I made this tart/pudding/dessert/food/yummyness in an afternoon. I completely messed with the recipe, and miraculously ended up with a lovely end result. First off, I don’t own a scale, and all of the measurements were by grams or ounces. Secondly grams and ounces confuse me. So, using my mom’s kitchen math sheet, I figured out roughly how much flour I would need in wheat flour, then used that amount of a large mix of GF flours. I probably should have used less of my flours, as they are more drying than “normal” flour. But don’t worry, I fixed(ish) that later.
Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds or chopped almonds
Assembling the tartPlace the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it’s overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Press the dough into tart pan, ensuring a uniform (not too thick) thickness. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking. I cooked it for 5 minutes longer, but do as you see fit =D.
The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, not-so poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm or cold, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.
When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.
Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutesResting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film
225g (8oz) all purpose flour 1 tsp xanthan gum, 1 1/2 cups Bette Hagmans flour mix, 1/2 cup corn flour
30g (1oz) sugar (1/8 cup sugar, I think… It might have been 1/4 cup…)
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) AS MUCH AS YOU NEED!! cold water
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough. Pour in at least the 2 tbsp, and see from there, just keep adding water until it sticks together well. Really well, and is not crumbly.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap and leave out while you make the Frangipane.
Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds (about a 1 1/4 cups)30g (1oz) all purpose flour 1/4 cup of a blend of flours and a pinch of xanthan gum…
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, drool….I’ve always loved the little versions of these you could get from the bakers’ when I was a kid. Now that I can’t have wheat, I have you to thank for a way to enjoy this cake once again. Super, really grateful to you for having the adventure and sharing the results.
Hiya, just a quickie (I’m a non gluten-allergied regular reader/fan!)
Some of your daring bakers/daring cooks links redirect here rather than to the right page. The pasta with shrimp for daring cooks definitely does and I think I remember a baking post doing it as well.
Sorry to not be a massive amount of help but I wasn’t sure when you’d notice yourself- not many people trawl their own back catalogue regularly 😛
Anyway, I love your website, xx
Hi, I’d just like to back up what Sarah said in her comment. I clicked on the dessert wonton recipe and it took me to this page.