook & baker, been reading cookery books since I could, well, read, & I have NEVER seen or heard that phrase anywhere in the British Isles. A bench is for sitting on, or maybe used in a science lab for doing experiments on. But as a euphemism for counter? Nope. Not in England! LLGxx
JulieVR on 29 Jun 2009 at 8:36 pm #
Ha – I just assumed! What else could it possibly refer to?
Fiona on 30 Jun 2009 at 7:23 am #
Rachel, those little banbury tarts sound like what my grandmother calls Maids of Honour. The cake wasn’t really cake, though – it was much like the Bakewell Tart filling.
Julie, I have an Australian friend who refers to her kitchen counters as “benches,”, so maybe it’s an Aussie thing, not a British thing?
Charmian Christie on 12 Jul 2009 at 7:30 am #
Never had a Bakewell tart before. I’ve done one Daring Cooks challenge and have debated doing the Daring Bakers but don’t think my waistline can take it.
Interesting to learn what fragipane is. Heard the term many times and thought it was an exotic drink.