Peach & Almond Frangipane Tart
Sweet friends, hello! How are you? I know it’s been a while, but I thought I’d jump back on the updated recipe train with this golden oldie: Peach & Almond Frangipane Tart. Yes, I do realize that it’s no longer peach season – and for that I am sorry. I spruced up the recipe and reshot the photos back in July, but then lost all motivation to actually write the post. However! Rather than letting this sit in the blog archives unnoticed, I thought I’d share it anyway – it can easily be adapted into a more autumnal bake! Pear & Almond Frangipane sound good to anyone? I thought so! I could be tempted into that myself – our pear tree was especially fruitful this year!
peach & almond frangipane tart: the breakdown
Ultimately, there are three main elements to this Peach & Almond Frangipane Tart: buttery pâté sablée, nutty almond frangipane, and perfectly ripe fruit. Let’s dissect:
• the base is made of pâté sablée pastry. It’s buttery, smooth, super crumbly, and laced with almonds. The technique is similar to how you would go about making a pâté sucrée, but the resulting bake is far crumblier. I’ve added ground almonds to the pastry for extra crumbliness and flavour, but using all plain flour would work too.
• almond frangipane filling. Nothing unusual in terms of frangipane – butter, sugar, nuts, egg, flour, a little almond extract, and a grating of lemon zest. It’s quite a thick batter, but it bakes up into a lusciously light and crumbly layer.
• perfectly ripe fruit. In my case, ripe peaches, but you can easily swap in any juicy fruit. Pears would be especially delicious this time of year, or even quinces! Whatever you use, it’s important that they’re ripe yet firm and that you don’t overload the frangipane. The perfect fruit-to-frangipane ratio should keep it moist but not wet. Wet frangipane is a very sad state of affairs.
Have I convinced you to bake this yet? I just know you’re going to love it!
how to make peach & almond frangipane tart
Making frangipane is actually a lot easier than you might think. There are just a few simple steps:
• make the pastry. The entire thing comes together in a matter of minutes with the help of a stand mixer, and then you chill it down for at least 2-hours before using. If you’d like a more step-by-step photo explanation, see my Lemon Cream Tart post. The type of pastry is different, but the method is quite similar. When the dough is chilled, roll it out & transfer to your tart tin. Alternatively, just break it up with your fingers & press it into the tin! The dough can be quite brittle at this stage, so whatever works for you is best. I like to slide my pastry into the freezer until I’m ready to use it – that way I know for sure there’ll be no shrinking!
• make the frangipane. Another put it in a bowl and mix it situation. When mixed, spread the frangipane over the semi-frozen base and smooth the top. The long cooking time of the frangipane means that we don’t need to worry about par-baking the base first.
• prepare the fruit. In my case, peaches, but you do you. Remove the skin of the fruit – peeling or boiling as described below – cut in half, and slice into a little fan shape, as pictured above. Without crowding the frangipane, evenly space the fruit around the tart.
• Bake! All in, the bake time is 50-minutes, with a lowering of the temperature and a sprinkling of flaked almonds halfway through. When baked, the tart will be golden brown all over, the frangipane puffy, and the fruit softened. I may have used my blowtorch along the edges of my peaches to get a nice char on them – but that’s purely because I’m obsessed with using my blowtorch.
Told you it was easy!
Happy baking!
Peach Frangipane Tart
INGREDIENTS
for the pastry
- 90 g salted butter, cubed
- 90 g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 large egg
- 30 g ground almonds
- 230 g plain flour
for the filling
- 100 g salted butter, at room temperature
- 100 g caster sugar
- grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g plain flour
- 100 g ground almonds
for the topping
- 4 large peaches, ripe
- 10 g flaked almonds (optional)
DIRECTIONS
for the pastry
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment – or an electric whisk – neat together the butter and the sugar until homogenous. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the egg to the bowl and beat until combined. It will look split and, quite frankly, disgusting – but that's normal. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the flour and almonds to the bowl, and beat until combined. Transfer the dough to a layer of cling film, wrap it tightly, and place in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Grease a loose-bottomed 9-inch tart tin with butter; set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, quickly and efficiently roll out the pastry. Transfer it to the tart tin and gently push the pastry down into the corners. If the pastry breaks or rips, just patch it up as best you can – no one will know! Trim off any overhang.
- Using a fork, evenly dock the pastry all over. Transfer to the freezer while you make the filling.
for the filling
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment – or use an electric whisk – beat the butter until light in colour and fluffy. Scrape down the sides.
- Add the lemon zest, almond extract, and sugar to the butter, and beat to combine. Scrape down the sides.
- One at a time, add the eggs to the batter, beating for 30 seconds after each addition to ensure fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides.
- Add the flour and ground almonds to the batter, and beat until just combined. Transfer the mixture to the chilled pastry base, smooth the top, and leave to rest in the fridge.
for the topping
- Preheat the oven to 190°C, and have a baking tray ready nearby. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and prepare the peaches by cutting a small 'X' into the end of each.
- One by one, add the peaches to the boiling water for 15-20 seconds before removing with a slotted spoon. After about 10-seconds the peaches should be cool enough to handle – use your fingers to gently peel the skin off each peach. Repeat until all of the peaches have been peeled.
- Slice each peach in half, remove the stones from the centre, and gently slice each half into a fan shape. Gently transfer each half to the top of the chilled frangipane and spread them open slightly to reveal the fan pattern.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180°C, sprinkle the almond flakes on top of the par-baked tart, and bake for a further 25-minutes.
NOTES
- pastry recipe adapted from Nicola Lamb.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment & a rating below, or tag me on Instagram @imvcki. Thank you so much for supporting Passionate Baker!
related posts:
Cherry & Pistachio Frangipane Tart
*POST UPDATED OCTOBER 2021