Raspberry frangipane tarts
I did tell you I was on some sort of tartelette roll right? These raspberry frangipane tarts are just another prime example of the pretty darlings I made. I’m just trying to make the most of the remainder of the summerfruit as it is fading and fading fast. We’ve been having a gorgeous late summer these last few days but something in the air has definitely changed. The first hints of glorious autumn are around the corner.
The weather has been gorgeous. All the things we wanted summer to be seem to have arrived. Just this afternoon I was having a cup of coffee outside on a terrace at Leidseplein in Amsterdam. The temperature is perfect. Beginning 20s, not too hot, not too cold and we enjoyed some last minutes of sunshine.
It’s been a crazy last couple of weeks with an enormous amount of work which now all of a sudden seems to have stopped. Always a scary thing when you’re self employed, although for once it is actually nice to have a little time to think about other things. Such as our sorry excuse of a garden. Something needs to happen. Weeds are growing left right and center. I had a guy come in a couple of times to remove the weeds and make it looks presentable but that didn’t really have the right effect. He removed it only on the surface and since most of our weeds are of the root-variety they only come back stronger. We’ve been toying with the idea of making part of the garden a vegetable lot. Not sure if it is a good idea as 1. that takes time to maintain and 2. we have shitloads of snails in the garden. So maybe not such a good idea. The next three days I have all to myself so I might get cracking at removing the weed myself.
Or I might get some quotes in for someone to make a nice planting thingie for the garden…. Which probably costs a lot of money so not sure if that is such a wise thing to do. Or I might just get into the kitchen and start moving on my goatcheese for Cheesepalooza or…. make some nice macarons (if I can still remember how to do that!) for MacAttack or… so much to do! So little time… I have some lovely figs waiting to be used, plums and mmm, didn’t I plan on making harissa too this weekend? See, it’s a good thing I don’t have to work in the next three days… !
Now these beauties do not qualify as work. They are sooooo delicious, albeit a little sweet. I might add a little sour lemon curd at the bottom of the tart before adding the frangipane. I just had the last one of these yesterday and let me tell you; they do get even better when you leave them for a day or two in the fridge. While I am writing this my mouth is literally starting to water just thinking about them! The almond in the frangipane makes them moist and crumbly and the bit of icing over the top gives it a subtle crunch and the slightly sour raspberries on top just perfect it. Seriously good!
Raspberry frangipane tarts
Ingredients
- Shortcrust pastry
- 2.5 cups 310 gr all purpose flour
- 56 gr sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 sticks 8 oz unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4″ cubes
- 3 tbsp ice-cold water or just enough to hold the pastry together
- !Frangipane
- 125 gr softened butter
- 125 gr icing sugar
- 2,5 ml or 1/2 tsp of almond extract
- 3 eggs
- 125 gr almond flour
- 30 gr all purpose flour
- !Icing
- 125 gr of icing sugar
- few tbsp of water
- Optional ; lemon juice
- raspberries to top it off
- Pastry
- At least 30 minutes before rolling and baking (or up to 1 day in advance) prepare the pastry. In the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a plastic blade, pulse together the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse rapidly, about 40-50 times, or until the butter is blended into the flour and is coarse and the size of small peas.
- Gradually add the water in a small trickle, with the processor running. Continue adding just as the pastry starts coming together in the shape of a loose, crumbly ball.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Form into a disc, about 1" high, and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Frangipane
- To make the frangipane put the soft butter and the icing sugar in a mixing bowl and mix until creamy and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one by one mixing well in between. The mixture will start to look very curdled but don't worry, it will all work out in the end!
- Add the almond extract and while the machine is turning, add in the flour bit by bit.
- Assembling
- When ready to bake take out your dough from the fridge and put it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry quickly out till thin enough and lift it into whichever form you have prepared. (round,square, little or big) Line it carefully along the sides and remove the excess dough.
- Blind bake your pastry by lining it first with baking paper and then weighing it down with beans or rice. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for about 20 minutes. Take out the tins, remove the baking weights and brush your pastry with egg wash. Put it back into the oven and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
- Take out of the oven.
- Put the frangipane into your tarts and smooth the surface. Press the little mango pieces into your frangipane mix and make it look nice (nicer then I did..)
- Put back into the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Take out of the oven and leave to cool for a bit before taking it out of the forms.
- Once the tarts are cooled of you can proceed to add the icing. Make the icing by mixing the icing sugar either with water or lemon juice or a mixture of both. Just ad one tbsp of water/juice at the time as you don't need a lot to make it into icing. Once it is at the right consistency for your topping (not too runny) spread a thin layer on each of the tartelettes. Press rows of raspberries into the icing and let it dry.
- Using a spoon dribble a little bit of the icing on top of the raspberries and give it a dusting of icing sugar to finish.
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
