For another beloved British dessert take a look at my Easy Banoffee Pie. It’s NO BAKE!
Rhubarb Recipes
It’s rhubarb season and I can’t help but starting baking with the delicious stalks in every way imaginable! I have such a love for rhubarb, which stems from my childhood, that I get incredibly excited when I see its first appearance in the spring. One of my favourite and most definitely the easiest recipe is this Rhubarb Cobbler. I’ve been baking it for years and we never get tired of it. Another one is Rhubarb Custard Crepe Cake. A tower of thin crepes filled with delicate rhubarb flavoured custard. Make it for a brunch and you will be praised to high heavens! The recipe for this Rhubarb Bakewell Tart is a bit more involved than my usual favourites but the end result will absolutely shock you with its beauty, taste and elegance.
What is a Bakewell Tart?
Bakewell Tart is a British classic dessert and takes its name after a Derbyshire town of Bakewell. It is also the loveliest thing you can imagine. Who can resist a buttery tart filled with fruit jam and sweet almond sponge filling, then topped with either sliced almonds or glacé icing. They are usually sold as small, individually portioned tarts.
My hand is always reaching for one at cafes. Unfortunately, as the truth with all mass produces food, the commercially made tarts aren’t the best reincarnation of this British classic. So I decided to create my own bakewell tart at home…or at least my take on it. Instead of the usual cherry jam I am using roasted rhubarb to fill my bakewell tart.
How to Make Rhubarb Bakewell Tart
There are several steps to this recipe and the first one is to cook the rhubarb since we are replacing the jam with it. Rhubarb works especially well here as its tartness cuts through the sweet almond filling and strikes a perfect balance. Roasting rhubarb intensified its beautiful flavour and brings out the natural sugars. It is also a very easy, hands off method of cooking it.
As I mentioned there are several steps to this recipe
Roasting the rhubarb Preparing the pastry, chilling it in a fridge and baking it blind Mixing up frangipane (a classic filling made with ground almonds, butter, sugar, eggs and flour) The final stage of assembling and baking the tart
None of the steps are particularly difficult or require a special training but what is needed here is patience. The Bakewell tart cannot be rushed. It is not a quick dessert you whip up on a whim. However, this tart is truly worth the wait and the work involved. Make it for a special occasion or if you simply in need of a project!
More rhubarb recipes
Rhubarb Curd Rose Rhubarb Layer Cake Chocolate Fudge Cake with Stewed Rhubarb Quick Rhubarb Cake
This recipe was originally published in 05/2015. Updated and republished in 04/2020.
