So you might remember via an Instagram I posted over the summer that here in Scotland, wild raspberries grow in abundance, which is one of my favourite surprise discoveries about living here. They’re fresh and tart and a beautiful colour, I just love them.
These raspberries had been sat in the freezer since August, and I wanted to make something special to really make those flavours sing. This is an original recipe, put together via tips and tricks from my various cook books, including Julia Child and John Whaite (links at the bottom).
It’s also a foolproof method for homemade frangipane – if you’ve not tried making your own then this is the best way to start you off. The almond/marzipan flavour can be tempered by leaving out the almond essence, if you’re not a fan.
This can be create using any sharp thin-skinned fresh berries: blackberries (or ‘brambles’ if you live in Scotland), blackcurrants, loganberries or even redcurrants. The almond notes add a beautiful softness to the tartness of the fruit.
Enjoy!
Raspberry frangipane tart
Serves 6 (or, shamefully, 2)
Ingredients
For the pastry
125g plain flour
100g cold unsalted butter, cubed
A big pinch of sugar
A tiny pinch of salt
Cold water
A couple of handfuls of fresh or frozen raspberries (or any other thin-skinned berries)
For the Frangipane
115g salted butter at room temperature
115g caster sugar
3-4 drops of almond extract
2 eggs
90g ground almonds
1 tablespoon of icing sugar
Equipment
A 23cm flan tin
Baking beads (use uncooked rice or lentils if you don’t have them)
Method
If you’re using frozen berries, remove them from the freezer a couple of hours before you plan to make the tart.
First make the pastry – see how below
How to make and blind-bake foolproof sweet shortcrust pastry
- Using the ingredients above, mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl
- Rub the cold butter into the flour mixture with the tips of your fingers until it resembles porridge/oatmeal flakes (not breadcrumbs – this is important!)
- Add a trickle of cold water, a little at a time, to bring together a rough dough
- Flour a clean work surface and gently, bring the dough together into a ball. You should see streaks of butter in the dough – combine these by lightly pressing the heel of your hand into the dough and twisting away from you. Only do this about 4 or 5 times.
- Wrap the dough in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour
- Preheat the oven to 180. Lightly grease and flour a metal flan tin (I line mine with greaseproof paper to be on the safe side)
- On a floured surface, roll out the pastry in a rough circle to a 0.5cm thickness. Line your flan tin, and trim the pastry until it’s flush to the edge of the tin. Lightly indent the pastry with a fork.
- Fill the pastry case with baking beads and bake the pastry for about 15 minutes. Remove the beads and bake for a further 6 minutes, until the pastry is a light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, but leave the oven on.
To make the frangipane
- Beat together the sugar, butter and almond extract until pale and creamy
- Beat in the eggs one by one
- Fold in the ground almonds
- Pipe or spoon the frangipane into the baked pastry case (if you’re smoothing over then make sure the texture is level.) There should be a 1cm of pastry at the top of the frangipane as it will puff up in the oven.
- Dot the raspberries into the frangipane – I did a swirl pattern, but it’s up to you, just make sure that when it’s served up, everyone gets some raspberry in their slice!
- Bake the tart for about 25 minutes until the frangipane is puffed up.
- Remove from the oven and dust the surface with the icing sugar using a sieve.
The tart can be eaten hot or cold (I prefer it hot!) with icecream, crème fraiche or cream.
This pastry method was adapted from a recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The Frangipane was adapted from a recipe in John Whaite’s first book John Whaite Bakes.
Feeling inspired? Find some other dessert recipes I’ve created here.
Find some (semi-serious) tips on foraging for wild berries here.
Crumbs and Roses 