This fruity tart consists of a sweet shortcrust pastry shell topped with an almondy frangipane filling, a layer of sweet apricot jam, fresh or tinned apricots and toasted flaked almonds. Although it may seem challenging bake, it is actually pretty simple to whip up. Take a look at my delicious gluten-free apricot tart recipe below along with lots of tips and tricks for making the perfect gluten-free pastry!
Frangipane tarts are one of my favourite desserts. They’re incredibly easy to make, produce the most gorgeous aromas in the kitchen and always look fantastic when they come out of the oven. What I love about this tart is that you can customise it according to your own preferences. If you’re not the biggest fan of that distinct marzipan taste that the almonds bring to the frangipane, then you can reduce or leave out the almond extract. Several other fruits can also be used instead of apricots such as peaches, pears or apples if you’d prefer. Have a look at my sunken apple frangipane tart recipe here for a beautiful alternative autumnal dessert.
How do you make this tart?
So, how easy is this tart to make. Well, the dough comes together relatively quickly and after chilling for around an hour, it’s ready to be rolled out and popped into the tart dish for the base. Keeping the dough super thin is key so that it doesn’t need to be blind baked and ensures enough room for the filling.
A teaspoon of apricot jam is spread evenly around the shell base before being filled with the frangipane filling.
The frangipane filling is equally as simple to make, with the butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, flours and almonds mixed together before being piped carefully on top of the layer of jam, covering any holes so that the jam cannot seep out during the baking process. No pre-cooking or blind-baking is necessary here!
Arrange the fresh or tinned apricot halves around the frangipane and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Pop into the oven on a hot baking tray (this ensures your tart comes out baked evenly at the base!) for around 40 minutes.
Dust with a little icing sugar to finish and it’s ready to pop into your mouth – just try to wait until it has cooled (if you can!).
What equipment do you need?
- 28cm tart dish with a loose bottom base
- Baking paper
- Rolling pin
- Piping bag and large round tip (optional)
Tips & Tricks for Perfect Gluten-free Pastry
Cold ingredients are essential for this sweet shortcrust pastry. Take the butter out of the fridge just before so that it doesn’t have any chances to start melting in a warm kitchen. Make sure your hands are cold too when handling the dough!
Chill the dough before rolling and cutting, and chill again before adding the filling and lattice to bake.
When rolling out a dough, recipes typically call for a floured surface. This can, however, be risky for gluten-free doughs which risk being too dry anyways. Instead of adding extra flour to the dough to roll out, just roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper. This way, no extra flour is needed and your dough will stay moist! Take the dough out of the fridge 5-10 minutes before rolling so that it becomes more malleable for shaping. Try to roll the dough out as thinly as possible for the base so as to avoid having a thick base and a filling that overflows when baking!
Whilst the oven is warming up, place a baking tray in to warm up to. Place your tart on the baking tray when baking so that the bottom of the tart cooks at the same speed as the rest of the tart. This helps to limit any chances of a soggy bottom!
If the edges of the tart begin to brown before the rest is done, cover them with a layer of tinfoil with the shiny side up to reduce any further browning or burning.
Related Recipes
Apricot Frangipane Tart
Equipment
- 1 28cm round tart dish
Zutaten
For the sweet shortcrust pastry
- 250 g gluten-free plain flour blend
- 120 g unsalted butter cold
- 75 g icing sugar
- 1 large egg cold, beaten
- 1 tbsp water cold
- ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum
- ¼ tsp salt
For the frangipane filling
- 250 g ground almonds
- 130 g unsalted butter softened
- 230 g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs room temp
- 1 medium egg yolk room temp
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 100 g gluten-free flour blend
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 3 tbsp apricot jam
- 18 apricot halves fresh or tinned, drained and blotted
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- 1 tbsp icing sugar for dusting
Anleitungen
For the sweet shortcrust pastry
- Combine the flour, salt and Xanthan Gum in a bowl and whisk together.250 g gluten-free plain flour blend, ¼ tsp Xanthan Gum, ¼ tsp salt
- Add the cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients and rub in using fingertips until a crumbly texture forms.120 g unsalted butter
- Sift in the icing sugar and mix with a fork until combined.75 g icing sugar
- Create a well in the mixture, beat the egg and pour it into the centre along with the cold water. Again, mix with a fork or bring together using the dough handle attachment on a stand-mixer, until a shiny sticky dough forms. The dough may be very sticky but don't be tempted to add more flour.1 large egg, 1 tbsp water
- Shape the dough into a ball and then wrap in clingfilm. Flatten the ball before placing in the fridge to chill for around 1 hour.
- Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and roll out between two sheets of baking paper. The dough may be too hard to work with at first, so allow it to soften slightly for 5 minutes before. The dough needs to be rolled out to a thickness of around 2mm, before being transferred to the tart dish. Press into the base and around the sides of the dish before removing any excess by rolling the rolling pin across the top edges.
- Prick the base with a fork and set the tart dish in the fridge to chill whilst preparing the filling.
For the frangipane filling
- Preheat the oven to 150° Fan and place a baking tray in the oven to get hot.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until combined.130 g unsalted butter, 230 g caster sugar
- Add the eggs, egg yolk and almond extract and whisk again until fully incorporated.2 medium eggs, 1 medium egg yolk, ¼ tsp almond extract
- Fold in the ground almonds, flour and corn starch until no pockets of flour remain.250 g ground almonds, 2 tbsp cornstarch, 100 g gluten-free flour blend
- Remove the tart shell from the fridge and spread the apricot jam evenly around the base.3 tbsp apricot jam
- Transfer the frangipane filling to a piping bag fitted with a large open round tip (you can also just carefully spoon and level the mixture with a spatula). Pipe the filling in circles starting from the outer edge, making sure to cover all of the apricot jam so as to avoid any leakages.
- Arrange the apricot halves on top and press in slightly into the frangipane. Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the top.18 apricot halves, 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- Bake in the oven on top of the hot baking tray for around 45 minutes or until golden brown, and when shaken the centre no longer wobbles. If the tart begins to brown too quickly. cover with a layer of tinfoil with the shiny side up.
- Once cooled, serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh cream. Dust with icing sugar to finish.1 tbsp icing sugar
Notizen
Tips & Tricks for Perfect Gluten-free Pastry
Cold ingredients are essential for this sweet shortcrust pastry. Take the butter out of the fridge just before so that it doesn’t have any chances to start melting in a warm kitchen. Make sure your hands are cold too when handling the dough! Chill the dough before rolling and cutting, and chill again before adding the filling and lattice to bake. When rolling out a dough, recipes typically call for a floured surface. This can, however, be risky for gluten-free doughs which risk being too dry anyways. Instead of adding extra flour to the dough to roll out, just roll out the dough between two sheets of baking paper. This way, no extra flour is needed and your dough will stay moist! Take the dough out of the fridge 5-10 minutes before rolling so that it becomes more malleable for shaping. Try to roll the dough out as thinly as possible for the base so as to avoid having a thick base and a filling that overflows when baking! Whilst the oven is warming up, place a baking tray in to warm up to. Place your pies on the baking tray when baking so that the bottom of the pie cooks at the same speed as the rest of the pie. This helps to limit any chances of a soggy bottom! If the edges of the pies begin to brown before the rest is done, cover them with a layer of tinfoil with the shiny side up to reduce any further browning or burning.
