These traditional Maid of Honour Tarts are filled with a soft almond centre and baked in crisp pastry cases. A classic British bake that works beautifully as part of an afternoon tea.
Maid of Honour Tarts are a true classic of British baking, known for their delicate pastry cases and soft almond filling. They’re the sort of bake that feels at home on an afternoon tea table. Simple in appearance, yet quietly special once you take a bite.
This recipe comes from a vintage Typhoo recipe book my mum has had for years. Its a reminder of just how well traditional bakes stand the test of time. I’ve kept the original flavour combination intact, just up dated the presentation of the final tart. These are more about highlighting a classic bake that may have been forgotten about.
The finished tarts have a buttery, crisp shell and a light almond centre with a gentle citrus note running through. They’re elegant without being fussy, making them just as suited to a celebratory spread as they are to a quiet cup of tea.
Star Ingredient
Almonds are at the heart of this recipe, giving the filling its signature texture and flavour. Ground almonds create a soft, moist interior with a gentle nuttiness that pairs beautifully with the buttery pastry. They also help the tarts hold their structure without becoming dense.
To add an extra touch of almond, I have popped a blanched almond on top. Pressing one into the filling of each tart before baking, means you have an easy decoration without having to work to hard. Its simple yet feels so fitting with the bake itself.
Purchasing Ingredients to be Conscious to the Planet
These simple yet delicious tarts, only take a handful of ingredients to make. And you can make them entirely plastic free with a few swaps.
A lot of these ingredients you may already be in you baking cupboards as they are staples in my eyes. Ground almonds and caster sugar are easy to find in refill shops. repurposed glass jars or stainless steel containers are perfect sizes for these products if you are not looking to buy loads in bulk. Blanched almonds are purchasable from refill shops. alternatively go for whole almonds, and you can use this trick to peel the shells off.
For lemons always go for loose, whether that is at the supermarket or farm shop. Net bags or produce bags can be handy to use to keep them together, in your bigger shopping bag. Select eggs that come in cardboard cartons at the supermarket, or refill your own carton at a farm shop or farmers’ market.
Jam always comes in glass jars, so consider why you buy from. Of course you can use one from supermarkets. However, either use what you have, or if needing to pick up some why not support a local producer. Explain food halls or delis for my local suppliers. Food markets are another great place to find jam producers. Alternatively, you can always make your own.
Ingredients you can buy Plastic Free
- Caster Sugar
- Lemon
- Egg
- Ground Almonds
- Double Cream
Equipment You Will Need
- Rolling Pin
- 15 2 ½ Inch Foil Tart Cases
- Fork
- Fluted Round Cookie Cutter
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Teaspoons
- Cooling Rack
Tips and Tricks when Baking Maid of Honour Tarts
Quick Flaky Pastry
This recipe can be a great way to use up leftover pastry that you may have in the freezer. I can sometimes over make pastry especially if I am batching. I tend to then pop any spare into a silicone food pouch and store in the freezer. You can then weight out what you need.
Alternatively, if you need to make from scratch, you can use the quick flaky recipe that I utilise for my homemade sausage rolls. It is perfect recipe for both sweet and savoury bakes.
Choice of Jam for your Maid of Honour Tarts
Any jam can be used for these maid of honour tarts. and as it is such a small quantity you can use up jars of jams you have in the fridge. Raspberry is the traditional jam that recipes tend to suggest. I used a mix of raspberry and a sloe gin jam as that was what was in the fridge. The slow gin jam works really work as it has that like extra something to them.
You could even try these with leftover curd. I tend to think of curds being more citrus based, which would elevate the lemon zest in the filling. These tarts are essentially great for using up any type of jam or curd that may be in the fridge.
Decorating your Maid of Honour Tarts
Maid of honour tarts are normally left plain on top, but I have 2 suggestions to add a little extra touch.
Press a blanched almond into the top prior to baking. This ups the almond flavour but also adds a bit of detail.
Alternatively, you can dust them with icing sugar just before serving. You could dust them just all over. Or you could take a piece of baking parchment paper and lay it over half of a tart and then then dust just half of it. This would create a bit of a mask effect covered up just over the tart.
Maid of Honour Tarts
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- 15 2 ½ Inch Foil Tart Cases
- Fork
- Fluted Round Cookie Cutter
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Teaspoons
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 130 g Quick Flaky Pastry
- 40 g Butter / Plant Butter softened
- 50 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Lemon zest
- 1 Egg lightly beaten
- 50 g Ground Almonds
- 1 Tablespoon Double Cream
- 4-5 Teaspoons Jam
- 7-15 Blanched Almonds
- Icing Sugar optional for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.
- Roll out the pastry thinly on a floured surface to about 2-3cm thick.
- Cut out 15 fluted rounds and line 15 2 ½” foil tart cases.
- Prick the base and sides of the pastry with a fork.
- In a bowl mix together the butter and sugar until incorporated, but do not beat.
- Add in the lemon zest and egg and mix in.
- Add in the cream and ground almonds and stir to until smooth.
- Place ¼ – 1/3 teaspoon of jam in each case.
- Cover with the filling until ¾ full and ensure that the filling is spread so it touches all of the pastry sides to seal.
- Press a blanched almond into the middle of each tart (can do to as many of the tarts as you wish).
- Place the tarts on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Carefully turn the tarts out of the cases and cool on a wire rack.
- To serve you can dust half of a tart with icing sugar, using a bit of baking parchment paper to keep the other half clear.
- Stir in an airtight cake tin or container.
As part of my Bridgerton Bake Series, these Maid of Honour Tarts are inspired by Sophie — understated yet full of depth and quiet strength. Their classic simplicity feels entirely fitting for her story. The name as well is pretty perfect to for her. You can browse the full collection of Bridgerton-inspired bakes, and see which character each recipe represents, in my complete series round-up.
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