Posts tagged pastry

Almond, Pear and Amaretto Tart with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

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Almond, Pear and Amaretto Tart with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

A rich, buttery and almond flavoured frangipane is my most favourite way to fill a crisp, delicate pastry case. This tart is really versatile and the mixture can be topped with any seasonal fruit. Alternatively, you can grind other nuts such as walnuts or hazelnuts (see here) to give your frangipane an original twist. In the summer, I have a huge weak spot for this dessert, topped it with a scattering of the juicy, tart, and punchy blackcurrants from our allotment. However, with pears, apples of blackberries it is delicious too. Just watch that the fruit you add doesn’t have too much moisture which will ooze out and make the filling wetter. This recipe is Christmassy, wintery and extremely satisfying….A variation on this always makes an appearance at my dinner parties topped with some salted caramel ice cream in this case and a good shot of warming Amaretto……

Pastry

  • 125g cold butter, cubed
  • 250g plain flour
  • Splash cold water

Frangipane filling

  • 200g unsalted butter, cubed
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 200g ground almonds
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Splash of amaretto
  • 1-2 pears
  • 15g butter
  • 15g caster sugar
  • Handful of flaked almonds for decoration
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Begin by making the pastry. For the method, see here. Follow up to step 7.
  3. Next, peel, core and slice the pears into long chunky slices. Melt the 15g of butter in a frying pan until beginning to sizzle, then add the sugar and stir until melted. Add the pears and gently fry for a few minutes.
  4. Turn up the heat and add a splash of amaretto. Let this simmer away and reduce a little before removing from the heat and setting aside.
  5. Now begin with the filling. In a processor or by hand, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy and thoroughly mixed.
  6. Add the vanilla to the beaten egg. Add this, a bit at a time, to the creamed butter, and mix in until well combined (don’t worry if it curdles, it won’t matter)
  7. Now add the ground almonds, a splash of amaretto (optional) and mix
  8. Once your pastry case is cooked and cool, fill with the frangipane and smooth out into an even layer.
  9. Top with the pears in an attractive pattern and press them lightly into the mixture. Drizzle with some of the buttery, sugary, amaretto flavoured caramel from the frying pan. Scatter with the flaked almonds.
  10. Bake for about 30-45 minutes until the mixture is set and doesn’t wobble. Check it after about 30 minutes however, to make sure it isn’t browning too much (like mine unfortunately….) If so, cover with foil and continue to bake.
  11. Once cooked, remove from the oven. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I served mine with some salted caramel ice cream and a shot of Amaretto!

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Peach and Amaretto Mini Meringue Pie

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Peach and Amaretto Mini Meringue Pie

A simple beautiful dessert!  This I actually made the other day with some leftovers- a mini tart case, a lonely peach and an abandoned egg white…….I stewed the peach with some sugar and amaretto and popped it in the tart case before suffocating it in a glossy, sweet and airy meringue mix. Quick blast in the oven and it was ready to devour!

Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

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Hazelnut Frangipane Tart

This tart is, I must admit, courtesy of the infamous Skye Gyngell, whose seasonality, simplicity and quality of recipes I admire. This is the most moreish and sophisticated dessert that will leave you on cloud nine with no leftovers. Its delicious….what more can I say apart from I recommend you make two to save yourself the anguish of realizing how quickly the first one was eaten. I served mine with a sweet rhubarb puree and creamy vanilla ice cream.

Shortcrust Pastry

  • 125g butter
  • 250g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp water

Filling

  • 300g shelled hazelnuts
  • 300g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 300g unsalted butter, cubed
  1. Begin with the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour to form a breadcrumb like mixture
  2. Add the water and mix with a knife to form a dough (you will probably need more water but add it little by little to prevent it becoming too wet)
  3. Knead lightly on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Grease and line a fluted tart tin with a removable base (25cm diameter and 2.5cm deep tin)
  5. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to about 3mm thick into a large round. Lift the pastry onto the rolling pin and drape into the tin.
  6. Press the pastry into the well greased tin and up the sides and prick all over with a fork. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
  7. Preheat the oven to 190°C and when the pastry case has rested, line with parchment, fill with baking beans and blind bake for about 15-20 minutes and a further 5 minutes without the beans until the case is precooked and golden.image
  8. To make the filling, roast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 5 minutes until warmed to release their flavour. To remove the skins, wrap in a tea towel and roll lightly and they should come away easily.image
  9. Tip the nuts into a food processor with the sugar, eggs, lemon zest and butter. Pulse to combine.
  10. Fill the precooked case with the filling and bake for about 35-40minutes until golden and set, but still soft in the middle. Cover with foil if it begins to brown too much.
  11. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar with a rhubarb and vanilla puree and ice cream.image

Rhubarb and Vanilla Compote

  • 700g rhubarb
  • 15tbsp dark brown soft sugar
  • ½ vanilla pod, halved and seeds removed
  1. Cut the rhubarb into 2cm chunks on the diagonal and place in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the sugar and the vanilla seeds and the pods.image
  2. Heat gently to begin with until the sugar begins to melt and the rhubarb releases its juices. Then cook covered for about 15minutes
  3. Remove the lid and bubble gently for a further 15minutes until the rhubarb is broken down and sauce like. Discard the vanilla pod and serve warm with the tart.