Born from a Kitchen Blunder: The Secret History and Heavenly Taste of Bakewell Pudding

the proof is in the pudding

The Original Bakewell Pudding. Photo: Roland Millward

The Bakewell Pudding Story

It was back in September 2023 that I wrote about my visit to the Derbyshire town that gives its name to the Bakewell Pudding.

Many people have heard of the town of Bakewell because of this pudding, but perhaps more associate it with Bakewell Tarts and possibly think these are one and the same. In fact, they are very different.

Bakewell tarts tend to be made with shortcrust pastry, jam, and Frangipane (almond sponge) filling, often with icing. Here in the UK, I am sure many readers will have tasted the delightful Bakewell Tarts manufactured by Mr. Kipling. By the way, it’s a big company, and not a man baking cakes on his own!

The Bakewell Pudding is made from a buttery puff pastry base, a layer of strawberry jam, topped with a sweet, rich, soft-set mixture of eggs, sugar, butter, and ground almonds.

I purchased my Bakewell Pudding from The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop, where you can not only buy these lovely puddings but also enjoy them in their restaurant. “The proof is in the pudding”, so goes the saying. How was the pudding, you ask? Well, I can tell you that it was mighty fine! If you get the chance to try one, please do. You can purchase online from The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop, so please click on the link for more details.

The Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. Photo: Roland Millward

Who invented the Bakewell Pudding?

The pudding was created quite by accident. In Bakewell, there was an inn called The White Horse, now The Rutland Arms Hotel. The inn’s mistress, a lady by the name of Mrs Greaves, asked her cook to produce a strawberry tart for some visiting noblemen. The cook made a mistake and instead of stirring the egg mixture into the pastry, spread it on top of a layer of jam. The result was amazing!

The building, where The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop is, was built in the late 17^th century. Around the year 1860, Mrs Wilson, a tenant of the property, heard about the creation of the Bakewell Pudding, and she acquired the original (and still secret) recipe. Because of her entrepreneurship, we today can visit the shop and enjoy an original Bakewell Pudding.

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