Traditional British pastry dessert
"no one agrees which bakery produced the very first Bakewell pudding"
— Food and Table
This is not to be confused with the (inferior) Bakewell tart, which is a pale imitation of this dish. It's not strictly a pudding, rather nowadays it's a flaky pastry base with jam, almond and egg custard. But it's delicious and definitely moreish.
It originated in the Derbyshire town of Bakewell, and of course has many origin stories. The best of these is that it was made by accident in the White Horse pub in town. The cook, having been given a recipe to follow, failed to stir the eggs into the pastry mix, instead pouring it on top of the jam. The result was a delight and the rest is history. Of course, there are at least three bakeries claiming to be the "original source" of the dessert, but the sands of time have removed those particular footprints. The "White Horse" tale is most likely a fabrication, as the inn was closed forty years before the first recipe was published.
The earliest recipe I can find is dated 1845, from Modern Cooking for Private Families. It doesn't include the pastry, but does meet a broad technical definition of pudding:
Line a shallow tart-dish with quite an inch-deep layer of several kinds of good preserve mixed together, and intermingle with them from two to three ounces of candied citron or orange-rind. Beat well the yolks of ten eggs, and add to them gradually half a pound of sifted sugar; when they are well mixed, pour in by degrees half a pound of good clariied butter, and a little ratafia or any other flavour that may be preferred; fill the dish two-thirds full with this mixture, and bake the pudding for nearly an hour in a moderate oven.
Mixed preserves, 1½ to 2 lbs; yolks of eggs 10, sugar ½ lb; butter ½ lb; ratafia, lemon-brandy, or other flavouring, to the taste.
A more modern recipe
Puff pastry, to cover a 9-inch plate
2 eggs
4 extra yolks
6 ounces melted butter
6 ounces caster sugar
4 ounces ground almonds
1 teaspoon almond essence
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
6-8 tablespoons raspberry jam
Separate the egg yolks and add two additional eggs and beat together. Mix in the melted butter and sugar. Then stir in the ground almonds, almond essence, lemon juice and spices. Line a nine-inch dish with a sheet of puff pastry. Spread the jam thickly over the pastry and pour in the mix.
Put into the oven (preheated to 350°F) on a middle shelf for 40 - 45 minutes. Remove when the top is browned and allow to cool. Sprinkler with additional sugar if required.
I have visited all the "Original Bakewell Pudding" shops in the area, when visiting the Nine Ladies or Haddon Hall. They're all excellent, I can recommend them all. If you're ever in the Peak District area it's a distraction worthy of a detour.
Modern Cooking for Private Families, by Eliza Acton (page 454)
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