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Biscuits, Cookies & Traybakes

Bakewell Slices

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Bakewell Slices are a British classic. A layer of pastry covered with delicious raspberry jam topped with an almond flavoured sponge. Such a tasty treat.

What are Bakewell Slices?

If you haven’t heard or tried a Bakewell Slice you are definitely missing out. They are a classic British tray bake with three unique layers.

The bottom layer is shortcrust pastry covered liberally with raspberry jam. This is topped with delicious almond flavoured sponge that is sprinkled with flaked almonds. They are so tasty!

I am a huge fan of the flavour combinations; so much so that I have made two cake versions. Check out my Raspberry Bakewell Cake and Blueberry & Lemon Bakewell Cake.

Don’t be nervous about making your own pastry

Being completely honest, pastry is not my strong point. For some reason I completely lack the ability to roll pastry out in anything that resembles a rectangle.

This is why I use shop bought ready-rolled pastry in recipes like my Mustard & Sage Sausage Rolls.

Don’t be scared about making your own pastry for these Bakewell Slices. And if like me, you struggle to roll out perfect rectangles don’t let that worry you.

You can always patch the pastry together so no one will know if it’s not perfect. Also no one is going to inspect the bottom of your Bakewell Slices that closely anyway!

Tips for baking Bakewell Slices

The tin I use is 20 x 26cms. This is the largest tin I would recommend using. Any bigger and the pastry layer would be too thin. If you have a slightly smaller tin, this would be ideal.

As I have mentioned, rolling pastry isn’t my top skill. I recommend rolling out your pastry the best you can and then patching it together to fill the bottom of the tin.

I prefer to do this rather than to keep re-rolling the pastry to try and get the perfect size because pastry doesn’t like being handled too much.

A tip is to dot the sponge mixture over the jam before spreading it out. I think this is easier and helps you keep the sponge mixture free from jam streaks.

Other recipes you might like

  • Jam Thumbprint Cookies
  • Apricot & Almond Flapjacks
  • Easy Jam Flapjacks
  • Rhubarb Crumble Cake Bars
  • Raspberry & Mascarpone Sponge Pudding

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5 from 5 votes
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Bakewell Slices

Bakewell Slices are a British classic. A layer of pastry covered with delicious raspberry jam topped with an almond flavoured sponge. Such a tasty treat. 

Course Snack
Cuisine British
Keyword Almond, Jam, Bakewell Slice
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 16
Calories 232 kcal
Author Curly

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry

  • 175 g plain flour
  • 75 g butter
  • 3 – 5 tbsp cold water

For the sponge

  • 100 g margarine softened
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 155 g self raising flour
  • 25 g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • ½ tsp almond extract

To finish

  • 150 g raspberry jam
  • 2 tbsp flaked almonds

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan assisted, 180°C non fan)

  2. Make the pastry by adding the flour into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs

  3. Add enough water to form a soft dough. Add it gradually because you might not need to add it all

  4. Lightly flour your surface and roll your pastry out so it is large enough to line the bottom of a 20 x 26 cm tin. You can always patch up the pastry

  5. Measure all of the sponge ingredients into a bowl and beat until all of the ingredients are combined
  6. Spread the pastry with the raspberry jam leaving a small gap around the outside

  7. Dot the sponge mix on top of the jam and spread out making sure you completely cover the jam

  8. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds and bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the cake has shrunk from the sides of the tin and springs back when you press the centre with your finger

  9. Leave to cool in the tin and then turn out and cut into slices

Recipe Notes

Keep in an airtight container for 3 – 4 days. 

Nutritional information is given as a guide only and my vary.

Nutrition Facts
Bakewell Slices
Amount Per Serving
Calories 232 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 31mg10%
Sodium 105mg5%
Potassium 73mg2%
Carbohydrates 29g10%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 370IU7%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 30mg3%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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23 Comments

Previous Post: « Thick & Fluffy American Pancakes
Next Post: Chocolate Creme Egg Cupcakes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura@ Baking in Pyjamas says

    March 31, 2015 at 11:30 am

    I love bakewell slices, these look wonderful. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!

    Reply
  2. martyn says

    June 8, 2015 at 3:57 pm

    Wow!! These look lovely!! Must give this a try!! #SundaySweets

    Reply
    • Cat says

      June 8, 2015 at 4:08 pm

      Thanks 🙂 They’re easier than I thought they would be too!

