Blueberry frangipane tart

I’m back. Excuse the absence of recipe sharing lately. The joy of fatherhood has definitely been eating into my blog time of late, in a good way. It’s a bit like a second childhood really, making sandcastles, playing with Lego and tickle time. All of which make for compelling weekend entertainment, especially with a mini me.

Its mid Autumn in Sydney town, the equivalent of October back home. The weather here though, is far from an English Autumn day; the sun continues to keep temperatures in the high 20s. Making for a reliable version of the English summer and perfect for picnics.

This relatively simple frangipane tart recipe, decorated with blueberries, is a great addition to any picnic. Usually the mention of fresh ingredients in my posts, prompts me to share their health benefits. I’m not going to beat about the bush; the recipe contains a good whack of butter and refined sugar. So let’s just call it a treat, with the health benefit of making you smile.

Frangipane or frangipani, is a filling made from almonds, eggs, butter and sugar. It’s a traditional French culinary creation that’s used in a variety of flans, cakes and pastries. Although it sounds fancy schmancy, it’s very easy to make. Anyway, here is my blueberry frangipane tart, which takes a few cues from the traditional English bakewell tart.

Prep time: 15 minutes if you buy a pre-made pastry flan case or 3 hours if you make your own.
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes.
Equipment: 25 x 20cm baking tin, eclectic mixer, large mixing bowl.

Ingredients

Frangipane filling
• 175g ground almonds (almond meal)
• 175g icing sugar (you can use caster sugar)
• 125g butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp. corn flour
• 1 tbsp. brandy or rum

• Fresh blueberries (or raspberry or any seasonal berries)
• Raspberry, strawberry or cherry jam

Shout out to my good friend Petra who made us some delicious jam that I used when I made this.

Sweet short crust pastry base
• 125g unsalted butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 250g plain flour
• 1 egg yolk
• Pinch salt

Or plain shortcrust pastry

Or cheat and buy a flan base at the supermarket, there I said it.

Directions

Sweet shortcrust pastry
• Using an electric mixer, blend the butter and sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
• Add 50g of the flour and mix in (lower the speed on the mixer for this part), then add the egg yolk and then the remaining flour one tablespoon at a time. Finally incorporate 1-2 tablespoons of iced water.
• Bring the dough together using your fingertips and knead a couple of times until it comes together.
• Cover in plastic food wrap and pop in the fridge to rest for 2-3 hours.
• To roll it out, I recommend letting it warm up a bit, to make it more pliable.
• Dust your rolling pin and worktop with plain flour, roll until the thickness of a table mat.
• Pick up the pastry on the rolling pin and place in a pre-greased flan tin. If the pastry breaks up, don’t worry, just push into the tin with your fingers getting it as thin as possible. Prick with a fork in several places.
• Lay backing paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.
• Remove from oven, remove baking beans and set aside to cool.

Frangipane cream
• Combine the icing sugar, ground almonds and corn flour.
• In a separate dish, soften the butter.
• Add the ground almond/sugar mix to the butter and stir in the eggs (one at a time).
• Lastly, mix in the rum or brandy.
• Chill the frangipane in the fridge.

Tart assembly
• Preheat oven to 180 degrees
• Line the cooled pastry case with a thin layer of jam then spoon on about a 2-inch layer of frangipane.
• Decorate with blueberries (flaked almonds work well also).
• Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
• Cool, then serve on its own or with crème fraiche (or vanilla ice cream).

About the Author

Gareth Englishman in Sydney loves a whisky, pies and all things savoury. Digital Marketer by day, cook the rest of the time. Amateur writer, photographer & aspiring anthropologists.