White Chocolate Frangipane Tart
Inspired by the gorgeous and deliciously scented Almond Shower Oil by L'Occitane, I pulled out my old recipes from culinary school to work on this - it was one of the first pastries I made there and I loved it, making it for my family any time I travelled home (was impressed with myself). Adding a sprinkle of white chocolate before baking and topping with raspberries and almonds made me fall in love with the humble Frangipane all over again!
Ingredients
- Frozen shortcrust pastry, for the tart case, defrosted
- 200g butter
- 200g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 200g ground almonds
- 60g plain flour
- 3g salt
- 80g white cooking chocolate, roughly chopped
To serve:
- Flaked almonds, lightly toasted
- Raspberries
- Icing sugar
Method
- Rub a 25cm tart tin with butter and dust with flour.
- Gently place shortcrust pastry inside, pressing into the edges to ensure the case is filled.
- Place the tart in the fridge and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 170°C.
- Trim the edges of the pastry with a sharp knife, place a sheet of baking paper in the middle and fill with baking weights, or if you don’t have them, some dry lentils or beans, to weigh the centre down.
- Place the tart in the oven and bake for around 15 minutes, until pale golden (it will bake further once filled so we don’t want to take it too far now).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or using an electric hand beater), cream butter and caster sugar.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating each on high speed until incorporated.
- Beat in vanilla essence until incorporated, then add almond meal, flour and salt and beat on low until incorporated.
- Pour mix into tart case and smooth the top.
- Sprinkle over white chocolate and bake for around 30 minutes, until golden and firm to touch.
- Allow to cool, then serve topped with raspberries, flaked almonds and icing sugar.