Almond And Brazil Nut Tart Recipes

DIANE'S ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch. Shape into a ball and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness, cut into appropriate size circles with a glass or cookie cutter and press into tart shells. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into bottom of each shell.
• In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup white sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in rice flour and cocoa powder. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons almond extract. Fill tarts 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and filling is set. Allow to cool.
• In a small bowl, Stir together 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons butter and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Spread on tarts. Garnish each tart with a maraschino cherry.

MIXED FRUIT ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Make the crust: Grease the sides and bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add remaining butter and sugar and pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Use your fingers and the flat bottom of a drinking glass to press the dough into an even layer in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the tart is firm and golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Set aside. Make the almond cream: Whisk the sugar, flour and egg yolks until thick and smooth in a medium bowl. Bring the milk and almond extract to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour about 1/2 of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, then pour the whole mix back into the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5-8 minutes. Stir this mixture constantly, scraping the bottom as you stir, so the flour doesn't stick to the bottom and burn. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover it with a coating of plastic wrap so that it doesn't form a "skin". Refrigerate until completely cooled. Assemble the tart: Place the tart bottom on a serving platter. Spoon the pastry cream on top. Arrange the kiwi slices, raspberries and blueberries on top of the pastry cream and brush with the jam until the fruit is coated with it. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of sliced almonds.

ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• For the shells: Pulse together the granulated sugar, flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and continue to pulse until mealy. Add the egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the filling) and pulse until the dough comes together. Press the dough into a disc, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
• To mold the shells, grease a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4-inch-thick, dusting with more flour as needed. Cut out 3-inch circles and press them into the muffin cups so that the dough comes all the way up the sides. (No worries if the dough tears; just patch it up with additional dough.) Freeze the shells for 15 minutes.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the almond meal, granulated sugar, salt, and butter, either by blending it in the food processor (no need to clean it out after making the dough, you can just use it immediately for this step), or by stirring it together in a large bowl (I find it's easiest to get in there with my hands). Add the almond extract, egg and the reserved egg whites from the shells, and continue to blend/stir until smooth and combined.
• Fill the frozen shells with the filling so that it comes up about 1/4-inch from the top. Bake until the tops and edges are lightly browned; begin checking for doneness at 30 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then use a small offset spatula or a knife to remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze: If making the glaze with heavy cream, combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream and almond extract in a bowl until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar or liquid to thicken it up or thin it out so that you get the consistency of a thick glue.
• To make the glaze with the raspberries, place the raspberries in a fine-mesh sieve and give them a rinse. Place the sieve over a bowl and use a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon to smash them through the sieve into the bowl until you're just left with seeds in the sieve. Be sure to scrape the underside of the sieve to get the stuff that's sticking to it. (You should be left with about 2 tablespoons seedless puree. If it's a tiny bit more or a tiny bit less, that's fine.) Add the powdered sugar and almond extract and mix to make a thick glaze. If it's too thick, add a few drops of water to thin it out, and if it's too thin, add a few more spoonfuls of powdered sugar. It should be the consistency of a thick glue.
• Spread the glaze over the cooled tarts and decorate with sprinkles, almonds and anything else you'd like! These will keep for several days at room temperature or in the fridge.

ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• To make two crusts, in a large bowl, combine the sugar and flour.
• Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal.
• Using a fork, toss the mixture while adding the water, almond and vanilla extracts. Toss just until the pastry holds together.
• Divide the pastry in half and press into two nine-inch tart pans. Chill for one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake the crusts for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Press down any crust that puffs up.
• To make the filling, in a large bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients. Let stand in a warm place for 20 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
• Pour the filling into the prepared crusts and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the tops brown and caramelize. Turn the tarts several times during baking to brown evenly.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream, if desired.

ALMOND AND BRAZIL NUT TART

Steps:

• With pastry blender, cut butter into flour and sugar until it resembles corn meal. Stir in egg and toss mixture until egg is incorporated form dough into a ball and chill wrapped in wax paper for 30 minutes. Roll dough into a 1/8 -inch thick round on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 10-inch shallow flan pan with a removable fluted ring trim edges. Prick bottom of crust with a fork chill in freezer for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425° F. Bake crust for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden. Cool on a rack. Melt preserves in a small saucepan over moderately low heat force through a sieve. Brush shell with a thin layer of preserve sauce. Set aside to dry.Filling:*Beat crumbled almond paste or marzipan, butter, and sugar in a bowl until mixture is smooth add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and baking powder continue to beat until smooth. Spoon filling into shell. Smooth top and sprinkle with nuts. Bake tart for 10 minutes reduce heat to 375° F, and bake for 10 minutes more or until filling is just set. Cool tart on rack. Serve with whipped cream.Note: Almond paste or marzipan available in specialty section of grocery store.