Bakewell pudding is an English dessert that originated in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell. It's made from a deliciously flaky puff pastry base, with a layer of jam and topped with an egg and almond filling. It's a dessert that many of us grew up eating, so why not try making it yourself?
More of an afternoon tea item, than a dessert, a slice of this is the perfect pick-me-up with a cup of tea. A light and gelatinous sugary eggy filling on top of sweet raspberry jam. It looks more complicated than it is, as it's actually a really simple dessert to make.
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Why you will love it
- A delicious traditional English dessert
- Really easy to make
- Save time with store bought pastry
- Bakes in just 40 minutes
Ingredients needed
- Puff pastry - We used store bought to save ourselves time. You honestly can't taste the difference, but if you want you could make your own.
- Raspberry jam - We used seedless, but that really is a preference thing.
- Fresh raspberries - These are crushed up and put on top of the jam, but you could skip this step.
- Butter - Use unsalted.
- Sugar - We used caster sugar, as it gives volume and makes this Bakewell pudding light.
- Eggs - The fresher the better and try to go for organic of free range.
- Almonds - We used whole almonds and ground them in a food processor. You can buy already ground almonds if you want.
- Almond extract - Although this recipe already contains a lot of almonds, the almond extract gives it an extra punch of flavour.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step by step
One: Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Grease a 23cm/9in loose-bottomed tart tin. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry over the tin. Gently press the pastry into the edges and prick the bottom with a fork (this is known as docking the pastry).
Two: Place a piece of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beads. Blind bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is firm. Take out of the oven and remove the baking beads (careful - they will be hot!). Return the pastry to the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Three: Carefully spread the raspberry jam evenly over the pastry base. Add the fresh raspberries and lightly crush them. Set aside.
Four: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs together and gradually stir them in to the butter and sugar mixture.
Five: Add the almonds and almond extract and mix well.
Six: Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case and gently spread it evenly over the raspberry layer. Bake the tart on the middle shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the surface is golden-brown.
Seven: Allow to cool and then dust with icing sugar. Serve with the remaining raspberries and a dollop of clotted cream.
What is the origin?
The earliest reference of a Bakewell pudding dates back to 1826 where it was actually made by accident, where a cook poured the egg mixture over the jam, rather than mixing it into the flour mixture. I have always stood by the fact that the best recipes are made by accident.
It is thought that this desert actually dates back to medieval times as far as the 15th century that that it was a dessert for noblemen, as it was made with costly ingredients such as almonds, butter and sugar.
FAQs
A pudding uses a puff pastry crust, whereas a tart is more like a pie and uses a short crust base.
Yes! You need to "dock the pastry" as this allows the steam to escape so that the pie crust doesn't puff up in the oven. This is done before blind baking and then filling the pastry.
Yes, you need to blind bake the pastry first for this recipe. This is because the filling has a shorter bake time than the crust. Blind baking is also used to keep pie crust from becoming soggy due to a wet filling.
If you don't have baking beads, you can use many dried foodstuffs as baking weights. Thing such as rice, lentils, dried peas, beans or many other pulses can be used instead.
This is really a preference thing. We like it served warm, fresh out of the oven. However you can also serve leftovers cold.
Traditionally you would serve Bakewell pudding with a big dollop of clotted cream. It makes it deliciously indulgent. However, you could also serve it with a scoop of ice cream. You could even go the unconventional route and serve it with custard - but you might offend quite a few people from Bakewell.
More dessert recipes
If you’ve tried this Bakewell Pudding recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Bakewell Pudding
Ingredients
- 375 g (18 oz) Puff pastry
- 4 tablespoon Seedless raspberry jam
- 90 g (1.25 cups) Raspberries
- 75 g (3.5 oz) Butter - unsalted; plus extra for greasing
- 30 g (0.5 cups) Caster sugar
- 2 Eggs - whisked
- 40 g (1.33 cups) Ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon Almond essence
- Icing sugar - for dusting; optional
- Clotted cream - to serve; optional
- Flaked almonds - to serve; optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C(fan)/375°F/Gas 5. Grease a 23cm/9in loose-bottomed tart tin. Using a rolling pin, roll 375 g Puff pastry over the tin. Gently press the pastry into the edges and prick the bottom with a fork (this is known as docking the pastry).
