Cherry Bakewell Tart
If you’ve been craving a dessert that’s both timeless and approachable, this cherry bakewell tart is the one! A buttery, tender shortcrust pastry holds layers of tart or sweet cherry jam and a rich almond frangipane filling, topped with sliced almonds for crunch. Whether you’re baking it for a weekend treat or a showstopper dessert for guests, this tart is sure to impress.
Servings: 1 9-inch Tart
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or half GF oat flour and half GF flour blend
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 8 Tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter or plant butter, cold, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 large egg yolk reserve the white for the filling
- 2 Tablespoons water cold
Filling
- 8 Tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter or plant butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or GF flour blend
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 Tablespoons cherry jam or any jam! Raspberry is a classic
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Make the crust: combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal S blade. Pulse the dry mixture a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Add the egg yolk and the water and pulse until the dough comes together. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a large mixing bowl and work the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or fork – until the butter is cut into small pieces and then add the egg yolk and water to create a ball of dough.)
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll into a 12” circle. Carefully transfer the rolled dough to a 9” tart pan, pressing it into the corners. Trim the dough with kitchen scissors so that you’re left with just ½-inch of overhanging dough around the edges of the tart. Fold the overhang down into the sides of the tart to reinforce the sides of the pastry and use the tines of a fork to prick the bottom in several places. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.
- Place the tart on a rimmed baking sheet. Line the top of the crust with a sheet of parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights, rice, or anything that is oven-safe and heavy enough to keep your crust from puffing when it bakes. I use dried beans and I’ve had the same ones for 30 years LOL.
- Bake the crust with the weights for 20 minutes, then remove the parchment with the weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until the edges of the crust are lightly golden.
- Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool slightly while you prepare the filling.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F degrees.
- Make the filling: Beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Stir in the flours, whole egg and egg white, and almond extract until combined.
- Spread the raspberry jam evenly into the bottom of the slightly cooled crust. You want a nice thin layer of jam to cover the bottom of the crust. Dollop the filling over the jam. Gently spread it so it fills up the crust, smoothing out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
- Bake the tart in a 350 F oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a rack. Serve at room temperature.
- Store the tart, well covered, at room temperature for several days. Freeze for longer storage.
Notes
- If you use a chunky jam, you may want to use ½ cup instead.
- To make this tart vegan, replace the butter with plant butter, such as Miyoko’s, and substitute the eggs in the filling with 6 tablespoons of sweetened condensed coconut milk. Reduce the sugar in the filling to 6 tablespoons to balance the sweetness.
- A good-quality jam makes all the difference. Opt for a tart variety to balance the sweetness of the filling.