Plum and Frangipane Tart
Frangipane is a creamy custard made of ground nuts, butter, sugar and eggs. It’s often spread under fruit in tarts and galettes, over a layer of jam in a Bakewell tart, or tucked into a puff pastry crown to make a classic pithivier. It is most often made with almonds, but pistachios, hazelnuts and pecans (or even a mix of them!) are tasty substitutes. Almond flour is used in place of whole nuts in this recipe so that the mixture comes together without any special machinery — just a bowl and a spoon. Store-bought puff pastry makes this dessert even easier to pull together.
- Total:
- Serves: 8 persons
Ingredients
- 1(14-ounce/397-gram) package store-bought puff pastry, thawed if frozen
- 2large eggs
- 1cup/about 112 grams nut flour, such as almond, pecan or hazelnut flour
- ½(packed) cup/145 grams light or dark brown sugar
- 4tablespoons/57 grams very soft unsalted butter
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½teaspoon ground cardamom
- 4to 5 small plums (about 1 pound/400 to 500 grams), or a mix of stone fruits, pitted and thinly sliced
Instructions
Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper set in a rimmed baking sheet. Trim the sides if necessary to make a neat rectangle. Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1-inch border around the puff pastry, taking care not to cut through the sheet. Using a fork, dock the sheet all over but within the border.Step 2
Bake the puff pastry just until lightly golden, about 24 minutes. (Keep in mind that you will be baking it again, so it doesn’t have to be completely baked through yet.) Remove from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.Step 3
While the pastry bakes, prepare the frangipane: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the nut flour, brown sugar, butter and salt, and beat by hand using a wooden spoon or whisk, or with an electric mixer, until well-combined. (If there are small bits of butter in the frangipane, that’s OK.)Step 4
In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cardamom.Step 5
When the puff pastry is out of the oven, use the back of a spoon to gently press down the pastry within the border. Immediately spread the frangipane over the pastry within the border. Arrange the fruit over the top of the frangipane. Sprinkle the cardamom sugar over the fruit.Step 6
Bake until the frangipane is golden brown in spots and set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes, tenting the edges of the pastry with foil if they are browning too quickly.Step 7
Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.