This fruity Gluten Free Bakewell Tart Recipe is a fun British cake that can feed a crowd. Fill it with fresh strawberries and top it with almond slivers. This is a delicious classic cake.
Light and fluffy, you will love how this gluten free Bakewell tart melts in your mouth. Don’t forget to check out all of my Best Gluten Free Lemon Desserts recipes. They are sooo worth trying!
I was lucky to meet a food blogger friend, April, from the U.K. The story is quite funny about how we met. We were friends in a food blogger Facebook group. One day, I saw a picture she posted on Facebook. I recognized precisely where she was visiting…it was only 15 minutes away! We met that day and have been good friends ever since.
It’s delicious! Even better? You can use any fresh fruit to make this gluten free tart. This cake is modeled after April’s Blackberry Apple Bakewell Tart recipe.
Why we love making this gluten-free Bakewell tart:
- Size: This Bakewell tart “cake” is big and feeds a crowd! It is a fun cross between a pie and a cake! You have a flaky pie crust on the bottom and a moist, delicious cake on top!
- Flavors: This Bakewell tart has a pie crust base, a layer of lemon curd, and fresh strawberries and is then topped with sliced almonds. The combination of flavors is a match made in heaven.
- Texture: The crisp pastry base perfectly contrasts with the soft, moist, fruity filling.
- Tradition: Bakewell tarts have been enjoyed for centuries and are still popular today. Eating a Bakewell tart is like taking a bite out of history and tradition.
I baked this Bakewell tart in a springform pan. Made this with apples and maple butter. Added cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Made my own gluten free flour blend.”
jeanette r., blog comment
Flour Blends Tested:
- King Arthur Measure for Measure—This blend works really well in my recipes. I don’t have to let the flour blend rest in the batter.
- Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Blend—This blend also works well, but this flour blend does benefit from resting the batter for 15 minutes before baking. The rest allows the rice flour in this blend to soften, so you don’t have gritty baked goods.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe using the two blends listed above. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I have not tested other flours.
- Sugar
- Baking Powder – I recommend aluminum-free.
- Salt – Sea salt or kosher salt.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter.
- Eggs – Size large.
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract.
- Non-Dairy Milk – You can also use regular milk if you are not dairy-free/
- Lemon Curd – I used a jar I bought at Trader Joe’s, but you can use any brand. You can also make homemade lemon curd!
- Strawberries – You can use any fruit you have on hand :-).
Substitutions:
- You can use any flavor of jam or preserves in place of the lemon curd. You can also use any fresh fruits.
- To make this gluten free Bakewell cake nut-free, omit the almond flour and substitute an additional 1 cup gluten free flour blend. Skip the slivered almonds on top, too.
- To make this tart dairy-free, use plant-based butter instead of regular butter.
Tips For Success
1. Do not use a stand mixer to make this recipe. It will make your cake turn out dense.
2. Ensure your pie crust ingredients are very cold so your crust turns out flaky on the bottom.
3. If you love to bake a cake, I have a wonderful Gluten Free Cake Troubleshooting Guide filled with tips and tricks.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: In a large
🔑 Sandi says: In making your pie crust, you can freeze a stick of butter and use a cheese grater to grate in tiny bits of frozen butter. It will help make your crust nice and flaky!
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix the gluten free tart crust and press into a 9×13 prepared pan. I use the gluten free baking spray.
Step 3: Mix your cake batter in another large bowl. Be sure not to overmix it. I mix the wet and dry ingredients until they are just mixed. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Spread a layer of lemon curd onto the crust. (I used Trader Joe’s Lemon Curd for this.) If you love lemon curd, you will want to try this Gluten Free Lemon Filled Cupcakes recipe!!
Step 5: Add your fruit layer. These fresh strawberries are giant-sized. Can you believe how much space each slice takes up in this 9×13 pan?
Step 6: Spread the cake batter over the strawberries. Top with unsalted slivered almonds.
Step 7: Bake at 350º F for 30-40 minutes and enjoy! Note your actual baking time will vary depending on your pan size and material.
Step 8: Remove the tart from the oven and insert a toothpick in the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is finished baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the Bakewell tart must be baked longer.
Storage:
Store this tart in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I love this 9×13 pan because it comes with a lid! This cake will keep fresh for up to 4 days. You can also freeze this cake, which will keep for up to 4 months.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Here are some of my favorite fruits for a gluten-free Bakewell tart, including apples, blackberries, blueberries, and pineapple.
You can use any fruit jam in place of the lemon curd.
A Bakewell tart is a delicious dessert from the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England.
If you have been to England, you may recognize a Bakewell tart. They are a cross between a tart and a cake. You have a gluten free flaky pie crust bottom, with fresh fruit and a light cake-like top layer.
