Cherry Frangipane Tart

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Cherry Frangipane Tart – juicy whole cherries and an easy all in one almond cream baked to perfection in a buttery pastry case

The combination of soft almond filling, luscious cherries and perfect pastry make this cherry and almond tart an absolute delight.

I simply love making frangipane tarts. Everything starts in early summer with cherries and then moves on to Nectarine Frangipane Tart at the height of summer. The ‘season’ is topped of with the autumn apple harvest for my Normandy Apple Tart.

But back to the cherries. Cherry Frangipane Tart is oven-ready in 3 easy steps.

First, you have an easy to make pâte sucrée recipe. I turn to my favourite sweet shortcrust pastry I use in my Strawberry Tart. This pastry is much easier to make than regular shortcrust and definitely easier to handle. That said, feel free to use a ready made tart case and my recipe becomes even easier.

Second, the frangipane ingredients are creamed together in a matter of minutes and spread in the part baked pastry case.

Lastly, whole pitted cherries are arranged on top before popping your tart in the oven.

A showstopper of a dessert – it really does taste as good as it looks.

What equipment do I need ?

• I use my KitchenAid to make the pastry and frangipane. Alternatively, you could use a hand held mixer or a wooden spoon or spatula if mixing by hand.
• Baking beans / pie weights to weigh down the pastry on its first bake. You can also use rice, dried peas, dried beans or lentils.
• 25 cm / 10 inch fluted, loose bottomed tart tin. A removable base is important as you want to be able to get your tart out in one piece.
• Cherry pitter to remove the stones – not essential equipment but makes the job easier. I couldn’t find my pitter so I used a semi-rigid plastic tube OH donated from his plumbing toolbox.

What ingredients do I need ?

Pâte Sucrée / Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients

• Butter – salted butter at room temperature. If you use unsalted butter, add a ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar – works best because it more easily dissolves into the pastry.
• A large egg – I’ve used the whole egg.
• Ground almonds / almond meal – this adds extra almond flavour to the tart.
• Plain flour / all purpose flour

Frangipane / Almond Cream and Cherry Filling Ingredients

• Butter – salted butter at room temperature. If you use unsalted butter, add a ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Caster / extra fine sugar – do not use granulated sugar. The frangipane is made using the all in one method and granulated sugar will affect the baked frangipane’s texture.
• Ground almonds / almond meal – essential for that all important frangipane flavour.
• Plain flour / all purpose flour
• Baking powder – only ½ teaspoon but enough to give an extra lightness to the all in one frangipane.
• Almond extract – just ½ teaspoon to enhance the flavour of the almond frangipane.
• Kirsch – a cherry liqeuer. You can substitute with brandy.
• Eggs – I used large eggs at room temperature.
• Cherries – I used whole sweet dark cherries.

How to make Cherry Frangipane Tart

Make the Pâte Sucrée / Sweet Shortcrust Pastry Case

Pâte sucrée is easy to work with and much more forgiving than a rich shortcrust pasty. It’s almost like a buttery biscuit shortbread and I have been known to bake the off cuts to eat later.

• Cream together the softened butter, salt and icing sugar.
• Add the egg with half of the flour and mix again until the flour is incorporated.

• Add the rest of the ingredients and bring the pastry together by hand, handling as little as possible.
• Cover with cling film or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You can leave your pastry in the fridge for up to two hours.

• Roll the pastry out to form a circle large enough to fully line the tin. The pastry should be about the thickness of a £1 coin (3 mm / ⅛ inch)
• Carefully line your prepared tin with pastry, gently pressing into shape but trying not to stretch the pastry.
• Roll the rolling pin over tart tin to trim excess pastry.
• Prick the bottom of the case with a fork and pop in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

• Line your pastry case with baking parchment and fill with ceramic beans, rice or dried beans.
• Bake your pastry case in the oven for 15 minutes before removing the parchment and beans. Pop back in the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Prepare cherries

• Remove the stones from your cherries. Extra juicy or over ripe cherries can cause soggy frangipane so drain the fruit on kitchen paper to get rid of excess moisture.

Make the Frangipane

The frangipane / almond cream is so easy to make.

• Simply add all the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat for a couple of minutes. This simple process can be done equally as well by hand or with a handheld mixer.
• Spread the frangipane evenly into your tart case.

Assemble your tart

• I recommend checking your cherries are free of stones before topping your frangipane tart.
• Arrange your pitted cherries on top of the frangipane in concentric circles starting from the outer edge of the pastry.

Bake your tart

I like to begin baking my frangipane at a higher temperature before turning the temp down for the final 15 minutes. This goes a long way towards ensuring a cooked but soft almond sponge.

• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 200℃.
• After 25 minutes, turn your oven down to 180℃ and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes.

• Leave to cool in the tin before removing and serving in slices.

