The June Daring Bakers' Challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England. You can find the complete recipe on either of their pages.

This is probably one of the simpler projects I've attempted for Daring Bakers, but I loved it, both because it introduced me to a new technique and because it was delicious! While I've definitely eaten sweets with frangipane, I'd never known its name or how it was made — turns out it is sort of like a fluffy version of marzipan, with the moist richness of ground almonds buoyed up by beaten eggs and butter. The Bakewell Tart rests a thick layer of frangipane on top of a jam-filled sweet shortcrust pastry. As one of my guests pointed out, it was a little like a bearclaw filling in a pie shell.

I made this tart with some Five Spice Pear and Apple preserves that I put up a couple years ago. The only drawback of this choice was that I had only one small jar, and it was a mild enough jam that I could easily have used twice as much. Still, the warm flavors and light spiciness of the jam was a perfect match for the frangipane.