If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I love anything with blueberries and almonds! Honestly because they’re fairly cost effective and I’ll always have frozen wild blueberries in stock. And actually, I prefer wild berries because they’re smaller and they don’t make such a mess when the burst in baking. But you can definitely use fresh berries or normal frozen berries!
And due to my love for almonds, this tart is doubly almond-y. Almonds are also good budget nuts, not as cheap as peanuts, but it has a lighter texture while retaining the nuttiness. And with the delicacy of blueberries, almonds are the perfect match. Walnuts and pecans have their place in baking, but I prefer them for other rich flavors, but they would definitely overpower the subtle flavors of the blueberries. So not only does the filling have almonds, but the crust as well! Deliciousness all around!
A bit on technical aspect of the tart
The key components of a classic frangipane tart consists of a sweet shortcrust and the almond frangipane filling, often topped with fruit.
A shortcrust is like a shortbread crossed with a pie crust (hence shortcrust, maybe?). It’s quite crumbly, but holds itself just enough for a tart or pie. Shortcrust and shortbread are short because the fat content is so high that the gluten strand are shortened, rendering them more crumbly. And by the way, if you’re like me and didn’t know what shortbread is, it’s more of a cookie than bread. Compared to normal pie crusts, shortcrusts are (again) crumblier and lighter, closer to a thin cookie than a thick, dry crust. So definitely don’t skimp out on this tart crust!
Frangipane originated in Italy but was made popular by the French and also used by the English. It’s essentially an almond filling, but different than marzipan or almond paste. Marzipan is an almond meal-sugar mixture that is usually rolled out into a frosting layer on cakes. Almond paste is similar to marzipan, but rougher and sometimes contains eggs, used for fillings as opposed to frosting. Frangipane is an almond cream. Like the marzipan and almond paste, it contains almonds and sugar, but also eggs and butter (very french) are a huge component. It’s even pastier than almond paste and doesn’t hold its shape as well, so it fills up a tart easily.
So let’s get to baking!
Blueberry Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
Shortcrust
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 Tbsp water, chilled
Frangipane
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup frozen wild organic blueberries
Instructions
- Shortcrust: Combine the flour, almond, sugar, and salt. Mix in the butter and egg yolk until crumbly. If the dough doesn't come together, add 1 Tbsp chilled water at a time until it just holds. Chill for 15 min, or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and have a 9" tart pan ready.
- Remove shortcrust dough from fridge and roll out to fit the tart pan. Use your fingers to push the dough into the fluted edges of the tart pan. Chill in fridge until ready to use.
- Frangipane: To make the filling, whisk all the filling ingredients except the berries.
- Remove shortcrust from the fridge and fill with the frangipane, using a spatula to smooth out the frangipane. Top with berries. Bake for 40 minutes, or until crust becomes golden and frangipane is set.
Did you make this recipe?
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