Apricot and almond frangipane tart is a delightful fruit dessert which would be perfect to end a Sunday lunch or any gathering of sorts in the company of loved ones. It’s very easy to put together and a definite crowd pleaser.
Frangipane is a soft spreadable cream made of butter, sugar, eggs and ground almonds and is used as a filling for croissants, tarts and various other pastries. It’s similar to creme patisserie but almost always used without being pre cooked. It’s usually combined with fruits in tarts and cakes, which helps to balance the sweetness and the richness of the cream. You can use countless different fruits but I personally prefer the more acidic, sour fruits to create that balance. I’ve made this tart with sour cherries and plums in the past and had great results. Apricot is one of the most popular fruits that go well with the frangipane cream, even if it’s in the sweet fruits category it tends to loose that sweetness a little after being cooked.
The first thing we need to get done for our tart is a delightfully crumbly, sweet shortcrust base. We can do this up to three days in advance and keep the tightly wrapped pastry in the fridge. For a great shortcrust pastry you can refer to this recipe.
Once you have your pastry ready and rested in the fridge you can roll it between two pieces of baking parchment then line the tart tin. Prick the base with a fork and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Line the uncooked base with baking parchment and fill with dried beans and bake in a preheated oven, 170 C (340 F), for 20 minutes. Then remove the parchment and the beans and bake for a further 10 minutes.
Then we fill the half baked tart base with frangipane cream and arrange the fruit on top before putting it back in the oven. That’s how easy it is :):) As I’ve talked about how to make the shortcrust pastry in detail in a previous post, now let’s see how to make the frangipane cream.
- FOR THE FRANGIPANE
- 90 gr butter, at room temp
- 90 gr sugar
- 75 gr ground almonds
- 1 large egg
- 45 gr heavy cream
- .
- 1 batch of sweet shortcrust pastry
- .
- 8-10 apricots
- First prepare and precook the crust at 170 C (340 F) for 20 minutes with dried beans and a further 10 minutes without, leave to cool in it's tin. You can use a 10 inch round or 13x4 inches rectangular tart tin.
- Beat butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale, add in the ground almonds and the egg and beat until well combined. Stir in the cream using a spatula or a wooden spoon.
- Fill the cooled crust with the frangipane cream and smooth with the back of a spoon.
- Wash, dry and halve the apricots, arrange on the cream with the cut side up. You can also place the fruit on the crust first then pour the cream over.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the frangipane is set and the tart is golden brown.
- Let cool in the tart tin for 20-25 minutes before transferring to a serving plate.
Add the fruit in the last minute otherwise they might release their juice and mess with the cream.
You can keep the well wrapped tart in the fridge for a couple of days. Bring to room temp before serving or warm slightly in a low oven.
Freezes well for up to a couple of months.
Frangipane cream recipe is adapted from www.tartelletteblog.com .