The few days after the Christmas and New Year celebrations end, there is always a surplus of food laying about the house. This year in particular, with the unfortunate events of last year, many people will have prepared for large Christmas get-togethers that never happened. This is certainly the case for me and my family at the moment, and this luxurious frangipane tart recipe was designed to use up some marzipan and ground almonds that did not get used over Christmas. It is a very easy recipe, and made with ingredients that you will most likely already have in your pantry or baking cupboard! If you have attempted any of my other recipes, you will also recognise some familiar parts, as I use a few components that I have put into other recipes.
This recipe is similar to a Bakewell Tart and I served it with a ‘spiked cream’ to add a little extra flourish. If you prefer, it would also be delicious with ice cream or custard. The tart itself is perfect for a special occasion, with a rich and buttery pastry that is almost like a shortbread, it gives a deliciously crumbly casing to a sweet and fluffy interior. It is a luscious dessert that can be eaten all your round and flavoured with any jam you want. I used my mum’s home-made raspberry jam so if you have homemade jam, its definitely worth using in this. Either way, pick your favourite flavour to use, it doesn’t have to be raspberry!
As a bonus, this indulgent tart can be eaten hot or cold, so if you have any left-overs (though not likely), you won’t have to bother doing a dessert the next day! These will also freeze very well once baked so, if you opt to make the 1 big and 2 small tarts, you can freeze the small ones for another occasion if desired.
Makes: 1x 9 inch tart plus 2x 4 ½ inch tarts or 1x 12 inch tart (though you will need to adjust the baking time accordingly, try adding another 10-15 mins once covered to begin with)
Serves: 10-12 people
Total time: 2 hours (Prep- 45 mins Baking- 1- 1 ¼ hour)
For the pastry:
350 g flour
200 g butter
100 g icing sugar
1 egg beaten (will only use half)
Squeeze of lemon juice
Pinch salt
For the remonce paste:
140 g butter
140 g marzipan
140 g icing sugar
For the Frangipane:
1 jar raspberry jam
150 g butter
150 g ground almonds
150 g caster sugar
1 medium egg (plus the remaining half of egg from the pastry section)
1tbsp plain flour
Flaked almonds (to go on top)
To serve:
100 ml double cream, whipped
50 g crème fraiche
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp amaretto
Method:
1. First make the pastry by weighing out the flour and sugar and mixing it in the bowl with a pinch of salt
2. Rub together the butter and flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
3. Beat an egg and pour about half of it into the mixture along with a squeeze of lemon juice
4. Mix until it binds together, wrap in clingfilm, and leave to rest for half an hour in the fridge
5. Turn the oven on to preheat to 180°C
6. Next, make the remonce paste. Cream together the icing sugar, marzipan and butter until smooth. Set aside until needed.
7. For the frangipane, beat together the caster sugar and butter. Add the beaten egg, a little at a time, adding the tbsp flour half way through to prevent the mixture curdling.
8. Finally, fold in the ground almonds until you have a thick batter.
9. To assemble, grease your tart tins and roll out your pastry to fit. Prick the pastry with a fork so it doesn't bubble when baking.
10. Spread the bottom of your tarts with remonce paste and add a layer of jam on top.
11. Cover with the frangipane mixture and top with a sprinkling of flaked almonds.
12. Bake in the oven, covering with foil once they have coloured to a deep golden brown. For the 9 inch tart, baking time will be roughly 35 mins to start, plus 30 mins once covered with foil. For the small ones, bake for 25 mins and a further 15 mins once covered with foil.
13. To check whether they are done, insert a skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean, you can remove it from the oven.
14. If serving cold, leave to cool on a baking rack until the tin is cold before removing the tart from the case. Dust with icing sugar before serving with the cream.
15. To make the spiked cream, put the whipped cream, crème fraiche, icing sugar and amaretto in a bowl and whisk until combined.
For the frangipane, once the sugar, eggs and butter are combined, fold in the ground almonds
Prick the pastry case with a fork to prevent bubbling during baking
Press a layer of remonce paste into each of the tart tins
Put a layer of jam over the remonce paste and top with the frangipane mixture, making sure to cover the jam completely. Top with almonds before baking.
Comments