I’ve been eyeing the Daring Bakers for a couple of months now. I actually joined last month, but this was the first challenge I’ve had the opportunity to participate in. I had a blast! Even though I ended up procrastinating (surprise, surprise) and stressed myself out at the last minute, it was still a ton of fun. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can find it at thedaringkitchen.com. If baking isn’t your thing, they have a monthly cooking challenge too!

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.

I’d never even heard of a Bakewell Tart before now. Of course, I dived right into the history of it all, figuring out where it came from and how long it’s been around. Apparently, it was invented by accident at the White Horse Inn (now the Rutland Arms Hotel) in the little town of Bakewell. And believe it or not, the hotel’s website only had one quick reference to the tart: “Bakewell is most famous for the Bakewell pudding, which originated here in the kitchens of the Rutland Arms.” That’s it!! This little unassuming tart is so good, it at least deserves it’s own page!

I chose to use strawberry jam in my tart - apparently that’s pretty traditional so I felt I couldn’t go wrong! It was extremely sweet though, so next time I think I’ll try it with lemon or orange curd and cut back on the almond flavoring. The tart did get a tad bit overbaked - the recipe called for 30 minutes of baking at 400 degrees, but it easily could have been done by 22 minutes at least (I took it out at 25 minutes and the top is still pretty dark). You will also need a scale for this recipe - the measurements are given in grams and ounces. I think the only thing that I changed was to use the whole 12-ounce jar of strawberry jam instead of just 8-ounces.

BAKEWELL TART

- One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
- 250 ml (1 cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
- One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
- One handful blanched, flaked almonds

SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY

INGREDIENTS:
225 g (8-ounces) all purpose flour
30 g (1-ounce) sugar
2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) salt
110 g (4-ounces) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) almond extract (optional)
15-30 ml (1-2 tablespoons) cold water

DIRECTIONS:
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.

FRANGIPANE

INGREDIENTS:
125 g (4.5-ounces) unsalted butter, softened
125 g (4.5-ounces) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) almond extract
125 g (4.5-ounces) ground almonds
30 g (1-ounce) all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
Cream 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.

ASSEMBLY

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 centre 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.

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.