Baking Hot near Bakewell!

Hurrah! It feels like summer has arrived! Walking with friends and dogs in the Derbyshire Dales this weekend, under huge clear skies past wind smoothed rocks, we worked up a fine appetite and dined at local hostelries. The food was good pub grub and menus included Bakewell Tart and Bakewell Pudding.

Bakewell is a small town in Derbyshire and the Pudding was accidentally invented there. It consists of a puff pastry base with layers of raspberry jam and frangipane. I ordered a portion at lunchtime and, 'though not particularly attractive, was delicious served with custard. I am more familiar with the Bakewell Tart, consisting of shortcrust pastry with layers of frangipane and jam with a topping of flaked almonds which can be eaten warm or cold. Apparently there is also a Bakewell Cake which is similar to the tart but has a top layer of icing and, sometimes, a cherry on the top! 

Bakewell Tart:-

I am guessing the Pudding is the most authentic:-

Recently I followed a recipe for Apple Bakewell which cut out the pastry altogether and used a biscuit base topped with a layer of Bramley apples and frangipane with flaked almonds. The people of Bakewell will be turning over in their graves at the very thought but, in the words of Plato, necessity is the mother of invention!