NEW! Only made by Pudding Pie.
Listen Again - BBC Radio Oxford Interview 13th August 2008
Whilst running our Cookery School, we came across a 1930's recipe for Banbury Tarts. Just out of interest, we started to look into the origin and whether you could still get hold of them.
It took quite a lot of research and correspondence with various people to get the information we needed.
It turned out that no-one was actually making these anymore, so a piece of Banbury's history had disappeared !! We already had a recipe from the early 1900's and have also been advised during our research that, there are references in publications, in the Oxford College dating back to the 1700's.
We decided in mid 2008 to make some of these tarts to see what they were like. We gave some to friends and work colleagues and the results took us a bit by surprise. Everyone loved them, served with some whipped cream with a sprinkle of cinnamon, they were quite unlike anything on the market today. The tarts are quite versatile and can be eaten as part of the afternoon tea served cold or warmed, but also as a dessert, delicious with vanilla ice cream or even traditional custard.
It was at this point we started to look into making them available for sale. We made a presentation of the first batch to the Banbury Town Mayor as part of the Banbury 400 Charter year, we also had a lot of support from other local suppliers keen to start selling the tarts. The response was overwhelming and led us to start production of the products you see today.
The Tarts are made with Delicious Figs, Raisins, Orange, Lemon and Walnuts, giving a fantastic rich unique taste.
We have stayed true to our original intention, of producing a product using the best natural ingredients we can source, adding nothing artificial.
Dating back over 200 years, these tarts are as good as any modern pastry available, hand-made using the best ingredients. They are produced by hand in our Cookery School Kitchen, which has a top 5 Star Rating from the Food Standards Agency.
In November 2008 we were honoured to be asked by the Town Mayor, to make some Banbury Tarts to be presented to Her Majesty The Queen, during her visit to Banbury.
The presentation of Banbury Tarts to The Queen & Prince Phillip by the Town Mayor, Ann Bonner.