Ooh La Frangipane Tart

Along with avocados, almonds are without doubt one of my desert island foods. You can eat them straight up, blanch them, flake them or whizz them into a gluten free flour. They taste good and they ARE good for you too. Packed with protein they'll fill you up -helping to keep you trim and the oils will keep your skin glowing -they don't call E.F.A.'s essential for nothing! So even though this is a dessert, it kind of balances out with the blueberries and almonds.......doesn't it?....yes, yes it does!!



Begin by making a short crust pastry base;
  • Take 210g plain flour and whizz it up with 150g chilled butter
  • If doing by hand -first cut the butter into the flour by holding two knives side by side and then start to use your finger tips
  • When you have gotten a breadcrumb like consistency slowly add 60ml of ice cold water
  • Bring it all together with a fork and then your hand
  • Wrap in clingfilm and allow to rest in fridge for 30 mins
  • Turn on your oven when you're about ready to roll -180'C/Gas 4
  • Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out your pastry to about 3mm thick
  • Gently lift into your tart dish (20-23cm size) and press lightly into edges
  • Cut away the excess, prick the base all over with a fork
  • Scrunch up some parchment cover the pastry and place your baking beans/rice or whatever weight you use evenly on top
  • Bake in the oven for approx 20 mins or until the edges are starting to turn golden and the base feels dry
  • Next seal the base so that the filling doesn't make it soggy, by taking 1 beaten egg and brushing all over, return the pastry case to the oven for two mins -repeat this one more time


Next make your filling;

  • Turn your oven down to 150'C/Gas 2
  • In a food processor combine 1/2 cup ground almonds, 1/4 cup caster sugar with 1tbsp plain flour
  • Add 3 tbsp butter at room temperature, 1 egg and 3/4 tsp vanilla extract-whizz up until you have a paste
  • Pour into your pastry case, sprinkle some blueberries on top and bake in the oven for approx 1hr
  • Allow to cool and serve with some whipped cream and a nice cup of tea