I was telling a friend about the frangipane tart. She asked me if it smells like the body cream and perfume that she had because it smelled devine, she said. Well, I don’t believe so even tho there might be a connection in the name…
You see, around 11th century there was a noble Italian family that was called Frangipane (frangere il pane – “break the bread). Later on, one of the family members became the perfumer of Louis XIII of France. And on top of everything there is a fragrant tropical tree that is called “frangipani”.
The tree’s flowers can smell a bit like gardenias, pineapple, citrus, coconut or even ginger but not like almonds – and almond powder (or paste) is the base of most frangipane tarts. So, you see, Frangipane family, one becomes a perfumer, frangipani smelly tree – there was a connection at some point…
But, enough history… about the frangipane tart – it is not hard to do but is not a fast recipe. You need to precook the tart shell, bake it again with the frangipane in and prebake the pears (if they are not very ripe) or any other fruits (peach, apricots, plums etc) that you wanna use because otherwise they might not be cooked when the frangipane is.
Ingredients
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Tart shell
- Almond creme
- Pear topping
Instructions
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Tart shell
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Mix all the dry ingredients and rub in the butter until sandy consistency. Add the eggs, water and the vanilla extract and mix to a soft dough. Put it in cling film and leave it in the fridge for an hour or even overnight.
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Roll it thin, put it in a 25 cm diameter tart shell and with a knife cut it to the edge of the shell.
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Add the rice bag or the (ceramic) baking beans on top an put it in the oven for 20 mins. After 20 minutes take the rice/baking beans out and bake it for another 1- minutes until golden, So not forget to prick the tart's bottom so it will stay flat. Let it cool while you start on the frangipane
Almond cream
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Cream the butter, sugar and zest until it gets white. Add the eggs and vanilla slowly and in the end fold the almond powder and flour.
Fruit topping
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If you use very ripe fruits there is no cooking them ahead. Otherwise, peal and cook them until they are a bit soft. After they are pealed, cored and cooked cut them like in the picture. Fill the tart shell with the almond crème and cover it with the pears - pushing them in a bit.
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Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius.