How to serve Cherry Frangipane Tart

Enjoy warm or cooled with creme fraiche, ice cream or simply a dusting of icing sugar. As an extra indulgence, we often serve cherry frangipane tart with a generous dollop of Homemade Clotted Cream.

How Long Does Frangipane Tart keep ?

Cherry Frangipane Tart is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Can I freeze it ?

Yes, you can. Cherry Frangipane Tart can be frozen for up to three months.
Open freeze the tart on a flat surface for two hours before transferring to a freezer bag or container.
Defrost thoroughly at room temperature before refreshing in the oven for 10 minutes at 180° C.

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More Fruit Tart Recipes

• Plum and Almond tart
• Strawberry Tart
• Lemon Tart
• Elderberry Tart

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Cherry Frangipane Tart

Cherry Frangipane Tart – juicy whole cherries and an easy all in one almond cream baked to perfection in a buttery pastry case. The combination of soft almond filling, luscious cherries and perfect pastry make this cherry and almond tart an absolute delight.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 384kcal

Author: Sarah James

Equipment

• 1 Stand Mixer – I used a KitchenAid. Use a large bowl and wooden spoon if mixing by hand.
• 1 Cherry pitter – optional – I used a semi-rigid plastic tube OH donated from his plumbing toolbox.
• 1 set of baking beans / pie weights or rice, dried peas, lentils, beans
• 1 Sheet of baking parchment
• 1 25 cm / 10 inch fluted, loose bottomed tart tin

Ingredients

Pâte Sucrée | Sweet Shortcrust pastry

• 125 g softened salted butter cut into small cubes or use unsalted butter plus ½ tsp salt
• 50 g icing sugar / confectioner’s sugar 4 tablespoons
• 1 large egg
• 50 g ground almonds / almond meal
• 200 g plain flour / all purpose flour

Frangipane:

• 110 g softened butter
• 110 g caster / extra fine sugar
• 110 g ground almonds / almond meal
• 35 g plain flour / all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tbs Kirsch / cherry brandy
• 2 beaten eggs

Cherry Topping:

• 500 g cherries

MetricUS Customary

1x2x3x

Instructions

Make your pastry:

• Use a paddle attachment at medium speed in a stand mixer to cream the softened butter and icing sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy – generally this will take about 2 minutes.
• Add egg and half of the flour. Use a slow machine speed to mix until the flour is incorporated.
• Remove the bowl from the machine before adding the ground almonds and the remaining flour.
• Bring the pastry together by hand but avoid overworking it.
• Wrap your pastry with cling film / plastic wrap before refrigerating it for at least 30 minutes. You can leave it to chill for up to a couple of hours.
• Grease a 25cm (10 inch) loose bottomed flan tin.
• Roll out your pastry between two sheets of baking parchment to prevent it sticking to work surface and rolling pin.
• Make sure the pastry circle is the right size for your flan tin. The circle needs to be slightly larger than the diameter of your flan tin plus twice the tin depth. The ideal pastry thickness should be that of a £1 coin (3 mm / ⅛ inch.)
• Carefully line your flan tin with pastry, gently pressing the pastry to follow the tin’s shape. Try not to stretch the pastry, and patch any cracks that might appear.
• Roll the rolling pin over tart tin to trim excess pastry.
• Prick the bottom of the pastry case with a fork and then refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Line your pastry case with baking parchment and fill with ceramic beans, rice or dried beans.

Bake your pastry case:

• Preheat oven to 200℃ / 180℃ fan / 400℉ / Gas Mark 6 and bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and carefully remove baking parchment and beans.
• Pop pastry case back in the oven for 5 minutes
• Leave to cool.

Cherry Topping:

• Whilst your pastry case cools, remove the stones from your cherries and then leave the fruit to drain on kitchen paper to get rid of excess moisture.

How to make frangipane:

• Place all the frangipane ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer and beat together for a couple of minutes.
• Evenly spread the frangipane into your pastry case.

Assemble your tart

• I recommend checking your cherries for stones before topping your frangipane tart.
• Arrange your pitted cherries on top of the frangipane. Start at the outer edge of the pastry case and place the cherries in concentric circles, gently pressing them a little way into the frangipane.

Bake your Tart:

• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 200℃ / 180℃ fan /400℉ / Gas Mark 6.
• After 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 180℃ / 160℃ fan / 350℉ / Gas Mark 4. Cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the frangipane is golden brown and cooked through.
• Leave to cool before removing from the tin.

Notes

• For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.
• feel free to use a ready made tart case instead of making a pastry case.
• Serve warm or cool with a lovely dollop of creme fraiche and enjoy.
• Cherry Frangipane Tart is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Can be frozen for up to three months. Simply open freeze the tart on a flat surface for two hours before transferring to a freezer bag or container.
• Defrost thoroughly at room temperature before refreshing in the oven.
• Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
   

Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 575IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg