Our Fruit Frangipane won us the New Baked Product Award at the Baking Industry Awards a few years ago. This simple recipe is a variation of a classical fruit and almond tart and has a shelf life of two or three days. A selection displayed in a shop window makes for a very attractive seasonal display.

Ingredients

Sweet pastry (enough for an 8-inch flan case)

Frangipane mix (see recipe on pg 28)

Apricot jam

Fruit (plums)

Flaked almonds to decorate

Method

1. Line an 8-inch ring or flan case with sweet pastry (about 3mm thick.) Trim off the excess with a knife.

2. Fill a piping bag with apricot jam and pipe out a thin layer. Use bake-stable jam if possible.

3. Fill piping bag with the frangipane mix and pipe out an even layer about two-thirds the depth of the ring. This prevents spillage during the baking process.

4. Slice the fruit (plums) in half and remove the stones. Slice as shown, from approximately two-thirds the way through to the tips. This makes the fruit "fan" when baking.

5. Lay out the fruit in concentric circles, bedding down only slightly. The plums will sink into the mix as the tart cooks.

6. Make sure that the fruit is nicely covering the surface of the tart. In this picture, apricots are used.

7. Bake at 170ºC for approximately 35 minutes until the frangipane mix is golden. Leave to cool.

8. Glaze with apricot glaze. You can either use gel spray or boil a little apricot jam and brush it over the surface of tart.

9. Top with flaked almonds.

Variations

We use plum, apricot, fig, pear, apple, cherry, and rhubarb. They can also be made to any size or individually in foil tins (see below).

Frangipane recipe ingredients

Sugar 500g

Almonds 500g

Eggs 9

Flour 300g

1. Beat the sugar and ground almonds in a mixer, until creamy.

2. Slowly add the eggs, beating continuously.

3. Stop the machine and add the flour. Mix as little as possible until the flour is just absorbed. Any longer will toughen the mixture.