Quince Bakewell Tart
You can make a traditional version of this tart using raspberry jam, but I love it with quince jelly instead. Bakewell tart is a year-round favourite; the addition of quince puts a seasonal spin on it. But that’s not the only reason to try out this recipe: there’s obviously loads of recipes out there for this popular tart, but this pastry is really rather special - a crisp, light, and delicious shell which isn’t merely an encasement for the almond filling, but worthy of attention in its own right. Use shop-bought quince jelly in the tart, or give my recipe a go.
You can make a traditional version of this tart using raspberry jam, but I love it with quince jelly instead. Bakewell tart is a year-round favourite; the addition of quince puts a seasonal spin on it. But that’s not the only reason to try out this recipe: there’s obviously loads of recipes out there for this popular tart, but this pastry is really rather special - a crisp, light, and delicious shell which isn’t merely an encasement for the almond filling, but worthy of attention in its own right. Use shop-bought quince jelly in the tart, or give my recipe a go.
There’s lots of possibilities for decorating the tart. In the main photo above you can see the two options that I describe in the method below. If I still have a jar of my quince jelly in January, I like to make this tart and decorate it using blood orange flavoured icing, during the blood orange season. The pink colour complements perfectly the quince jelly inside, a subtle nod to the special flavour within. You could, alternatively, use food colouring to create a similar colour.
If you find yourself in Derbyshire, do take a trip to Bakewell. It’s home to the Bakewell Pudding, from which this tart evolved. Legend has it that an inn landlady, Mrs Greaves, left some instructions for her cook to make a jam tart, but the cook messed up: she should have stirred the eggs and almonds into the pastry, but instead she poured them over the top like a custard. Failure can be a delicious thing sometimes. It’s well worth trying the pudding: it’s like an almond-flavoured eggy custard, encased in pastry. Shops in Bakewell even send them by post if you can’t make it to Derbyshire yourself.
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
For the decoration
Equipment
Method
If you find yourself in Derbyshire, do take a trip to Bakewell. It’s home to the Bakewell Pudding, from which this tart evolved. Legend has it that an inn landlady, Mrs Greaves, left some instructions for her cook to make a jam tart, but the cook messed up: she should have stirred the eggs and almonds into the pastry, but instead she poured them over the top like a custard. Failure can be a delicious thing sometimes. It’s well worth trying the pudding: it’s like an almond-flavoured eggy custard, encased in pastry. Shops in Bakewell even send them by post if you can’t make it to Derbyshire yourself.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 100g plain flour
- 25g unsalted butter
- 25g lard
- Cold water, to mix
For the filling
- 60g soft unsalted butter (or margarine)
- 60g caster sugar
- 60g ground almonds
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 4 tbsp quince jelly
For the decoration
- Lemon juice/(blood) orange juice/water
- Icing sugar (the quantity will depend on the consistency you desire)
- Food colouring (optional)
- Cherry (optional)
Equipment
- Loose-bottomed flan tin (18cm)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) or 200°C (non fan). To make the pastry, rub the butter and lard together with the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add cold water, a tablespoon at a time, and mix with a round-bladed knife. Add the water gradually and stop as soon as the pastry has come together.
- Form the pastry into a ball.
- Leave the pastry to rest in the fridge for 10 minutes while making the filling.
- To make the filling, use an electric whisk to mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Very gradually, to avoid curdling, add the beaten egg, a little at a time, whisking between additions.
- Stir in the ground almonds and the grated lemon, and mix well.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and roll the pastry out into a circle with the approximate thickness of a £1 coin. Each time you roll it, turn it slightly by 90 degrees, so as to retain a circular shape.
- Carefully lift the pastry into the pastry case, taking care not to stretch it. Ease the pastry into the corners and trim the edges.
- Spread the quince jelly on the base of the tart. Then lightly place spoonfuls of the almond filling over the jelly, spreading it to cover the jelly entirely. Take the mixture right to the edges of the tart.
- Place the tart on a baking tray and into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes at 180°C (fan) or 200°C (non fan). Then, turn the oven down by 10°C for about 20 minutes until golden brown on the top and feels firm in the centre when lightly pressed. Cover the top with greaseproof paper if the top is over-cooking at any point during the bake.
- Leave to cool and then remove from the tin.
- Once cool, you can decorate it. Suggestions: mix icing sugar with lemon juice to the desired consistency, and drizzle lightly over the top. Alternatively, mix icing sugar with the juice of a blood orange, to form a thick consistency, and pour so as to cover the top entirely. Create a feathered effect by piping small dots of contrasting icing and running a blade/skewer through them while still wet.