Saturday, June 27, 2009

Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tart

Outside.
Inside.

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.
My shining star. Nutella.

"This tart, like many of the world's great foods has its own mythic beginnings…or several mythic beginnings. Legend has it in 1820 (or was it in the 1860s?) Mrs. Greaves, landlady of The White Horse Inn in Bakewell, Derbyshire (England), asked her cook to produce a pudding for her guests. Either her instructions could have been clearer or he should have paid better attention to what she said because what he made was not what she asked for. The cook spread the jam on top of the frangipane mixture rather than the other way around. Or maybe instead of a sweet rich shortcrust pastry case to hold the jam for a strawberry tart, he made a regular pastry and mixed the eggs and sugar separately and poured that over the jam—it depends upon which legend you follow... Bakewell tarts are a classic English dessert, abounding in supermarket baking sections and in ready-made, mass-produced forms, some sporting a thick sugary icing and glazed cherry on top for decorative effect." Daring Bakers Cardamom Addict and Ambrosia and Nectar.

Whew! what history and what delicious history at that. This was such a versatile dessert with so much room to play with. It is pretty easy and very elegant looking. I went crazy with all the choices. And it seems like there are so many more I want to try.

I did a pecan with honey pecan jam, a pecan with apricot jam; an almond with nutella, an almond with lemon curd and an almond with some of my peach jam with amaretto. I liked them all but honestly the star was the Nutella one. How can you beat the hazelnut and chocolate combination?


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

Frangipane

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 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. 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 tartPlace the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimated 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.

Preheat oven to 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.

I put a medjool date in this one. Why? Cause I am goofy like that.

18 comments:

Audax said...

So many flavours and shapes I love them all and yes the nutella and hazelnut is excellent I really liked it with pistachio frangipane and filled with dulce de leche and nutella. Yes so many choices so little time to bake them. Wonderful effort and results. I really had a fun time helping with the umami article also thank you for the invite.

Lucy..♥ said...

Lori, what a wonderful selection of flavors of you've created with your Bakewell tarts.

I'd have to agree w/you Nutella would be the star for me too!!

KUDOS!!

chow and chatter said...

sounds great I am impressed as a Brit he he

kat said...

What pretty tarts. I'm baking mine today for some English guests so wish me luck

Anonymous said...

NUTELLA! I'm sold on just one word! I laughed when I saw all the different shapes. So cute!

Anonymous said...

WOW, you really went all out!! I want all of them especialy the peachy babies, BUT, my heart and palate want the whole Nutella tart...all of it, and a fork! Amazing job as always, Lori!!

Heather B said...

wow....such yummy flavors! Great job!

Lauren said...

Yum!! I love all of the tart shapes you made!! The flavours sound wonderful as well =D. Awesome job on this challenge!

grace said...

they do indeed all sound delicious and your combination-making prowess is awesome! it's not hard for me to believe that nutella stole the show--it usually does. :)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What great tarts! They all look so pretty and delicious! Wonderful!

Cheers,

Rosa

Isabelle said...

How creative! So many flavours and shapes. Love halzenut and chocolate duo. Wonderful job!

Mary Bergfeld said...

I love the flavors and shapes you utilized for this challenge. They all look delicious.

giz said...

Boy you really went all out on this one. Everything looks well.... good enough to eat :)

Murasaki Shikibu said...

The first one really stole my heart. They all look good but if I had to choose one it would be the first one. :D

Cristine said...

Your tars are gorgeous! I love the different fillings and shapes. I did 8 different fillings, with Nutella being my favorite. Can't go wrong with Nutella!

Great job!

Anonymous said...

Your tarts looks so good! I love peach jam, and I looove the hazelnut and chocolate combo. Thanks for such a delicious treat!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Those all look and sound lovely! I like the various shapes of mini tart pans.
~ingrid

jasmine said...

I do like the shapes of your tart pans.

Thanks for participating.
j