OUR friends have returned to New York, weather-beaten, windblown and I’m sure several pounds heavier.

But they enjoyed themselves thoroughly, especially our day trip out to Chatsworth House.

The ferocious wind and scudding clouds actually added to the drama of a drive across the Strines and down past the beautiful Ladybower reservoir and on towards Hathersage.

It really is a spectacularly beautiful part of the world, and how glorious that it’s only a matter of half and hour’s drive from home for most of us.

As we approached the magnificent estate, I noticed signs to Bakewell, and immediately launched into full tour guide mode, telling the passengers that this was the home of the famous Bakewell Tart, and describing this delicious local speciality.

It was only when asked if I’d ever made one that I drew a blank. I simply couldn’t remember!

I said I thought I’d made one, and upon getting home I immediately checked my old Leith’s Food Bible, which was essentially my course textbook back in my time at catering college. Indeed, there, on the Bakewell Tart page, were many scribbled notes and ideas, plus multiple quantities – clearly I’d planned to make a larger version in the future.

But the tart was to go untried for over 20 years until this weekend when I decided to sort matters out, and make me a Bakewell.

I’m exceedingly surprised I’ve not made one in the intervening years, as it is quite simply one of the best pastries on the planet.

Combining crisp, sweetened pastry with a smear of sweet jam hidden beneath a fluffy, comforting pillow of frangipane-like almond paste, it ticks all the boxes. It’s sweet, but not overly so.

The warmth of the toasted nuts satisfies the soul. The jam adds the requisite fruity kick, and the pastry adds texture to proceedings.

The Bakewell Tart itself is actually a derivation of the Bakewell Pudding, an altogether more substantial dessert. In common with many classic recipes, it appears to have arisen from a mistake by an absent-minded cook at the White Horse Inn in Bakewell in the 1860s. Instead of adding the sugar and almonds to the pastry, they made a basic butter frangipane and poured it over the jam-smeared pastry, rather like a traybake.

Quite how they got it so utterly wrong is beyond me, but we should all be glad they did, for without their moment of madness, the Bakewell pudding, and it’s modern equivalent the tart, would never have come about.

Of course, as with many of the traditional regional dishes, the recipe is subject to much discussion as to the true original, but it’s widely accepted that strawberry jam and almonds are the dominant flavourings. However, as we’re not baking in competition, I see little reason why we shouldn’t use what jam we have, or introduce a few rogue elements to please ourselves. The large bag of frozen raspberries in the freezer meant that I had to change the jam for this recipe, and I’m glad I did. Raspberry jam is a particular favourite of mine, and it suits the almonds perfectly, and with a little more tartness than the strawberry variant. I also think apricot jam would be absolutely brilliant underneath that soft, sweet frangipane.