Blackberry and Almond Frangipane Tart

Close up of almond frangipane tart with blackberries

5 from 4 votes

Blackberry and Almond Frangipane Tart

This classic almond frangipane tart comes studded with zesty blackberries to add a pop of fruity flavour & visual interest. True to tradition, this sweet pastry tart filled with baked almond cream is a simple, understated yet stunning dessert to serve.

Prep Time45

Cook Time45

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French, Worldwide

Servings:

Calories: 531kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Equipment

1 x 35x12cm loose bottomed tart tin

Ingredients

For the Pastry

200 g Plain (all purpose) flour
85 g Icing sugar
150 g Kerrygold Butter straight from the fridge
⅛ teaspoon Salt
1 Egg yolk from a large, free range egg
1-2 tablespoon Water ice cold

For the Filling

100 g Kerrygold Butter room temperature
100 g Caster sugar white or golden is fine
2 Eggs large, free-range
100 g Ground almonds
3 tablespoon Blackberry jam
50 g Blackberries
12 Blanched almonds

Instructions

Make the Sweet Pastry

Put the flour into a medium-sized bowl and sieve in the icing sugar
Add the salt
Cube the butter, then add to the bowl
Toss all ingredients together briefly using your hands than use your fingertips to rub the butter into the other ingredients until the mix resembles fine breadcrumbs
Tip the egg yolk into the bowl along with 1 tablespoon of ice-cold water
Use a blunt knife to chop and mix the dough until it comes together. Add a little more water only if absolutely necessary. The dough should easily come together to form a soft ball. Adding too much water will make the dough sticky and difficult to handle
Turn onto a lightly floured worktop and knead gently and briefly until it is smooth
Flatten the dough slightly, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 45 minutes before using

Blind Bake the Pastry

On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out to around 2mm thickness and use to line your tart tin. Ensure it reaches the corners of the tin well
Use a sharp knife to trim (or knock off) any pastry that overhangs the tin and use the off-cuts to patch up any tears in the pastry as required
Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes - this helps the dough firm up again, and reduces the chances of the edges falling down or shrinking excessively during the bake
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ GM 4
When the pastry has chilled, remove the cover and prick the base all over with a fork
Next, cut a sheet of baking parchment large enough to cover the base and sides of the tin. Scrunch it up, then unroll it – this makes it easier to lay inside of the tin. Fit the parchment in the tin and fill with baking beans, spreading them out to ensure they cover the entire base, especially the corners, where the pastry is prone to rising
Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and parchment (careful – they will be hot) and bake for a further 5 minutes, then take out of the oven and set aside

Make the Filling

In a medium bowl cream the softened butter with the sugar using electric beaters
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition
Mix in the ground almonds

Assemble and Bake

Spoon the jam onto the base of the tart case and use a blunt knife to spread it out
Carefully spoon the frangipane batter over the top and again, spread it out carefully using a blunt knife. Aim to take the batter to the very edge of the tart, covering the jam entirely, so it is less likely to bubble through the frangipane as it bakes
Top the frangipane with fresh blackberries, chop the almonds in half and scater over the top too. There is no need to press them down, the batter will rise up as it bakes
Return the tart to the oven and cook for 18-23 minutes
Let cool in the tin, then transfer to a serving plate and dust with icing sugar if desired

Notes

Keep the Pastry Cold

It is very important to use chilled ingredients when making this sweet shortcrust pastry and to adhere to instructions to chill it at various stages throughout the recipe. This is the best way to ensure that this butter-rich pastry is easy to handle:

Use butter straight from the fridge
Try not to over-handle the pastry once make, since this will raise its temperature and make it too soft to roll out
Ensure you follow the instructions to chill the pastry before rolling it out and again before the blind bake
On very hot days, you will need to work quickly in order to use this dough easily. If it gets too soft to roll out successfully, just put back in the fridge (or even the freezer) to firm up enough to handle again

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