BAKING,  DESSERTS

Baking| Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart … the last of the plums {well almost}

2011/07/30 / 48 Comments

“The secret lies in the love and the effort the maker puts into the creation. It really is a simple dessert to make. There’s nothing to it.”
Maria Olivas

Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum TartIt was one of those obsessive days, a ‘have to bake with plums’ sort of a day! Had a nice bag of pretty plums in the fridge, the last of the stone fruit season here in North India, and I was desperate to bake them into a ‘tart’ of some sort! The plums eventually found a happily ever after ending in this pretty and pretty delicious fruit bake – a Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart.Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart The lad has been whining forever …. no dessert for SO many days Mama! I’ve been busy with life which is racing away. We had guests at home and the Mango Frozen Yogurt was turning out to be a GREAT hit, so I made it for dessert every other day. It’s a winner but the lad couldn’t have some as he had the viral fever, his throat very scratchy and flu like symptoms persisting!Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum TartI was inspired by the lovely Meeta’s recent post Apricot & Pistachio Frangipane Tart which led to an illogical urgency to make it right away. Ah, the power of food blogs! I had galette or crostata thoughts initially, but my newly acquired square tart pan from Victoria’s Basement in Sydney was begging to be used! I adapted the filling from Making Life Delicious.

Frangipane is a filling made from or flavored like almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries.  An alternative French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with the earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners’ dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.

Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart The tart was wonderful in every way. An easy and deliciously crisp base, the pastry and frangipane that got made in a heartbeat in the Thermomix, paired with fruit that were singing the stone fruit anthem! I attempted to add some ground oats in the pastry … goodness me, that worked really well! Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart These are the last few days of stone fruit here and sadly I watch the availability dwindling. Desperately try to hang on to a season that ends with heart break for me … a long wait to next year! The colour play of plums, peaches, cherries, mangoes etc is pure inspiration for me!Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum TartThe muscovado sugar I used in the frangipane was part of a foodie gift parcel I received a few days ago from a sweet reader of my blog, Sheetal. I used that in place of brown sugar and have to say it added great depth to the flavours. The raw sugar lent colour and rustic sweetness to the custard, enhancing the flavour of the vanilla bean. NICE! Thanks a million Sheetal. Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum TartSheetal was curious as to how to use raw sugar or muscovado. So was I! A first time ingredient experience is exciting stuff for the baker in me. {Her package included a tin of good quality cocoa and a new variety of locally available baking chocolate}. She wrote, “Deeba, everytime you post a recipe, I so want to have a bite of it :). I really hope you bake something with the stuff I send you. I know I still will not be able to taste but promise I will make the same at home and get a taste of you :)”Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart Hope you’ll be able to make this delicious tart Sheetal. You can pair the frangipane with apples or pears in case you can’t find plums. Figs would work well here too. If you plan on using berries, demerera or vanilla sugar might work better …Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum TartDo you like the colours? I loved the deep reds of the plums, and sealed with the apricot glaze made it even prettier. The pâte sucrée with oats was a successful experiment as I wanted to add some healthy grains to the pastry; turned out crisp and delicious. It tasted great on the day I baked the tart, and surprisingly tasted very good chilled out of the fridge the next day too!

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Recipe: Vanilla Almond Frangipane Plum Tart
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Summary: An easy and delicious tart – a crisp base paired with a vanilla almond frangipane and sweetly tart plums! Ground oats in the pastry worked really well!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 1 recipe pâte sucrée {recipe follows}
  • 1 recipe vanilla almond frangipane {recipe follows}
  • 8-10 small ripe plums, each sliced into 6 sections
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 2 tbsp apricot jam, melted
  • Pâte Sucrée
  • 150gms plain flour
  • 50gms oats
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 100gm unsalted butter, chilled, diced
  • 1/2 vanilla bean scraped
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • Vanilla Almond Frangipane
  • 1 cup whole almonds
  • 1/3 cup muscavado sugar
  • 70gms unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • Pinch of salt

Method:

