Cherry Bakewell Tart

This cherry Bakewell tart is not the typical version found across Britain, but my very own recipe uses fresh cherries instead of jam and just a light icing on top.

Cherries and almonds are such a great match, which is shown off in this tart. It combines a crisp shortcrust base with a layer of fresh cherries, nutty frangipane, flaked almonds and icing.

I like to make my own sweet shortcrust pastry for this recipe, it’s not difficult to make, although it can be a little time consuming when it comes to chilling the dough… but so worth it! Alternatively, you can use shop-bought shortcrust pastry.

If you can’t get fresh cherries, use cherry jam or any other flavour jam. Raspberry is the jam most frequently used for bakewell tart. Whichever jam you choose be liberal.

If you like the sound of this recipe, you might also like my apple rose tartlets or my strawberry chocolate tart.

If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and other readers knowing what you think! And don’t forget to take a picture and tag me @thegourmetlarder or hashtag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram or Facebook. I love seeing what you’ve been baking! 🙂

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RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

• EASE: easy.
• FREE FROM: for gluten-free and sugar options, please refer to my substitutions section.
• GREAT FOR: weekend baking, picnics, friends and family visiting.
• TASTE & TEXTURE: a crisp pastry with fresh cherries and a spongy, nutty frangipane.
• SERVING: serve it with vanilla custard, ice cream, cream or even just on its own.
• QUANTITY: 10 slices
• TIME: 1 hour 5 minutes

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INGREDIENTS

For this recipe all you need are these ingredients:

• Sweet short pastry – is perfect and if you have the time well worth making your own or alternatively, you can use shop bought if you prefer.

• Butter – adds structure and a rich butter flavour to the frangipane filling. I use a good quality salted butter for most of my baking as it intensifies the flavours, but feel free to use unsalted if you prefer, keeping in mind that good quality makes all the difference in taste. And for this recipe the butter should be soft so remove it from the fridge at least an hour before you intend to start baking.

• Eggs – add structure. Make sure they are at room temperature before you start.

• Ground almonds – help give this filling a lighter texture than using only flour.

• Plain or all-purpose flour – just a little used in the frangipane for stability when it rises.

• Pure vanilla extract or paste – adds flavour and enhances the other ingredient flavours.

– Vanilla recommendations: pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste or vanilla pods.

• Flaked almonds – (optional) purely for decoration

• Fresh cherries – are the hero of this recipe, look for good quality juicy ones from farmers markets.

• Icing sugar – perfect for decorating and adding an additional sweetness to the tart.

TIP: I highly recommend adding a good pinch of salt to your sweet creations. Salt helps balance out the sweetness and richness. It also elevates the other ingredients, bring out the best characteristics of the recipe. In a seemingly absurd or contradictory way, salt intensifies the mouth’s ability to taste sweetness. Sodium sends signals to move glucose into the sweet taste receptor cells in our tongue, triggering the cells to register sweetness. The result is that salt not only alerts our ‘salt sensitivity’, but also our ‘sweet sensitive’ taste buds.
I recommend Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

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SUBSTITUTIONS

While I am making recommendations for alternative ingredients, I haven’t necessarily tried them. If you try making any adaptions, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.

SUGAR-FREE AND LOW-CALORIE OPTIONS

• Icing sugar suggestions: try alternatives such as Pure Via Baker’s icing sugar or Canderel Bake! sugar free icing sugar.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION

• Flour: replace the gluten flour with a 1:1 alternative gluten free flour, such as Doves Farm Free plain gluten free flour. If possible, choose a flour which contains xanthan gum or alternatively, add 1 tsp to your batter for stability. You can also try Doves Farm gluten free self-raising flour.

VEGAN OPTIONS

• Butter: I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant-based block butter alternative.

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WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

• Frangipane – is also one of those elements I like to adjust to get different flavours. I do this by swapping the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts or walnuts. Both nuts add a completely different taste to the final tart and I highly recommend trying it.

• Citrus fruit – for a bit of zing, add lemon, lime, or orange zest to the pastry or frangipane.

• Try different fruits or jams – this recipe works well with many other fruits. Try blueberries, raspberries, peaches or whatever’s in season.

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NUTRITION

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STORAGE AND FREEZING

This tart will keep well for up to 5 days in the fridge and can be eaten cold or warm.

Freezing: This tart freezes well without the icing for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then decorate with the icing as per the recipe instructions.

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TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here is a list of some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.

• Earthenware Mixing Bowl Mason Cash, Cream 29 cm Chip Resistant.

I like the sturdiness of this bowl and its 4 litre capacity means I can use it for mixing just about everything in the kitchen. It is also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.

• Mixing Bowls Set of 5, Stainless Steel Nesting Bowls with Airtight Lids, 3 Grater Attachments, Size 5, 3, 2, 1.5, 0.63 QT

These different size mixing bowls are really useful depending on the amount of food you are preparing. They also have airtight lids that fit snugly to seal and keep food fresh, great for using as dry storage bowls with lids. The plastic lid of the largest bowl has a removable centre, where one of 3 graters can be used for grating cheese or vegetables.

• 3 Plastic Mixing Bowls, Non-Slip Base, Soft Grip Handle, Microwave and Dishwasher Safe, Compact, Stackable, Ideal for baking and cooking, off-white, 1.5 Litre, 2 Litre, 2.5 Litre.

I do own a plastic mixing bowl but I am personally not a big fan of them. These 3 bowls are on the smaller size but good for the odd cake making.

• Measuring Spoons Set, Magnetic Stainless Steel

These measuring spoons are really handy for getting the right measurements of those small ingredients. I also like the fact that they are magnetic, sticking together and narrow to fit into spice jars.

• Fluted Tart Tin 23cm (9 inch) dia, Loose base

I like to use this type of pan for pies that I am going to serve out of the tin on a plate.

Please check out my Shop for a curated collection of some of my favourite baking equipment. The Gourmet Larder is an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.

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RECIPE TIPS

If you are making the sweet shortcrust pastry, remember, not to overmix it, doing so will overwork the glutens. Instead of light and crumbly, it will be very tough.

Use the least amount of flour when rolling out your dough to keep it from sticking to your kitchen worksurface. The more flour there is, the heavier your dough will be.

Don’t skip chilling the sweet shortcrust dough for as long as possible. If you’re in a rush, you can get away with freezing it for half an hour. Keep in mind that allowing it to rest for longer in the fridge gives time for the gluten in the dough to relax, making it easier to roll and decrease the amount of shrinking during baking. Make sure to let the dough come back to room temperature before you try rolling it out, or it is likely to break apart.

Make sure to drain the cherries well once pitted. This will avoid the pastry base becoming wet and we don’t like soggy pastry bottoms. 🙂

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