Pie Club Week 13: Peach/ Raspberry Frangipane

Week 13 was the second tart so far, and it was a frangipane tart. For those of you who may not be familiar, frangipane is defined as: a filling made from almonds, or almond paste. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods. Frangipane is normally made of butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds, and is often paired with pears during the winter holidays. Typically, I think frangipane is too sweet and do not enjoy it very much.

However, in this tart it was delicious! I found the raspberries and apricots I used to be a better compliment to the sweetness, and I think this tart had a more balanced flavor. I used almond paste for my frangipane recipe, along with creamed butter and sugar, eggs and vanilla. It was light, fluffy, golden and beautiful, and I received a lot of compliments on this tart. I cannot believe that I forgot to take a picture of the complete tart!

The mouth feel was a really pleasant combination of the moist, fluffy frangipane surrounded by the slightly firm fruit and perfectly flaky sweet tart crust. I will use this frangipane recipe in future tarts I make that call for it, and I will definitely make this tart again!