  1. Pâte Sucrée
  2. Whiz the plain flour, oats, sugar, salt, baking powder and scraped vanilla bean in the processor. {Thermomix: Speed 10/ 20 seconds}
  3. Add the chilled butter and whiz briefly until you get a crumb like mix. {Thermomix: Speed 10, 15 seconds}
  4. Add the vanilla extract and egg and briefly pulse till it begins to come together {Thermomix: Speed 6 / 10 seconds}
  5. Turn onto work surface and pat together into a ball, handling the dough as little as possible. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes to help the dough relax.
  6. Preheat the oven to 190C.
  7. Roll out the dough and lne the tart pan. Patch any broken bits with leftover dough.
  8. Bake blind {line the unbaked shell with aluminum foil and place bean/pie weights on top} for 8 minutes. Remove weights and foil and continue to bake for a further 5 minutes. Make sure it doesn’t over brown.
  9. In the meantime, make the vanilla almond frangipane
  10. Whiz the whole almonds, muscavado sugar, flour and salt in the processor until the almonds are pulverised. {Thermomix: Speed 10/ 20 seconds}.
  11. Add the butter,egg, vanilla bean and almond extract and blen until smooth. {Thermomix: Speed 6/ 20 seconds}. The frangipane is ready, and can be stored in a zipbag overnight in the refrigerator if desired.
  12. Lower the oven temperature to 180C.
  13. Assemble the tart
  14. Turn the frangipane into the baked crust {I turned it into the hot shell and it turned out fine}, spread uniformly with an offset spatula.
  15. Arrange plum slices over the top, sprinkle with slivered almonds and bake for 30 minutes, until the frangipane is fluffy looking and firm to touch.
  16. Remove from oven and immediately brush the top with the the melted apricot jam {this seals the moisture in and keeps the fruit looking good}.
  17. Serve warm or at room temperature … or even chilled!

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About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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48 Comments

  • Nishi

    2011/07/30 at 10:36 pm Reply

    The tart looks so wonderful. This Frangipane is very new to me. Will give this a try at the next available opportunity 🙂

  • Rosa

    2011/07/30 at 10:41 pm Reply

    A beautiful tarts! plums are some of my favorite stone fruits. I generally buy Italian plums. Here, we are just starting to enjoy them…

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  • gloria

    2011/07/30 at 10:49 pm Reply

    Je aime mon amie!! Look wonderful and I love plums!! the pictures amazing I told you that you are one of my favorites and lovely blogs!??? hugss, my dear Deeba

  • Barbara | Creative Culinary

    2011/07/31 at 1:25 am Reply

    I made a plum frangipane last year that was so good; then I made a cherry one and then…well, I sure get your love of stone fruits and I think this treatment is just the best for baking them. Um um good!

  • Kalai

    2011/07/31 at 7:34 am Reply

    Deeba, I didn’t see any measurement for the amount of flour in the pastry… Please add it. Thanks!

  • Lora

    2011/07/31 at 1:47 pm Reply

    If stone fruit season has to end you did it well with going out in style! What an absolutely gorgeous mouth watering tart. It’s perfect.

  • Janine

    2011/07/31 at 3:13 pm Reply

    gosh this looks absolutely delicious! Love the layers in the tart – I just made myself some frangipane strawberry tarts but your just looks so much better!

  • bellini

    2011/08/01 at 12:17 am Reply

    Making Life Delicious has been under the blogging radar lately. It seems it is time to check it out. Your tart and photos make me want to rush into the kitchen Deeba.

  • Phuoc'n Delicious

    2011/08/01 at 10:30 am Reply

    This looks fantastic, I think I need to make this once we get plums back in season. Oh and I love spending my time in Victoria’s Basement as well. Shame I didn’t realise you were here, would’ve love to have a coffee and cake with you! Next time…

  • Tadka Pasta

    2011/08/01 at 11:28 am Reply

    The colors of this tart are so deep and beautiful! Lovely flavors too, and we especially liked the way you’ve slipped in the oats in the crust.