- Place a piece of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beads. Blind bake for 15 minutes, until the pastry is firm. Take out of the oven and remove the baking beads (careful - they will be hot!). Return the pastry to the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Carefully spread 4 tablespoon Seedless raspberry jam evenly over the pastry base. Add 90 g Raspberries and lightly crush them. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together 75 g Butter and 30 g Caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Whisk 2 Eggs together and gradually stir them into the butter and sugar mixture.
- Add 40 g Ground almonds and 1 teaspoon Almond essence and mix well.
- Pour the filling mixture into the pastry case and gently spread it evenly over the raspberry layer. Bake the tart on the middle shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the surface is golden-brown.
- Allow to cool and then dust with Icing sugar. Serve with the more raspberries, Flaked almonds and a dollop of Clotted cream.
Notes
- You don't have to add the crushed raspberries on top of the jam, but that is just our little twist on this Bakewell pudding.
- We have used a full 375g pack of puff pastry in the recipe, however you won't need to use all of it as you trim some of it off. The nutritional information reflects this.
Nutritional Information
**This recipe was originally as part of a collaboration with Cottages.com**
Stephen
I really wanted to not like the look of this, but it does look everything and more!
Anosa
Not sure if I have ever had a bake well pudding before because this looks so delicious and feel like I am missing out
Tanya Brannan
This looks so very tasty! I can't remember the last time I had Bakewell, so I think this needs to make it onto the recipe list for next week x
Dannii
Time to make yourself some then I think :)
Kavey
I do love Bakewell Pudding. Funnily enough, I've recently shared a historical version of the pudding, which features sweet-meat instead of jam - it's from my latest favourite food book, Pride & Pudding. Fascinating to learn the history of classic British puddings like these. I confess, I fancy yours with the jam filling we've all come to know and love!
WhatLauraLoves
Oh MY GOD!! This looks sooo lush! Not sure I could make one myself but I would certainly eat a slice or two! xxx
Jenni
I love bakewell pudding, I think we have some great traditional recipes in this country x
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl
I've never tried Bakewell pudding but that filling looks so good I need to try it!
[email protected]
I have not heard of this pudding Dannii but it sounds wonderful, like the perfect summer treat!
Melanie Edjourian
Wow how beautiful does that look and yummy too!!!! I will be giving that a go.
Jessica
I love the combinations and layers! I am exicted to see the nursery and try this pudding by myself.
David @ Spiced
So I'm not familiar with Bakewell Pudding, but I'm thinking I might need to familiarize myself with this one...and soon. It sounds amazing, Dave! Also, I love the yellow + grey color combo. Our little one is 7.5 months old now, so we're not too far ahead of you. Also, thanks for the Cottages link. I think a getaway to a cottage in Britain sounds pretty darned amazing right about now. :-)
Harriet from Toby & Roo
Oohh my family would be all over this one! We love bakewell! H x
Julie @ Running in a Skirt
What a delightful cake! I love the combination of flavors with this. Can't wait to see the nursery progress!
Lisa
I have fallen in love with Bakewell Tarts since the first time I tried one when I moved here to the UK 11 years ago!! I have only had them as individual Tarts, but your big tart looks amazing!! I can't wait to try it out!!
Megan
Hello Dave!
I am super excited to see more British recipes here, as it's not really a cuisine that I know anything about.
you are off to a great start with this one.
Lucy Banam
I haven't heard of this before, but I love everything British (especially the accents) so I am going to give this a try next time we do a garden party type thing.
Beautiful photos too.
Rachel
At 10am in the morning I am now craving a slice of cake, thank heavens I cannot reach through the screen to help myself!
Denisa
This pudding looks so good, never heard about bakewell pudding , I really need to try your recipe. So much fun painting the nursery
Elizabeth
Mmmm such a gorgeous sounding recipe, and such exciting times both with the baby and you joining with blog Dave! Looking forward to reading more of your recipes. :)
Tandy | Lavender and Lime
I call it bakewell tart but only because I was introduced to it that way. Love the baby room colours you have chosen