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Citrus Bakewell Squares

From: Potluck Desserts: Joyful Recipes to Share with Pride by Justin Burke (Countryman Press, June 2025)
Almonds

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients
Serves: 12
For the Crust
  • 1⅔ cups (207 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 2 to 3 tbsp water, ice cold
For the Frangipane Filling
  • ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1¼ cups (283 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1½ cups (145 g) almond flour
  • 1½ cups (470 g) marmalade
  • ½ cup (47 g) sliced almonds
  • Powdered sugar for garnish
Preparation
For the Crust
  1. Using a food processor, pulse together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt until just combined. Add the egg yolk and pulse to combine.
  2. Add the cubed cold butter and pulse until the mixture is coarse, like wet beach sand. Add the cold water 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse a few times until the mixture barely comes together. The dough will be crumbly.
  3. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on the counter long enough to wrap the dough. Dump the dough in the center of the plastic wrap. Carefully pull each side of the plastic wrap, one side at a time over the dough, making a straight clean edge (you’re trying to form the dough into a square). Once covered, gently press down on the dough with your hands to compress the dough together. Use your hands to mold the sides of the dough into a square. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
  4. Preheat your oven to 350 °F and spray a 9-by-9-inch (or 8-by-8-inch) pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper both ways so all four sides have an overhang. Set aside.
  5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and dust a clean surface with flour. With a floured rolling pin, gently roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick. Don’t worry if the dough cracks; you can use leftover dough to fill in the cracks. Cut a 10-by-10-inch square from the dough and carefully place in the prepared pan, folding the overhang up the side of the pan, making a little border around the edges. Prick the dough with a fork in several areas (this prevents the dough from rising too much) and blind bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is lightly golden brown.
For the Frangipane Filling
  1. In a medium bowl, add the granulated sugar, orange zest, and lemon zest. With your fingers, rub the zests and sugar together until combined to release the zests’ natural oils. The sugar will turn slightly orange. Add the butter, and with an electric hand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
  2. Stop the mixer and add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined, about 1 minute. With a rubber spatula, fold in the almond flour until evenly combined. Set aside.
  3. Once the crust has blind baked, remove from the oven and spread the marmalade evenly over the bottom. Top the marmalade layer with the frangipane, spreading in an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the almonds over the top; return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown and visibly dry. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  5. Before serving, remove the Bakewell from the pan using the parchment overhangs and cut it into portions. Dust with powdered sugar.
Did you know?

In addition to almonds being a delicious ingredient in our recipes they’re also heart healthy, gut healthy, and full of vitamins and nutrients - explore Health & Nutrition to learn more. Not only that, almond farmers are dedicated to sustainability - find out how they’re Growing Good.