Frangipane Prune Tart Recipes

PLUM FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Rub in cold butter cubes with your fingers until mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add water and egg yolk; knead into a ball. Wrap pastry in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine softened butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until well combined. Add ground almonds and beat frangipane until well combined.
• Roll out chilled pastry dough and transfer to a 9-inch fluted tart tin; trim edges.
• Spread frangipane over the pastry base. Arrange plums on top in a circular pattern.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown and the plums are soft, about 45 minutes.

PRUNE, CHERRY, AND APRICOT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Make dried-fruit compote:
• Heat grappa with sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Add fruit and gently simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat and let macerate, stirring occasionally, 24 hours.
• Make tart shell:
• Set flan ring on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. (If using a tart pan, parchment is not necessary.) Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into flan ring and trim excess dough. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then line with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake until bottom is golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool completely in pan, about 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Make frangipane filling and bake tart:
• Beat almond paste, butter, sugar, extract, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in flour.
• Spread frangipane filling in cooled shell. Drain fruit in a sieve set over a bowl, reserving syrup, and scatter fruit over filling, pressing in slightly. Bake until puffed and golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer tart on parchment to a rack. Brush reserved syrup over tart and cool to warm or room temperature.

PRUNE, CHERRY, AND APRICOT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• make dried fruit compote
• Heat the grappa with the sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the fruit and gently simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let macerate, stirring occasionally, 24 hours.
• make tart shell
• Blend together the flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
• Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture. Gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With the heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather the dough together with a pastry scraper, if you have one. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Set an 11-inch flan ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If using a tart pan, parchment is not necessary.) Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into the flan ring and trim excess dough. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F, with the rack in the middle.
• Lightly prick the bottom of the shell all over with a fork, then line with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the side is set and the edge is pale golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the bottom is golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool completely in the pan, about 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• make frangipane filling
• Beat the almond paste, butter, sugar, extract, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the flour.
• fill tart and bake
• Spread the frangipane filling in the cooled shell. Drain the fruit in a sieve set over a bowl, reserving the syrup, and scatter the fruit over the filling, pressing in slightly. Bake until puffed and golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer the tart on parchment to a rack. Brush the reserved syrup over the tart and cool to warm or room temperature.
• do ahead
• The DRIED FRUIT can be macerated up to 3 days.
• The TART SHELL can be baked 1 day ahead and kept (once cool), wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
• The TART is best eaten the day it is baked but can be made 1 day ahead, covered with foil, kept at room temperature.
• The DOUGH can be chilled 2 days or frozen, wrapped well, 3 months.

FRANGIPANE-PRUNE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, pour the hot tea over the halved prunes, and let the fruit rehydrate while you make the almond filling.
• Put almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse just until ground (be careful not to overprocess, or the filling will become a hard paste). Add the butter, eggs, brandy and almond essence, if using, and pulse just until smooth.
• Drain prunes well, pressing out any excess liquid with your hands, and place in the tart shell, more or less in an even layer. Spoon on the almond mixture, smoothing it with the back of the spoon, then sprinkle over remaining sliced almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is a nice golden brown. Dust with icing sugar, and let cool before serving.