I have been a huge fan of almond flour in my baked goods for a very long time. The fine texture of the almond flour, along with the very delicious nutty taste it imparts to baked goods is seriously wonderful. I usually substitute a portion of the all-purpose flour with almond flour in my baked goods, and you can taste the difference when using the entire amount of all-purpose flour versus swapping a portion of the all-purpose flour for almond flour
What is the difference between ALMOND FLOUR AND ALMOND MEAL?
Almond flour is made by finely grinding blanched peeled almonds. Blanching is basically soaking the almonds in water for a certain period of time, which loosens the skin and it comes right off. The almonds have to be dried , and then ground to form the almond flour. Almond meal on the other hand is grinding the raw peeled almonds as is, to form a coarse almond meal. If you see the almond meal versus the almond flour, you can see the brown skin bits in the almond meal.
I am so excited to team up with Blue Diamond, to use their finely sifted Almond Flour in this absolutely gorgeous Peach, Raspberry and Lemon Frangipane Tart. I have loved Blue Diamond products for a very long time. All of Blue Diamond’s almonds are all grown in California, the land of the best produce, and where I reside, so I was very happy to collaborate with them on this project. Blue Diamond Almond Flour, made with 100% California-grown almonds, is super finely sifted and adds an amazing nutty flavor and fluffy texture to recipes.. You can purchase the Almond Flour in store or online from the Blue Diamond website or on Amazon.com. Because of the super fine texture of the Blue Diamond Almond Flour, as compared to other brands of almond flours that I have used, it really elevates the flavors of the baked goods. I always use some portion of the dry ingredients as Almond Flour and I can see a noticeable difference, when I use the Blue Diamond Almond Flour as compared to other brands. For example, I made Chocolate Chip cookies the other day, and I substituted ½ cup of the all-purpose flour for Blue Diamond Almond Flour. The cookie had an amazing chewy and nutty texture that we all loved!
Coming back to this gorgeous tart, summer is slowly going to transition into fall. We will start seeing the fall fruits come middle of September. But being in California, the farmer’s markets are still adorned with the beautiful summer produce until the weeks in October, which I am very grateful for! I cannot get enough of the summer produce! So, to celebrate the transition from summer to fall, I made a Peach, Raspberry and Lemon Frangipane Tart.
TART SHELL:
The tart shell is really very easy, and it comes together quite quickly. The tart shell is made in a food processor. I learned this technique at a Pie and Tart Class that I had taken ions ago, at the Tante Marie Pastry School. You simply get all the dry ingredients together, and then add in the cold butter and process until they are pea sized. Then add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract and process to combine the dough. If being used immediately, the dough is pressed into the tart shell, as if you are massaging the dough and spread it out into the tart pan to make an even layer, all way up the tart rim to create a crust. I did use Blue Diamond Almond Flour in the dough for the flavor and texture of the crust! The shell needs to be chilled for 30 minutes. Then it is poked with a fork to make some indentations in the tart shell. It is then blind baked first (which means baking without any filling to form the crust.). To blind bake, you have to put the parchment paper, and then put beans over the paper, so as to hold down the crust from rising and puffing up. When that happens, it sort of deforms the tart shell and also provides less space for the filling when it puffs up without the bean weights. After baking for 20 minutes with the parchment paper, you want the shell to brown evenly, so remove the parchment paper with the bean weights, and then bake it again for 10 more minutes. Then you remove the tart shell and let it cool completely.
TO USE THE TART DOUGH in 1-2 DAYS:
You can even make the dough, wrap it in a plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge to use it within 1-2 days. When you want to use it, remove it from the fridge, let it thaw for 10 minutes, and then roll it out with some extra flour, into ¼ inch thickness, and place it over the tart shell. Tuck the dough into the crevices of the tart pan and cut off any excess from the rim of the tart pan with a sharp knife for a clean cut.
FRANGIPANE FILLING:
While the Tart Shell cools, I prepare the filling. The filling comes together pretty quickly as well. Butter and sugar are whisked together in a stand mixer. All the other ingredients are simply added to make the frangipane mixture. Frangipane is essentially butter, sugar, eggs, almond flour mixed together to form the frangipane filling. I love adding spices to the frangipane filling. Here I have added cardamom and ginger, which go really well with the peach and the raspberry, and are perfect spices for a summer to fall transition. Cardamom is floral and the ginger provides a warm ting to the filling. I also added lemon zest and lemon juice to add brightness and summeriness to the filling. I use Blue Diamond Almond Flour in the filling, along with almond extract, and it makes the filling really smooth due to its fine texture. The flavor of the frangipane is absolutely wonderful with the Blue Diamond Almond Flour.
