The Almond Line: Nottingham’s Bakewell Tart Bake Trail for 2026

Bakewell tart is Derbyshire’s birthright, but Nottingham has opinions. The city’s bakeries have spent years nudging the almond slice in their own directions: sharper jam, softer frangipane, flaked almonds instead of icing, the occasional cherry compote. So for 2026 I walked, trammed and bused a route across Nottingham to answer a simple question. Can the city give Bakewell a run for its money?

This is not a scientific tasting lab. It is a bake trail with a notebook, a reusable coffee cup and a growing suspicion that almond tarts are best eaten before noon. Each stop was judged on four things: pastry, almond filling, jam balance and price. Tea pairing matters too, because a dry slice needs a decent brew beside it.

How the trail worked

I kept to independent bakeries and cafés with a visible baking operation, sticking to slices sold by the piece rather than whole tarts. Prices ranged from £2.90 to £4.50. The benchmark was the classic Bakewell-style tart: shortcrust or a close relative, frangipane with real almond flavour, a jam layer that does not overpower, and a finish that feels deliberate rather than decorative.

The route ran from Hockley to Sneinton Market, then north to Mapperley and Sherwood, finishing in West Bridgford. That is a lot of ground for one day, but the tram and a couple of buses make it manageable. Bring a friend, split the slices, and argue about jam.

The ranked shortlist

1. Hockley Crust — the classicist

This was the slice that felt closest to the Derbyshire ideal. The pastry had a proper short, snappy edge without tasting like a biscuit. The frangipane was moist but not puddingy, with a clean almond finish rather than a heavy extract hit. Raspberry jam sat in the middle lane: present, tart, never bossy. A single glacé cherry on top was the only decoration. At £3.60 it is not cheap, but it is the one I would take to a desert island, assuming the island has a kettle.

Tea pairing: a pot of Assam from the café two doors down. Malty, sturdy, and not so perfumed that it fights the almond.

2. Mapperley Larder — the modern twist

Here the Bakewell idea got a gentle shake. The tart arrived with flaked almonds and a little orange zest in the frangipane, plus a cherry compote rather than a set jam layer. Purists may tut. I did not. The pastry was excellent, crisp at the base and well baked at the sides, and the orange lifted the almond without turning it into a dessert from a perfume counter. At £4.20 it is the priciest slice on the trail, so it needs to be good. It just about is.

Tea pairing: Earl Grey, but ask for it weak. The bergamot and orange zest can gang up on you.

3. Sherwood Fold — the value slice

This is the one for a Tuesday afternoon when you want a nutty bake and change from a fiver. At £2.90, the Sherwood Fold tart is plain, generous and honest. The pastry is a touch thicker than the others, which gives it a homely chew, and the frangipane is on the sweet side. The jam is raspberry and applied with a heavy hand, so if you like a sharp hit it will please you. It lacks the finesse of the top two, but it wins on price and portion.

Tea pairing: builder’s tea in a proper mug. Anything dainty would be missing the point.

4. Sneinton Bakehouse — the jam rebel

Sneinton Bakehouse makes a tart that leans hard into the jam. The layer is thicker, the almond filling a little softer, and the whole thing eats more like a bakewell-adjacent pudding than a neat slice. I liked the flavour, though the base needed another few minutes in the oven to firm up. At £3.80 it sits in the middle of the price range. If you like your almond bakes sticky and generous, start here. If you like clean lines, keep walking.

Tea pairing: a strong Yorkshire tea. The tannin cuts through the extra jam nicely.

5. West Bridgford Crumb — the polished one

This was the prettiest slice of the day: neat edges, toasted flaked almonds, a glossy cherry on top and a price tag of £4.50. The pastry was good and the filling well seasoned, but the jam was a little too polite and the almond flavour a little too restrained. It is a tart for people who like their cakes to behave. I wanted a bit more fight. Still, the bake was technically strong, and the shop’s window display is dangerous for anyone with a loose grip on their weekly budget.

Tea pairing: Darjeeling. Light, floral and happy to let the almond do the talking.

Can Nottingham out-Bakewell?

Not on tradition, no. Bakewell still owns the classic slice, and the Derbyshire version has generations of tea-room expectation behind it. But Nottingham is not trying to be Bakewell. It is doing something more interesting: treating the almond tart as a starting point rather than a museum piece. The city’s best slices are every bit as good as a decent Bakewell, and the range is wider. You can have a traditional cherry-topped tart in Hockley, an orange-scented frangipane in Mapperley and a jam-heavy bargain in Sherwood, all in one afternoon.

My advice for 2026? Do the trail in the morning, before the bakeries sell out of the good stuff. Buy one slice to eat in and one to take home. And do not skip the tea. A Bakewell tart without a brew is just a pastry with unresolved issues.