Blueberry Frangipane Wholegrain Tray Bake, the galette that became a tray bake!

“I’ll be back before you can say Blueberry pie.”
Bruce Willis {Pulp Fiction}

Blueberry Frangipane Wholegrain Tray Bake, a tray that happened just because the galette failed. A friend recently got me some blueberries and they were a source of constant inspiration. The pretty little deep blue berries had me fascinated. All day long I thought of how best to use them. Muffins, galettes, cheesecake, trifle, ice cream and so much more. Finally settled for a wholewheat galette!

What I ended up with was obviously far from it. While I was really pleased with the galette when it went into the oven, ten minutes later, I stared at a virtual meltdown. Disaster had struck. Like the rivers of Babylon, how the dough spread. The pastry spread to make a base, while everything else merrily leveled above it. Heartbroken, I left the disaster to bake, slamming the oven door shut in horror.I let it be for quite a bit, sitting to cool in the oven because I was heartbroken. Nothing much I could do I figured, and set out to make a trifle. Upcycle as Ruchira had cleverly suggested at my overbaked batch of Wholegrain Butterscotch Blondies. It made the most fab ‘Upcycled‘ Butterscotch Blondie Pudding not so long ago. Clearly the more often I bake, the higher the chances of upcycling! Yet one look at the now settled tray seemed to suggest that all wasn’t lost. I stamped out shapes to salvage a few decent round cut outs while happy hungry mouths nibbled the left over edges away. No chance for trifles!! Turned out pretty delicious, and hence the Blueberry Frangipane Wholegrain Tray Bake was born. I’ve scaled the ingredients to match the tray bake, just the base has been reduced, while the rest remains pretty much the same. I did a test run with strawberries yesterday and that came out just as good too!

Recipe: Blueberry Frangipane Wholegrain Tray Bake

Summary: Moist, full of wholesome almond and fruit flavour, here’s a tray bake that you might enjoy. The Blueberry Frangipane Wholegrain Tray Bake is a quick and fuss free bake for times when berries are in plenty. Makes one 8″ X 8″ tray.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:

Wholewheat biscuit base
110g wholewheat flour
60g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped
15g brown sugar
Pinch salt
10ml apple cider vinegar
40-50ml water
Frangipane
75g butter
75g brown sugar
75g almond meal
2 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 vanilla bean scraped
150g Blueberries {or strawberries, cherries, peaches etc}
Almond flakes for garnishing

Method:

Wholewheat biscuit base
Place wholewheat flour, butter, brown sugar and salt in bowl of food processor and process briefly until you have a coarse mix. The butter should be pea sized.
Add the vinegar and process briefly, then gently pour in enough water until it just about begins to come together when you pinch it between your fingertips. Don’t over work, else the pastry will become tough.
Line the base of an 8″ X 8″ baking tin {or 7″ X 11″} with parchment paper. Lightly grease sides.
Press the biscuit it evenly to line the bottom.
Chill for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven, and make the frangipane.
Frangipane
Place butter, almond meal and brown sugar in same bowl of food processor and blend to mix.
Add remaining ingredients and briefly process to mix. { Can be stirred together in a big bowl too.}
Assemble
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Spread the frangipane over the chilled biscuit base, and scatter the blueberries over.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the frangipane feels set.
Allow to cool for 30 minutes, then cut into squares or bars.
Serve with unsweetened cream and extra berries if desired.