June Daring Bakers Challenge -- Bakewell Tart...er...Pudding

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie ofAmbrosia 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. Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

The tart or pudding (as it is called both in the UK) has a long interesting history -- according to Wikipedia, "The origins of the Bakewell Tart are not clear, however the generally accepted story is that it was first made by accident in 1820 when the landlady of the White Horse Inn, left instructions for her cook to make a jam tart. The cook, instead of stirring the eggs and almond paste mixture into the pastry, spread it on top of the jam. When cooked the jam rose through the paste. The result was successful enough for it to become a popular dish at the inn. The name is believed to have come from a customer who decided that the tart was "baked well" thus the inn called it their "Bakewell" tart."

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

The version we were dared to make was a combination of the two: a sweet almond-flavoured shortcrust pastry, frangipane and jam.

I made my Bakewell Tart with a homemade strawberry jam:

Ingredients for strawberry jam:

1 cup fresh strawberries hulled,sliced, and rinsed.
1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

Place strawberries in a medium saucepan and add sugar, stir well. Do not add any water. Heat to a medium simmer and mash down strawberries with a wooden spoon until they resemble thick puree. In a small bowl add 1 tsp water to the corn starch, mix well and them drizzle corn starch water into the strawberries. Simmer and stir strawberries until the juice thickens. Allow to cool. Store in refrigerator.

Ingedients for the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)

Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour

30g (1oz) sugar

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)

2 (2) egg yolks

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)

15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift 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 almond extract (if using) 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.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

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 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the center 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 the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits.

Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes

Ingredients for the Frangipane Topping:

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened

125g (4.5oz) icing sugar

3 (3) eggs

2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract

125g (4.5oz) ground almonds

30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in color 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. 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 color.

Assembling the tart:

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. 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 sauce 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.

Even though I cooked my tart for the allotted time the frangipane did not become spongy in the middle, but remained more like a pudding! So in a way my Bakewell Tart was a bit of both.

The next time I make this I will probably use small tart pans, as that should help the frangipane cook firmer, and I'd also use a little less strawberry jam in the filling

As my husband and I love the taste of almonds we found the Bakewell tart/pudding was absolutely delicious!

This challenge was a unique baking experience for me, as I never cooked by weighing ingredients before, and grating the cold butter into the flour mixture to make the tart crust was a new technique that I will use again. Thank you Jasmine and Annemarie! Your choice of a Bakewell Tart...er...Pudding was a success!

Please visit The Daring Kitchen website to learn more about the Daring Bakers and the Daring Cooks Challenges, and visit some of the other blogs on the blogroll that participated in the June Challenge to see their fabulous Bakewell Tarts/Puddings

There is also a recipe archive, FAQ's, a forum, cookbook reviews and lots more on The Daring Kitchen web site, and you can also register to join in on future challenges. Hope to see your creation next time!