Daring Bakers: Bakewell Tart/Pudding = Tastegreat Delicious/Amazing

Who cares if this scrumptious dessert has the properties of a tart versus pudding and vice versa. Anyone who takes the time to debate its semblance to either better at least be eating one while they ponder. Better yet just can the wondering and eat! This dessert was abso-frickin-lutely delicious. Where shall I start? 

Shortbread Pastry Crust.
I might be switching to this crust for all further desserts requiring a crust. It's light, buttery, definitely flaky and has a lot more taste than the standard pie crust. It would pair harmoniously with apple pie. Yum. I loved the idea of grating butter instead of the usual cutting the butter and chunks and working it in. Definitely a tip in the bag.

Jam Filling. 
This was a fun part. With my love of passionfruit I attempted to make a jam using frozen passion fruit puree sans the seeds. Well, the thing about passion fruit is you either need to add a lot of sugar or put up with the tart taste. I love the tart taste but others do not so I deviated from the amount of sugar I was supposed to put until rather than ending up with a jam, I had a molasses like consistency. Whoops. Regardless, I forged ahead and used it as a filling along with store-bought strawberry, peach and mango jams.

Frangipane.
I think this deserves another abso-frickin-lutely delicious. The texture was light, fluffy, nutty, melty. It is usually a layer to be savored but so delicious you want to chew and swallow as quickly as possible so as to take another bite. I loved how such a few ingredients and a little bit of flour resulted in a light fluffy cake-like product. In all honesty, I don't think I needed the crust to be a part of this recipe. I think one day I will just bake a frangipane and layer a jam or topping over it.

Bakewell Tart..er..Pudding. 
Putting it all together truly yielded a battle of the tongue versus the teeth versus the stomach. Savor, Chew or Swallow. It was sinful art seeing the facets of this dessert. I had made mini tarts so each parcel was petite yet powerful in flavor. I'm glad it was individual because I would have easily eaten my way though more than a serving suggestion in a larger tart. Of all the jams, I actually liked the passion fruit the best although it was runnier yet darker in taste than the others. I loved that tart taste to offset yet compliment the nuttiness.

BOTTOM LINE: I WILL DEFINITELY MAKE THIS DESSERT AGAIN. I think it will blow the socks off of some of my friends and family when they taste it. And truth be told it's all in the frangipane. Of course the most time consuming part is the pastry crust but it's worth it if you want the whole tart..er..pudding. Great suggestion for this month's recipe.

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.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

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

Assembling the tart
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.

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. 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.