Mixed fruit Frangipane tart

This is my first ever frangipane tart and also the first post on my blog, so its pretty special. Did I mention how much I love baking and eating sweet stuff. I absolutely adore frangipane, that smooth, moist, almondy goodness can make anything yummy. And so I decided to bake this frangipane tart with the goodness of all the amazing fruits that are in season at the moment for my brother's 30th birthday luncheon. I love summer, the fruits are divine this time of the year. 

Recipe

(adapted from The little Teochew)

Ingredients

Pastry

1 1/2 cups (200g) all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) granulated white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Frangipane

1/2 cup (50g) almond meal
1 tbsp (12g) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50g) granulated white sugar
3 tbsp (40g) unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
An assortment of seasonal fruits to decorate

Method

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, and beat until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes or just until firm (can place in a freezer for about 10-15 minutes.)

Lightly butter and flour an 8  inch (20 cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. Once the pastry has chilled sufficiently, evenly pat onto the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan*. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200°C  (180°C for a fanforced oven) and place rack in center of oven. While the oven is heating up and the pastry dough is chilling, make the frangipane.

In a big bowl, whisk* almonds, sugar, and flour to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until you have a smooth paste. You can choose to whisk by hand. Set the mixture aside when its smooth.

Bring out the tart shell that has been chilling in the freezer. Lightly prick the bottom with the tines of a fork. Place baking paper on it and add some beans or rice on it for blind baking. Put the tart in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Bring it out and then pour the frangipane filling into the tart shell, spreading evenly. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 165°C (350°F) and bake for another 10 minutes more. A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. If the frangipane begins to turn too brown, cover the tart loosely with a piece of foil.This is how it should look. (The little crack in the middle is because I checked if the tart was cooked, with a knife.)

Let the tart cool down before you chill it in the fridge.

Now comes the fun part of arranging the fruit and getting creative, Use the best fruits in season and also try to use a variety of colours. Reds, yellows, greens, they look beautiful together. I used strawberries, blackberries and kiwi fruit. Other good choices are mango, peaches and blueberries. Get creative with what you have available. Once you have arranged all the fruit, take a pastry brush and give the fruit a coating with the apricot jam. This will give the fruits that shiny, glossy, pick me up now look. 

You can choose to chill it or serve it immediately. I had to patiently wait for tasting it as this was for my brother's 30th birthday. I finally got to taste it the next day and let me tell you it was super yummy. Its a great way to use the beautiful fruits in season to create something that looks and tastes amazing. Enjoy!