      Reply
  3. Toni @ Gym Bunny Mummy says

    June 9, 2015 at 7:40 am

    Mmmm these look so good, I love a good Bakewell. Thanks so much for linking up to #SundaySweets hope to see you back next week x

    Gym Bunny Mummy | Bloglovin’ | Facebook

    Reply
  4. tastebotanical says

    April 11, 2020 at 9:59 am

    5 stars
    These look delicious – fantastic for a tea-time treat or to go in lunch boxes as a mid-morning snack!

    Reply
  5. Veronica says

    April 13, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    These look so soft and yummy. I love a bakewell tart – I could eat a slice right now!!!!

    Reply
    • Curly says

      April 14, 2020 at 2:36 pm

      Thank you very much Veronica. It’s such a tasty classic isn’t it!

      Reply
  6. Chloe Edges says

    April 13, 2020 at 11:59 pm

    5 stars
    I love a classic British recipe with a twist. A tray-bake is a much more sensible way of combining these flavours!

    Reply
    • Curly says

      April 14, 2020 at 2:38 pm

      Thanks Chloe, it’s nice and easy too!

      Reply
  7. Susannah George says

    September 21, 2020 at 1:26 pm

    Hiya. I am so glad to have found your recipe and definitely going to give it a try. Just checking do I need to blind bake the pastry? Many thanks

    Reply
    • Curly says

      September 22, 2020 at 5:54 pm

      Hi Susannah, no you don’t it all cooks together at the same time 🙂 Hope you like them.

      Reply
  8. Cynthia says

    November 12, 2020 at 3:49 pm

    Hi Cat, Well I’ve just used your recipe to make these Bakewell Slices, (first time I’ve made any!). But thought I would have ago & hopefully please my Son who loves Almond Slices. Everything went fine, glad I read your comment on ‘Pastry Fixing as I did have to do a couple of patches! I did wonder if Jam would seep into sponge mixture, but dotting it onto pastry was a good tip. Just taken tray bake out of oven & it looks just like yours so let’s hope they will get the “thumbs up”!
    Will let you know.

    Reply
    • Curly says

      November 13, 2020 at 8:52 pm

      Hi Cynthia! Ooh I hope you liked them! Ah yes, pastry fixing is the perfect secret that only you as the baker needs to know about!

      Reply
  9. Elizabeth says

    November 18, 2020 at 7:13 pm

    I just made this beautiful. But to be honest my pastry wasn’t enough cooked. I did follow the recipe.

    Reply
    • Curly says

      November 18, 2020 at 9:42 pm

      Sorry to hear this, were you able to put it back in for a couple of minutes?

      Reply
  10. Anisha Mistry says

    December 5, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    5 stars
    Love these bakewell slices, so easy to make and so tasty! It was the first time I made pastry from scratch, didn’t realise how easy it was. Took me a while to patch it up but it turned out great!

    Reply
    • Curly says

      December 6, 2020 at 5:46 pm

      So pleased you like them Anisha. Haha it takes me a while to patch up the pastry too sometimes, but the good thing is no one can see it so it can be our little secret!

      Reply
  11. JMJ says

    February 18, 2021 at 1:22 pm

    5 stars
    I tried this recipe for the first time almost a year ago and I must have made them about 10 times since – great recipe, easy to follow and a huge hit with my husband

    Reply
    • Curly says

      February 20, 2021 at 12:25 am

      Oh fantastic! So pleased you both liked them!

      Reply
  12. Fizz says

    February 23, 2021 at 10:27 pm

    Hi I tried your recipe.
    But my base was hard not soft.
    Is this how it should be

    Reply
    • Curly says

      February 24, 2021 at 3:04 pm

      Hi Fizz. The bottom layer is pastry so it isn’t meant to be soft like the cake layer. It sounds like it is as it should be.

      Reply
  13. Sophie says

    October 15, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    5 stars
    Never usually comment on online recipes as I am never that wowed…but this is absolutely FAB! I love that I make the pastry too and cannot believe how easy it is.

    I put more Almond essence in because I like it a bit more almondy.

    This has become a weekly treat in my household – thank you!

    Reply
    • Curly says

      October 18, 2021 at 11:42 am

      Thank you so much Sophie! I’m so pleased you commented! Oh definitely, recipes are meant to be tweaked! So glad you like them so much.

      Reply
5 from 5 votes

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Hi, I'm Cat aka Curly. I'm a home cook that likes nothing better than a day in the kitchen baking and cooking. Whether its sweet or savoury, in my mind food is always the answer. Meet Curly

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