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.

5 from 54 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1 5

Total Time: 1 25

Servings:

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

Metric - US Customary

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.