CRANBERRY ALMOND TART
...the key is to chill
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It is nearly Christmas, and this is a festive spin on one of my favourite puddings, an almond tart.
I say, ‘one of my favourite puddings’, I think an almond tart is in-fact my favourite pudding of all. I don’t think I can remember ever being truly disappointed by one (the same cannot be said for brownies). Even a 6/10 almond tart is a pudding I find pleasing and if there is an almond tart on the menu I will be ordering it.
But a really good almond tart, a 10/10 almond tart, is something worth remembering. The best almond tart (I think) is found at Quo Vadis in Soho. Head chef and proprietor Jeremy Lee, is the magician behind this Queen of a pudding which, depending on the season comes adorned with various outfits. It could be quince, it could be greengages, rhubarb, or caramelised apples. But whatever the weather, the almond tart at Quo Vadis will always come with both custard and cream.
I interviewed Jeremy Lee about his almond tart once on a mini series called BITTERSWEET on Instagram. You can watch it here. Its a series about the connection between food and memory. Most, if not all of my strongest memories are in someway connected to food, be it the taste, process or even smell. In BITTERSWEET I listen to others share their own food memories, joyful, painful, bitter and sweet. During the interview, Jeremy also showed me how to make his almond tart and one of the things (among many) that I took away was NOT to blind bake the pastry but instead to chill.
I have since, stopped blind baking my pastry and instead just chilling it. Chilling the pastry before it is rolled, then after it is rolled. And chilling the frangipane too, something I always did but usually for 30 mins to an hour. Now I will aim to leave both frangipane and pastry to chill overnight. My almond tart is not as good as the one at Quo Vadis. I think the secret is Jeremy, whom if you have ever been to Quo Vadis, you will have undoubtedly seen dotting between the tables with his infectious joy and buttery boom of a laugh. But I will say that my almond tart is a very good one. I’ve learnt that a lower oven temperature is better and that if you preheat a baking tray underneath, you will never get a soggy bottom. But mainly I have learnt to chill. To chill everything, and of course….to chill out. x
CRANBERRY ALMOND TART
The key is to CHILL. Chill the pastry, chill the frangipane, chill out. I often make the pastry and frangipane the night before. And always grind your own almonds. It makes all the difference to the texture.
220g of plain flour
20g of icing sugar
1 pinch of fine sea salt
130g of cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1-2 tsp of ice-cold water
FOR THE FRANGIPANE:
200g of unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g of caster sugar
200g of blanched almonds
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
200g fresh cranberries
1tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp orange extract
Zest of 1 clementine or orange
Pulse the flour, icing sugar & salt in a food processor. Add the butter, pulse until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg and pulse just until the dough begins to come together. Add a little cold water if needed . Shape into a flat disk, wrap & chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Pulse the almonds until they resemble breadcrumbs.
In a large bowl, cream the butter & sugar using an electric whisk. Beat in the eggs then fold in the almonds. Place the frangipane in the fridge to chill for at least 1hr.
Lightly dust a surface with flour. Roll the pastry until it is about the thickness of a £1 coin. Line a loose-bottomed fluted tart dish (23cm wide x 4cm deep) with the pastry. Trim the edges and return the lined tart dish to the fridge to chill for a further 30 mins.
Preheat the oven to to 170°C Fan. Place the cranberries, sugar, orange extract and zest in a baking dish and cook for 15-18 mins until they have split and are jammy.
Allow them to cool whilst you place a large flat baking tray in the middle of the oven to preheat.
Dot the cranberries in the base of the chilled pastry case, spoon over the frangipane and don’t worry about levelling the top.
Bake for about 50-60 minutes on the preheated tray until the almond filling and pastry are golden brown. If the frangipane is browning too much, cover loosely with foil.
Allow tart to cool.
Serve with double cream.
MUSIC TO COOK TO
FLAMINGOSIS - BRIGHT MOMENTS
This is not festive in the least, just good beats and good vibes and very good for cooking along to. Listen on spotify here