  • Nash at Plateful

    2011/08/02 at 1:37 am Reply

    Hey Deeba, I’ve been visiting you space on and off whenever I get a chance but this’s the first time I’m actually writing here. I so, so, soooo LOVE your photography, ahhh! Your pictures are truly gorgeous. Your props, styling and creativity–simply amazing. I have yet to check out your recipes ‘cos each time I visit, I’m simply blown away by the beauty of your images, sigh. But I promise to do that in leisure. Btw, hope your publishing dream comes true soon, it’d be a great pleasure to see your work in print and own it too!

  • Reem

    2011/08/02 at 6:14 am Reply

    Tart look delicious, those plums yummmmm….. Deeba your food ,your photography I’m learning so much from your blog. I love it……

  • El

    2011/08/04 at 8:42 am Reply

    Your images are so good I can almost taste the tart. I love that you made it with plums too. It’s incredible.

  • Julia @ Mélanger

    2011/08/04 at 8:57 am Reply

    Deeba, I can’t wait for summer to arrive here along with all the sweet stone fruit. Peaches are my absolute favourite and as soon as I can get my greedy little hands on some beautiful ones, I will be making a tart. Absolutely! Your tart looks amazing. That perfect pastry and sweet sweet filling!

  • Sheetal

    2011/08/04 at 10:06 am Reply

    Deeba di, I’m so touched! Thanks for mentioning me in the post :). I am def gonna try this. It may not look as stunning as yours, but I know that its gonna taste awesome! No blog inspires me the way this does!

  • Dan Lawson

    2011/08/04 at 6:01 pm Reply

    This looks great. The first thing I do when I see a recipe is look at the photos and then check the prep time. If the prep time is less than 30 mins then it’s for me. Plus your photos are very professional looking.

  • Jamie

    2011/08/05 at 12:13 pm Reply

    Agreed: every time you post I want a bite (or a serving) of it! Ooooh have been dying to bake with plums lately but we’ve had a shortage of them this summer. What a fabulous tart and now I am inspired! Off to look for plums. And gotta love the son for complaining that you haven’t baked in ages! Mine gets crazy when I bake…. as if I am only baking to make him mad! Well, he and his friends are back for the weekend so, yes, I am baking 🙂

  • Ali

    2011/08/06 at 8:04 am Reply

    How stunning. I am in awe. Both of the baking skills and the photography skills. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this at Recipe Sharing Monday. I hope to see you back next week!

  • Marian

    2011/08/08 at 11:37 am Reply

    Dear Deeba, I arrived at your blog via desserstalking and I am really impressed! You have a beautiful and inspiring blog, congratulations… great recipes and beautiful pictures!
    Greetings from Belgium,
    Marian

  • manjeet

    2012/04/10 at 6:57 pm Reply

    Hi Deeba.
    Very very important question: How do you roll out your pate sucree post kneading? In Mumbai’s humid and balmy weather , the butter melts as I TRY to roll it..I have tried quiches and tarts and have only been able to press the dough against the tart pan resulting in uneven tart bases..very very frustrating? Any ideas or troubleshooters?

    • Deeba @ PAB

      2012/04/11 at 9:17 am Reply

      Hi Manjeet. Any pastry in humid and balmy weather is a challenge in itself, very frustrating. Here are a few things I keep in mind while making pastry in hot weather, even though I try and avoid it to a large extent.
      1. Keep the butter and flour chilled, and use iced water only.
      2. I run the ingredients other then the chilled water in a processor rather than handling it with my fingers.It reduces the chances of extra warmth, and also hastens the process given the temperature.
      3. I make my pastry early in the morning or then in an ac room.
      4. Add iced water very little at a time. The minute you find you can clump the dough together with your finger tips, stop.
      5. Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for about 30mins to a hour before rolling it out. {Chill the rolling pin too}. Try and roll the dough out between 2 sheets of parchment. This way I use less flour and it’s easier to line the tin.
      6. Once you line the tart tin with th rolled out dough {don’t stretch to fit, as the dough will shrink back a bit}, rest it in the fridge for about 30 minutes & while the oven preheats. This allows the gluten strands to develop and the dough to adjust to it’s new position.
      Hope this helps a bit. I am no expert, but this is what I do!
      Good luck!!

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