Apple frangipane tart
Apple and almond go so well together. I love frangipane but always end up getting a soggy bottom with my pastry until I then found a recipe that used biscuit instead. Like a frangipane cheesecake. The textures between the filling and base are quite similar and soft so I found it best not to crush the biscuit not to small pieces.
Prep time 20 minutes.
Cooking time 25 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
You will need a loose bottomed 8 inch tart tin.
Ingredients
For the biscuit base
- 200g digestive biscuits. Throw in a couple of ginger biscuits if you want a bit more crunch.
- 100g butter
- 2/3 eating apples. We used home grown ones off our tree.
For the frangipane filling
- 75g unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
- 75g caster sugar
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 700g ground almonds
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 50g flaked almonds
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C.
Put the biscuits in a large bowl or re-sealable freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin into crumbs. It is good for arm muscles and children find it a lot of fun! If you have a blender you could use this.
Melt the butter in a small pan, take off the heat then add the biscuit crumbs and stir until coated with butter. Tip into the tart tin and, using the back of a spoon, press over the base and sides of the tin to give an even layer. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling. The mix is very wet so I found the longer the chill the better as the biscuits do get quite moist.
Cream together the butter and sugar (you can do this via hand or whisk for 2-3 minutes.) Mix in the eggs, then add the ground almonds, almond extract and stir until well combined.
Peel the apples, and cut thin slices. I like them quite thin, a couple of millimetres. (Do this at the last minute to prevent the apple going brown.) Arrange the slices over the biscuit base. I arranged them in a spiralling circle with the apple overlapping.
Carefully spread the frangipane filling evenly on top. The apple may stick to the spoon so add in dollops evenly and spread as minimally as possible. Level the surface and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until set.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the sides of the tin. Serve warm with cream, crème fraiche or ice cream.
