I sort of see this sort of thing as "bakewell with different flavours", and to some extent it is, however almonds work fantastically with so many different berries, and frangipane takes on flavours really well too, so it's a great way of combining classic ingredient combinations.
I used my favourite 23cm tart tin for this...it's really deep, so you get plenty of filling! If I was going super-posh I would have baked the pastry without trimming it, then cleaned it up afterwards...however this time I trimmed it before baking, and I have a ball of left-over dough that will probably get converted into a snack tomorrow!
Blueberry and Lemon Frangipane Tart
Sweetcrust Pastry Ingredients
- 250g plain flour
- 130g butter (chilled and cubed)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 egg (chilled)
- Tap water (chilled)
1) Place the flour, salt, sugar and butter into a food processor with the blade attachment.2) Blitz until it forms a breadcrumb mixture
3) Add the egg and continue to blitz.
4) Add the water in small amounts until a dough just begins to form
5) Turn the mixture out onto a surface (or I prefer a large mixing bowl, to keep things a little tidier) and knead a few times to form a firm, smooth pastry6) Flatten the dough to a thick disc, wrap in cling-film, and place in the fridge to chill. While it's chilling, make the jam
Blueberry Jam Ingredients
- 100g blueberries
- 100g jam sugar
2) Place over a low heat, stirring and squashing the blueberries with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved/melted into the juices
3) Bring the temperature up while stirring, until the mixture is boiling4) Use a temperature probe to check on the temperature, and stir until the mixture reaches 104'C
5) Remove from the heat and turn the jam out onto a plate to cool. Your pastry should now be chilled, and ready to roll. Turn the oven on to 180-190'C to pre-heat
6) Take the chilled pastry, unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface7) Roll it out to ~3-4mm thickness, in a circle large enough to line your 23cm pan (the best way to check this is place your pan in the middle, and make sure there is enough around the edge to line the edges
8) Line the tart tin, tucking the pastry down into the corners.
9) Prick the bottom with a fork. You can trim the edges at this point by passing a rolling pin over the top, trimming the pastry. If you want a posher finish, trim it after you've blind-baked, using a sharp knife
10) Place the lined tart tin in the fridge to chill until your oven is upto temperature
11) Line the pastry with thin baking parchment, and fill with baking beans and/or dry rice
12) Bake for 12 minutes, then remove the paper and baking beans and bake for a further 7-8 minutes, until the base is just starting to brown. Then, remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
13) While you are blind-baking the pastry, make the frangipane filling
Lemon Frangipane Ingredients
- 150g butter (room temperature)
- 150g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 125g ground almond
- 75g plain flour
- 1/2 tsp almond essence
- Zest of 2 lemons
2) Beat hard until very soft and creamy
3) Add the eggs one at a time, beating hard until fully combined
4) Add the flour, almond, zest and essence and mix hard until fully combined and smooth
Assembly
- 125g blueberries
- Handful of flaked almonds
1) Turn the oven down to 155-160'C2) Take the cooled jam, and spread over the base of the pastry case
3) Scatter the blueberries evenly over the jam
4) Scoop the frangipane mixture over the top, and using a small palette knife spread evenly to fill the entire pastry case, and smooth the top
5) Scatter the flaked almonds over the top, and press down slightly
6) Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. It's done when the middle of the frangipane is risen, and has turned a golden brown