Reader Adaptations:
More Gluten Free Tart Recipes:
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Strawberry Lemon Bakewell Tart
Equipment
- 9×13 pan
Ingredients
Tart Crust See Note Section For Recipe!
For the Cake
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour * see note
- ¾ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Fruity layer:
- ½ cup lemon curd
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
Topping
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Prepare the gluten free crust.
- Spread the crust into a 9×13 baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and spread lemon curd onto the crust. Add the fruit layer on top of the lemon curd.
- In a large bowl, add the first 4 ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a smaller bowl, add the next 5 ingredients from lemon juice up to sugar. Mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the cake batter onto the fruit layer and spread out. Sprinkle the slivered almonds on top.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is slightly golden like in the pictures.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- To make this recipe nut-free, omit the almond flour and substitute an additional 1 cup gluten free flour blend.
- Use my homemade gluten free pie crust recipe for the crust layer.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer.
- This cake will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older March 2017 post with more recipe details.
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What other fruits could I substitute as I am allergic to strawberries unfortunately. This sounds wonderful!
Hi Shae, you can use any fruit. I love using peaches and blueberries too.
I was all set to make your gluten free strawberry lemon bakewell tart, but I couldn’t find how to make the crust. Since I am new to gluten free baking this is important. I also could not find the video with the steps
Hi Susanne, I had the link to my pie crust in Step 1, but I added it to the recipe card in case you didn’t read my post. I am not able to make videos of all of my recipes. I wish I had the time to make one for every recipe, but each video takes an enormous amount of time to make and edit.
Well, I didn’t have the best experience with this recipe. I made the crust from your recipe and it looked the same as yours, and I added the curd (William Sonoma) still looked just like yours. Baked it for 7 min. before the curd and this may have been where I went wrong. I added a thick cherry jam as I didn’t have any fresh fruit. The cake part was very good, light and fluffy but the crust was terrible. It came out hard and rubbery. I just ate the cake and jam parts and that was good. I make your recipes all the time and never had a flop. I did use King Arthur one to one flour so maybe that was it. Not sure! Sorry for the review, I really do love all your recipes.
Hi Karen, I am so sorry this didn’t work for you. My thought is in baking the crust without the curd, it hardened too much, especially after baking it again once the cake mix is on. I have made this cake with King Arthur’s GF blend as well, so I don’t think it was the flour.
I don’t have a 9 X 13 so I used my 8 X 8 that taper in and a small loaf pan (3 X 5). This recipe turned out great. My friends loved it. However they know me for my lemon curd and this didn’t pack enough of that lemon punch for them. Next time I will increase that amount a bit. And possibly buy the proper pan by then.
I bet your lemon curd would be perfect in this recipe. I am so glad your friends loved it!
Hi Sandi, I posted about the egg being in the ingredients list but the recipe didn’t mention where to use it. I decided to take a common sense approach and leave the egg out as I have never heard of an egg being used in a crust recipe.
That being said, I made the tart about an hour ago. It is awesome and even more delicious than I hoped.
Light and fluffy cake on top. I made the recipe as you have it posted with the exception of the berries. I didn’t have strawberries so I used raspberries & Wild Maine blueberries. I added a bit of Almond Extract to the cake batter, And only increased the amount of lemon curd and berries slightly. It smelled so good baking. And when I took it out of the oven I couldn’t wait for it to cool. I let it sit for maybe a half hour and cut into it.
Great Recipe and thank you for sharing, ?
I am so glad you liked it Doreen 🙂
I noticed in the recipe for the crust it has an egg listed but no where does it state when to put the egg in. Im confused and have my oven on, ingredients out and in the process of making this and I’m at a stand still.???????
Hi Doreen, I am so sorry, the egg goes into the wet cake batter ingredients. I will make that more clear. Thank you so much.
Pet peeve of mine that people comment on how desserts look! I can see this for my self…I would love to hear from people who have actually made this dessert…how did it taste?! How did it turn out? Sorry just tired of comments with no real information!
Hi Janie, I can imagine that must be really frustrating. I think people comment when they find the recipe, but often don’t come back to comment again. Also, many people pin the recipe to a folder to make later…perhaps they haven’t yet? I do appreciate your stopping by, Sandi
This tart is great. It’s so good it doesn’t taste like it is gluten free. My family loved it.
I am so glad you liked this recipe Jeanne :-). Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I had so much fun cooking and learning about gluten free baking with you, Sandi! Love how this Gluten Free Strawberry Lemon Bakewell Tart turned out. It’s absolutely beautiful! Thank you again for making the Gluten Free Apple and Blackberry Scones with me. I love how they turned out too! I can’t wait to do some more gluten free baking when I get home.
It was fun. We need to cook together again soon :-).