Mary Berry's 'classic' Bakewell tart recipe is sweet and nutty - ready in one hour
Bakewell tart is loved for its fruity, marzipan flavour and is deemed a classic British bake. Naturally, it's a recipe that Mary Berry has perfected.
Bakewell tart has evolved from the 20th-century Bakewell pudding and is closely associated with the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire.
As a staple in British bakeries and cafes, the fruity tart is a flavour many people know and love, and yet few dare to make it from scratch.
With Mary Berry's recipe, however, it couldn't be more simple - and takes just one hour to make from start to finish.
As debuted by the beloved chef on The Great Comic Relief Bake Off, Mary described the classic bake as "a tea time hit".
Instead of thick icing on top, Mary prefers a drizzle of sweet glace to cut through the sharp jammy flavours.
Bakewell tart recipe
Ingredients
Pastry
- 175g plain flour
- 75g chilled butter
- 2–3 tbsp cold water
Filling
- 3–4 tbsp raspberry jam
- 125g butter
- 125g caster sugar
- 125g ground almonds
- One free-range egg, beaten
- Half a tsp almond extract
- 50g flaked almonds
For the icing
- 80g icing sugar
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In this brand-new collection of 120 recipes, Mary Berry shares her tips and tricks from a lifetime of culinary knowledge.
The book, Mary Makes it Easy: The new ultimate stress-free cookbook, is now available for just £14.
Method
For the pastry, measure the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Then add the water and mix to form a soft dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and use it to line a 20cm/8in flan tin. Transfer this to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6, then line the pastry case with kitchen foil or scrunched and unfolded baking paper, and fill with baking beans (or uncooked rice).
Bake blind for roughly 15 minutes, then remove the beans and foil and cook for a further five minutes to dry out the base.
Now spread the base of the pastry with a generous slathering of raspberry jam.
Melt the butter in a pan over low heat on the hob, then remove it and stir in the sugar.
Add ground almonds, egg and almond extract then mix before pouring into the flan tin. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top and bake
Bake for about 35 minutes. If the almonds seem to be browning too quickly, cover the tart loosely with foil to prevent them from burning.
Meanwhile, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, stir in two and a half teaspoons of cold water and transfer to a piping bag.
Once you have removed the tart from the oven, pipe or drizzle the icing over the top, giving an informal zig-zag effect.
