Opulent Bakewell Tart & Tubby Custard
English Classic Made Better With Time
If I tell you this tart takes 48 hours to make, would you still make it?
The English have such a way with words for their kitchen creations…
Flies graveyard, Knickerbocker Glory, Eton Mess, Spotted Dick, etc.
The encyclopedia of English desserts is head-to-toe covered in silliness.
One can only assume the English are massive gatekeepers by bestowing otherwise lovely desserts with such wretched titles. Rather than the worldwide perception of these desserts being foul given their monikers, they are all actually quite lovely. The phenomenon English food being perceived as lesser quality falls squarely onto the laps of those who name these dishes.
But alas, here comes an elegant, rather humble name for a dessert that not only exceeds it’s modest moniker, but veers into opulence like I’ve never known:
The Bakewell Tart.
And yes, there is a namesake town where this dessert originated and it was created by a clumsy mistake as it was originally supposed to be a pudding. We’re 2/2 in English dessert bingo.
An almond lovers paradise and as generous in flavor as it is unassuming in name. Each element takes a bit of TLC but the proof is in the would-be pudding.
Enjoy!
Necessaries
11 inch tart pan
stand mixer with paddle attachment
fine mesh sieve
Serves 10-12 (people)
Recipe
Jam
700-800g strawberries or raspberries
300g granulated sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
Tart Crust
200g AP flour
35g powdered sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
135g cold, cubed, salted, butter.
1 egg
Almond Cream Filling
226g butter (2 sticks) unsalted
175g granulated sugar
1 tbsp almond extract
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
250g almond flour
65g AP flour
1 tsp salt
Sliced almonds, for topping
Vanilla Custard (Optional)
200g granulated sugar
30g cornstarch
4 yolks
1 tsp vanilla extraction or 1 vanilla bean (scraped of its seeds)
700g whole milk
35g unsalted room temp butter
Day 1: Gumption
Make the jam.
Combine fruit, sugar, and lemon juice in a sauce pot. Place over medium heat. As the fruit mixture begins to break down and boil, turn down to low heat and let simmer until it begins to thicken. Stirring occasionally. Around 220 F is the final temp. Should take 30-45 min. Place in a heat proof bowl, let cool then blitz with an immersion blender or food processor. Cover and store in the fridge until use. Jams can be used for around 2-3 weeks.
Make the tart crust.
In a food processor, combine flour, powdered sugar, corn starch, and salt. Add butter and let run until it’s the texture of course sand. Add egg and blitz until a rough ball forms. Should be able to hold it’s shape when pressed together. Combine and knead lightly. Lightly flour a work surface, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness, drape over tart pan and press the corners in. Trim to even the outside, leaving 1 inch of overhang, then fold the excess overhang in the tart pan edge, pressing and sealing.
Good to have too much dough on the edges than too little, as it will shrink slightly when baked. You can always trim after it bakes.
Once flush against the sides, prick with a fork and freeze overnight.
Day 2: Easy Street
Bake tart shell.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Remove tart shell from freezer. Crumple a parchment paper and line the shell with it. Pour in pie weight of choice and bake for 20 minutes. Remove parchment and weights, bake for additional 20 minutes. Remove and let cool. Leave inside the tart tin.
I like to use sugar or rice to blind bake. It makes an even weight on the shell and can be used many times.
Make the almond frangipane.
While that cools, combine sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor with the paddle attachment. whip until fluffy. Add eggs/yolks and almond extract, mix. Add flours and salt and mix until combined, scraping down and remixing as necessary.
Assemble and bake the tart.
Spread a generous layer of the jam on the bottom of the cooled crust. Spread edge to edge in about 1/4 inch layer. If you have leftover, great! Dollop the frangipane around the jam before spreading to minimize the jam smearing. Spread evenly across the tart.
Top with sliced almonds and a sprinkling of sugar
Bake for 45min - 1hr or until a toothpick comes out relatively clean from the center. A little under or a little over is fine. This tart is very forgiving.
Let cool to room temp. You can leave out at room temperature, covered, overnight.
Make the custard.
Whisk together sugar, starch, yolks, and vanilla in a heatproof bowl. Warm milk in a pot until just simmering, remove and temper the egg and starch mixture by slowly adding and whisking 1/3 of the milk into the bowl. Now add the tempered egg and starch mixture back to the milk and heat over medium heat while whisking almost frequently. Should thicken within 10-15 minutes. Once thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, strain into a separate bowl or container using a fine mesh sieve. Add butter and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temp before refrigerating overnight.
Day 3: Fruits of ur Labor
Waiting is the hardest and best part of this recipe. Allowing things to meld, flavor-wise, and become a more cohesive dish when given time to rest is one of the best tips for baking and long-form cooking I can think of.
Slice the tart and serve with the vanilla custard. Can be kept for 3-4 days.
Enjoy!
