Bakewell Slice

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The layers of deliciousness in this Bakewell Slice include a buttery, crisp, sweet, shortbread pastry base, a thick layer of raspberry jam and a further layer of moist, yet light, frangipane loaded with almonds and hints of vanilla. Topped with a generous layer of sweet, feathered icing, this classic British recipe has been a favourite for decades. It is fabulous for both morning coffee and afternoon tea or delicious served with fresh cream for dessert.

Where does the recipe originate?

Named after the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, the original version of this recipe, goes back to the mid 19th century and is known as Bakewell Pudding.

What is the difference between Bakewell Pudding and Bakewell Tart?

Bakewell Puddings have a puff pastry base, a layer of jam and a custard style topping made from eggs, ground almonds and sugar. Bakewell tarts (whether round or made into a slice like this one), have a shortcrust pastry base, they also have a layer of jam, and are then covered in frangipane. When cooked it is frequently topped with icing or flaked almonds.

Both versions are available in Bakewell to this day and both are delicious. However, it is the tart version of this fabulous bake which is universally more popular these days. When Charlotte and I visited Bakewell a few years ago, we sampled both Bakewell Tart and Pudding in the Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop, where it all began.

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How to make Bakewell Slice

The recipe for the pastry base is from Michel Roux. He uses it for his Almond and Raspberry Frangipane Tart. The idea to grate it directly into the tart tin is one I learnt from the Pear and Almond Flan recipe in the blue River Cafe Cookbook. If, like me, you are not a great pastry maker, this method is life changing!

Collect all your ingredients together:

Base:

• cold unsalted butter, in cubes
• caster sugar
• egg
• plain/all-purpose flour
• ground almonds
• fine salt

Jam layer:

• your choice of jam. My favourites are raspberry or cherry although apricot is delicious too, as well as fig or plum. Your choice!

Frangipane:

• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• caster sugar
• eggs
• ground almonds
• plain/all-purpose flour
• almond extract
• vanilla extract
• fine salt

Topping:

• icing sugar
• cold water
• food colouring or glacé cherries, halved

First make the base and and top with jam:

1. Make the pastry base: blitz the butter and sugar in the food processor until combined.
2. Add the egg and pulse until mixed in.
3. Finally, tip in the flour, ground almonds and salt. Pulse until everything comes together to make a soft dough. Do not over-mix. (Alternatively, you can do this using an electric mixer, or by hand.)
4. Tip onto a large piece of cling film and wrap it tightly, making a flat disk roughly 12 cms in diameter. Pop in the freezer for 30 minutes or in the fridge for an hour.
5. When ready, use a coarse grater, grate the dough directly into the baking parchment lined baking tin.
6. Use your fingers to press the grated dough over the base of the tin. Flatten evenly using a spatula or palette knife. Prick all over with a fork.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven.
8. Jam: spread the jam/jelly over the base leaving an area of around 1cm clear of jam around the edge. (This is to try and avoid the jam leaking up around the edges of the frangipane where it may burn when cooking. If this happens, simply trim the edges before serving.) NB You do not need to wait for the base to cool before adding the jam and topping.

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Secondly, make the frangipane and ice the slice:

Please note –

• You can make the frangipane in the food processor, using an electric whisk or by hand. For this recipe, I make it in the food processor, after I have made the base. You do not need to wash it out between using it for the pastry and the frangipane.
• Make the frangipane whilst the base is cooking. You do not need to wait for the pastry to cool before adding the jam and frangipane.
• It is important that the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat. If it is a little hard, pulse/beat it before adding the other ingredients. If it is already quite soft, you do not need to do this. For information on softening butter, see here.

1. Make the frangipane: weigh the butter and all the remaining ingredients into the bowl of the food processor and pulse until everything is well combined. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Carefully dollop the frangipane over the jam. The slippery jam makes it difficult to spread the frangipane, so make sure you dollop it evenly over the whole base. You then just have to spread into the corners and to cover the gaps.
3. Bake in the centre of a pre-heated oven for 50 – 55 minutes. Check the colour after 40 minutes; if the surface is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil. It is cooked when the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains.
4. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes and then transfer, in the baking parchment, to a cooling rack.
5. When the slice is cool, make the icing: gradually mix the water with the icing sugar to make a thick, spreadable paste. Beat vigorously ensuring that there are no lumps.
6. If feathering, transfer 50g icing into a separate bowl and beat in some colouring. Transfer into a piping bag.
7. Leave the cake in the baking paper and slot it back into the tin – this helps to keep the shape of the icing. Pour the icing over the frangipane and spread it to cover the top evenly.
8. Working quickly, immediately, snip off the end of the piping bag and pipe rows of coloured icing on the white icing, roughly 2 – 2½ cms apart. It is important to do this straight after you have topped the tart with the icing – if it starts to set, you will not be able to create the feathered effect.
9. As quick as possible, take a cocktail stick and draw perpendicular lines though the coloured icing in alternating opposite directions, to create a feathered affect.
10. Alternatively, you can decorate the slice with glacé cherries.
11. Leave the icing to set for a couple of hours and then slice into 9 or 16 squares or slices.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.