Hello friends, its been a while since I did a blog post. It has been extremely busy with the kids going back to school, homework already starting, and a big transition from waking up late, to waking up early, being in a structured environment and amongst a new teacher, some old and some new friends. Summer was a whirlwind of activities, family trips, hectic weekends, but all in all a good a summer! We got to bask in all the summer produce here in California, and we are quite lucky that the farmer’s markets carry the summer fruits and vegetables for atleast a month OR a month and a half longer, so I get to make more summer produce recipes! Although it is always nice to go into fall and get a feel of the crisp air, cooler weather, shorter days, beautiful light in the morning and evenings, and the start of fall produce, like persimmons, pomegranates, apples and oranges, along with all the beautiful greens!
I have been in the process of moving all the recipes I made last year, and are on Facebook, over to the blog. It is hard cause I get lazy to do so, and it really takes an extra effort to take better pictures again and do a blog post about it! I love frangipane tarts, I love the crisp base, the almond paste filling, and the gorgeous fruit layered on the top, baked and brushed with a jam glaze, and served with a dollop of whipped cream. I love the fact that frangipane tarts are NOT too sweet, and such a perfect accompaniment to a cuppa coffee! Here is the Nectarine Fragipane Tart I made last year, with gorgeous nectarine slices on the top, and brushed with our Nectarine and Star Anise Jam on the top. The crust was made with regular all purpose flour, and simply cinnamon.
This year, I am excited to collaborate with @thefeedfeed and @methodhome to come up with this Fall inspired Fig and Plum Frangipane Tart. I was inspired by method’s new fragrance pink persimmon, a limited edition scent with its subtle fall inspired notes of cinnamon and star anise, in a beautifully designed bottle by Rebecca Atwood, to create this recipe. Here is the link to the blog post that was created as part of the collaboration: https://thefeedfeed.com/story-article/thefeedfeed/frangipane-tart-with-fig-plums ! It was really fun to do the photo shoot, along with some process shots of the gorgeous tart!
The beautiful deep magenta/purple color of figs and plums, along with the richness of the frangipane filling, which is enhanced by spices like cinnamon and star anise, makes this tart perfect as a fall dessert! I used dark rye flour, along with cinnamon and star anise to make the tart dough. The tart dough is rolled out and blind baked with pie weights, to create a beautiful shell.
Once the shell is baked and cooled, the frangipane filling is spread into the tart shell. The frangipane filling is made with almond paste, spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise, giving it that extra oomph and flavor. A little bit of sugar, and eggs, are added and all whipped together to make a delicate flavored filling. Once the filling is spread, the figs and plums are layered delicately onto the filling, to make a beautiful pattern. Sprinkled on the top with turbinado sugar, the tart is ready to bake.
For the finishing touches, the tart is brushed with plum preserves, along with a splash of almond liqueur for the shine, and a dusting of powdered sugar. Eat a slice with a dollop of whipped cream and a cuppa coffee and enjoy the beautiful fall evening with your loved ones.
Ingredients
- For pastry dough
- •1 1/4 cup dark rye flour
- •3 tablespoons sugar
- • 1/2 teaspoon salt
- • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- • 1/2 teaspoon star anise
- • 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- • 2 large egg yolks
- •1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/2 teaspoons water
- For frangipane filling
- • 8 oz almond paste
- • 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
- • 3 tablespoons sugar
- • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- • 2 large eggs
- • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- • 1/2 teaspoon star anise
- • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- • 1/2 teaspoon salt
- • 6 firm plums
- • 10-12 figs
- • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
- For glaze
- • 1/3 cup plum preserves(if you do not have plum preserves, you can use apricot preserves)
- • 2 tablespoons water
- • 1 tablespoon almond liqueur like Disaronno Amaretto
- For final decoration:
- • 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar
- For serving:
- • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- • 3-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Make dough:
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 375°F.
- Pulse flour, sugar, cinnamon, star anise powder and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and water and pulse just until incorporated and dough begins to form large clumps.
- Turn dough out onto a work surface and massage the dough with the heel of your hand (fraisage) to incorporate the dough and form into a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc.
- Put dough in tart pan and pat it evenly with well-floured fingers into the bottom of the pan and up the sides so it extends about 1/4 inch above rim. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Lightly prick tart shell all over with a fork, then line with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake shell until golden around edge, about 15 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper and weights and bake until shell is golden all over, about 15 minutes more. Cool shell completely.
- Make frangipane filling:
- Beat together almond paste, butter, sugar, and almond and vanilla extract in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour/salt/spices mixture.
- Halve the plums, discarding pits, then cut into ¼ inch slices with a sharp knife to get clean slices. Slice the figs neatly into ¼ inch slices as well.
- Spread frangipane filling evenly in tart shell. Layer the plums and figs in a concentric circle pattern over the filling, being careful not to push too far into filling. You can start with the plums first as the outermost circle, fig slices as the second circle, and keep alternating till you reach the center. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake tart until frangipane is puffed and golden and edges of nectarines are golden brown, about 1 hours.
- Make glaze and final touch:
- Heat preserves and water in a 1-quart saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring, until preserves are melted. Remove from heat and force through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, discarding solids. Stir in Amaretto (if using).
- Brush top of hot tart generously with glaze and cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Remove side of pan and cool tart completely, about 2 hours. With a fine sieve, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top for the final finish.
- Add the heavy whipping cream into a mixing bowl, and whip it with the whip handle on high speed for a minute. Add in the powdered sugar and whip again till it forms firm peaks when the whip handle is inverted. Serve the slice of tart with a dollop of the whipping cream!
This post is sponsored by feedfeed and method – all opinions are expressly my own.
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