The top is decorated with peaches and raspberries and baked off. Do not forget to use the Apricot Glaze on the top once the tart is out of the oven, to give the tart a nice shine. And of course end it with powdered sugar sprinkle just before serving the tart! Do not forget the rose whipped cream and the berries as it makes for a pretty presentation!
The tart is really delicious, and I would highly recommend it for a gathering. Although gatherings are not happening right now, but even for a small group of people this tart is wonderful.
If you do make this tart, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab and @almondbreeze on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post, to let me know how you liked it!
XO
Amisha
Peach, Raspberry and Lemon Frangipane Custard Tart with Rose Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- Tart Pate’ Brisee (sweet pastry dough):
- ¾ cup (85 gms) Blue Diamond Almond Flour
- ¾ cup (90 gms) all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp (50 gms) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp (3 gms) salt
- ½ tsp (1 gm) ground cardamom
- 1 stick (1/2 cup; 113 gms) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp (4 gms) vanilla extract
- Filling:
- 1 cup + 1tbsp (120 gms) Blue Diamond Almond Flour
- 1 stick (1/2 cup; 113 gms) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup (140 gms) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp (1 gm) ground ginger
- 1 tsp (2 gms) ground cardamom
- 1 tsp (4 gms) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (3 gms) almond extract
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp (29 gms) fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup (60 gms) heavy cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 slightly firm peaches, sliced thin
- ½ cup raspberries
- 4 tbsp (62 gms) turbinado sugar
- Apricot Glaze:
- 2 tbsp heaped apricot jam
- 2 tbsp water
- Rose Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup (240 gms) cold heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup (25 gms) confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp rose water
- Garnish:
- ¼ cup freeze dried raspberries, powdered in a coffee grinder (prepare just before serving)
- Whipped Cream
- Raspberries
Instructions
- Pate’ Brisee (Sweet Pastry Dough):
- 1. In the bowl of a food processor, add in the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and pulse to combine. Add in the cold butter and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and pulse until combined to form a dough. Make sure all the dry bits are gathered.
- 2. Take a 9-inch tart pan and empty the contents of the food processor into the tart pan. Using your fingers gently press and spread the dough to the edge of the tart pan, against the sides of the pan to form a border. Form an even dough using your fingers. It will take a few minutes, but the dough will eventually smoothen out and form an even layer around the tart pan with an even border.
- 3. Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. In the meanwhile, preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
- 4. Using a fork, make holes on the tart at a space of about ½ an inch. This is to let the steam escape when blink baking the tart.
- 5. Blind baking: Take a parchment paper, crumble it, straighten it out and lay it on the tart. Now place 2 pounds of beans on the parchment and even the layer. Blind baking is done to bake the crust, without the filling. This also helps avoid soggy bottoms.
- 6. Place the tart in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven, remove the parchment paper with the beans, and bake the tart crust again for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, about half an hour.
- Filling:
- 1. Preheat the oven at 375 degrees.
- 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, add in the butter and the sugar, and whisk at high speed, for 2 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to clean the sides of the bowl, into the center. Add in the eggs one at a time, and whisk on low. Clean the sides of the bowl, to gather the filling into the center. Now add in the almond flour, ginger, cardamom, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon zest, lemon juice and whisk to combine. Add in the heavy cream and whisk to combine.
- 3. Add the filling into the cooled tart crust. Using a small offset spatula, level out the filling.
- 4. Layer the top in a pattern with the sliced peaches and raspberries. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
- 5. Bake the tart for about 50-55 minutes. Check to make sure that the tart filling is slightly golden brown in color, fruit is slightly browned. Remove it from the oven and let it cool outside for an hour.
- 6. Meanwhile prepare the glaze: In a small saucepan, on medium heat, add in the apricot jam and water, and whisk until it combines and forms a smooth glaze, about 2 minutes.
- 7. Strain the glaze through a fine sieve. Using a pastry brush, brush the tart with the glaze evenly all across the top of the tart.
- 8. Cool in the fridge for about 2 hours, giving it time to set.
- Rose Whipped Cream:
- 1. In a medium to large bowl, add in all the ingredients for the whipped cream, and using a balloon whisk, whisk the cream all in one direction continuously with rapid movements for 2 minutes. It is an arm workout. After 2 minutes, if you see soft peaks on the whisk, you are done. If the mixture is still loose, whisk again for another minute with rapid movements, until you get soft peaks. A stand mixer can be used, but by using a balloon whisk, you can control the texture of the whipped cream.
- To Serve:
- 1. On a plate, take a paper, place it asymmetrically across the plate. Using a fine sieve, sprinkle the raspberry powder on the plate to cover 1/3rd of the plate. Place a piece of the tart on the plate, at an angle over the powder. Top with a dollop of the whipped cream. Sprinkle more raspberry powder on the whipped cream, and top with 3-4 raspberries.
- 2. Best served cold.
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