Lemon bakewell slices (2024)

Need crowd pleasing treats for Mother’s day, a baby shower, an afternoon tea or another event? You can’t go wrong with these yummy lemon Bakewell slices. They’re quite literally a slice of English tradition, and they’re surprisingly easy to make.

What’s a Bakewell slice?

Growing up in central England, you couldn’t help but come across some version of a bakewell tart – one of a handful of very traditionally British desserts.

There are various versions of the exact origins of this tart. Two things are sure, though. One, it’s closely associated with a pretty Derbyshire town called Bakewell. Two, it’s a very yummy traditional cake recipe with these 3 layers:

layer 1: a sweet short crust pastry base

layer 2: a fruity jam or curd layer

layer 3: frangipane cake with flaked almonds on top

This is a bakewell slice recipe with a lemony twist. Lemon curd’s used as the ‘jammy’ layer, and there’s lemon zest in both the sweet pastry and cake layers.

You could say this is a triple lemon almond slice!

About the ingredients

Pastry: You only need 5 simple ingredients. Icing sugar, lemon zest and an egg yolk make it a rich, shortbread-like pastry that’s sweet and delicious!

Lemon curd: I use shop bought to keep this traybake as simple as possible. But feel free to make your own if you are that way inclined (or happen to have a lemon tree in your garden!).

Frangipane layer: A light cake layer that contains yet more lemon zest and some almond flour for a very delicious flavour and texture.

Sprinkle flaked almonds on the top of the cake before baking. They get lightly toasted while in the oven, adding a subtle, tasty crunch.

How to make lemon bakewell slices perfectly

The hardest part of this lemon traybake recipe is making the pastry. And even that part isn’t really hard.

There are only 5 steps to making the pastry, one step to adding the lemon curd (just spread it on the pastry!) and 2 steps to making the frangipane.

Pastry tips

• Use cold ingredients. Handle the pastry as little as possible. Just enough to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

• Stir everything else in, then bring the pastry together with your hands. You might need to add a tiny bit more flour so it isn’t ridiculously sticky.

• So the pastry is easier to roll out, wrap in plastic wrap / clingflim and chill for around half an hour in the fridge. If it’s an especially warm day I sometimes pop it into the freezer instead.

• Because the dough is quite soft and a little sticky, I find it sometimes breaks apart when you lift it to put it into the pan. If this happens, just smooth the ‘bits’ out and press the pastry into the corners with your fingers.

• Try not to forget to pre-bake the pastry! I did this one time. The lemon slices were still pretty good, but the pastry layer wasn’t crisp enough.

Lemon curd tips

• My biggest tip for the lemon curd is… get a good store bought version to keep the cakes simple.

• You don’t need as much lemon curd as you think you might – only about 3 tablespoons. Don’t spread it quite to the edges of the pastry. This will minimize the risk of the slices sticking to the baking paper too much.

Almond frangipane tips

• To be honest, this step is pretty fool-proof. Just stir in the eggs, almonds and flour gradually. As always with a cake batter, don’t overmix.

• Roughly spread the frangipane batter over the top of the lemon curd. It might not seem like enough batter. Don’t worry. It is.

• The flaked almonds on the top of the cake will go lightly brown in the oven, so no pre-toasting necessary!

Variations to the recipe

• The most obvious variation you can make to these lemon slices with almonds is to swap the lemon curd for a different kind of preserve. Raspberry or strawberry jam are obvious choices. The end result will be more like a traditional bakewell slice. If you like you can skip the lemon zest and add a teaspoon of vanilla essence into the frangipane instead.

• And here’s the ‘wild card’ option: how about Nutella instead of a preserve?

• You can even add some fresh fruit in the frangipane layer. Raspberries or blueberries would work really well.

• Did you know cherry bakewell slices are also ‘a thing’? Spread the pastry with cherry jam. Then skip the flaked almonds and spread some thick icing (just icing sugar and water or lemon juice) over the top after baking! Glace cherries can be the literal icing on the cake.

• I think different kinds of nuts on top are worth trying, too. Pistachios, hazelnuts or even peanuts come to mind.

• How about more of an almond slice? Use apricot jam. Skip the lemon zest and instead add a teaspoon of almond extract to the frangipane.

How to serve them

Believe it or not, there are options!

These lemon almond slices are delicious served hot with custard or ice cream. This way they become more of a pudding.

Alternatively you can add a blob of cream or even Greek yoghurt, and another of lemon curd. Yum.

But these are equally good on their own, eaten either at room temperature or chilled.

Can you freeze Bakewell slices?

Yes! They keep well in a sealed container for a few days, and for a bit longer in the fridge.

If you’d like to freeze them, wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.

More cakes for afternoon tea

• This coconut, pineapple and banana cake is otherwise known as Hummingbird cake. Try it and be a convert for life!

• Make either this really easy lemon mascarpone cake or this delicious sticky lemon curd cake (with blueberries) for a birthday party or other event.

• You can’t beat a good vanilla cupcake. But even better if they’re healthier cupcakes!

• More easy slices! Choose from no-bake caramel shortbread, Biscoff blondies or sticky apple and ginger cake. Yum.

• Peanut butter, banana and chocolate chip cake. Traditional in looks maybe, but not in flavour.

• Last but not least… perfect blueberry muffins! Made with Greek yoghurt and low in sugar.

Got lemon curd to use up? Check out this list of best lemon curd dessert recipes!

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, LET ME KNOW HOW YOU GET ON BY LEAVING A COMMENT AND RATING BELOW… AND DON’T FORGET TO SIGN UP TO RECEIVE ALL MY NEW RECIPES BY EMAIL!

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST AND YOUTUBE.