Apple Hazelnut Frangipane Tart (vegan)

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This vegan apple hazelnut frangipane tart is a lovely bake for Autumn. Consisting of a crisp shortcrust pastry case filled with hazelnut and almond frangipane and apples, it would be a brilliant dish for a dinner party, or it is equally good as a coffee morning treat!

Vegan apple hazelnut frangipane tart on a dark background with apples and a bowl of hazelnuts.

Ingredients don't get much more Autumnal than apple and hazelnut, and this vegan apple hazelnut frangipane tart is a lovely bake to celebrate the best of the produce that the season has to offer.

With a crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry base, soft, nutty hazelnut almond frangipane filling, crisp sliced apples, crunchy hazelnuts and optional jam, this tart is a perfect blend of flavours and textures.

It is good served either warm or cold. Cold it makes a great mid morning or afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee; and warm it is perfect as a pudding with cream, ice cream or custard.

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make apple hazelnut frangipane tart.

Ingredient Details:

Hazelnuts: You will need roasted, skinned hazelnuts. You can either buy them pre-roasted and skinned, or do it yourself; if you are making your own roasted hazelnuts, make sure that they have cooled completely before you blend them, otherwise they are more likely to turn into hazelnut butter.

You can also use pre-ground hazelnut flour, in this case make sure that it is made from toasted hazelnuts and has not been de-fatted.

Apples: You can use whatever kind of apple you like, I used a mixture of Pink Lady and Granny Smith.

Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour. Don't swap it for wholemeal. I haven't tested this gluten-free and you would need to find your own gluten-free pastry recipe, but I think that a plain gluten-free flour blend would work well in the frangipane.

Cornflour (cornstarch): this helps to set the frangipane.

Vegan butter: For the best results you really need to use a block butter/margarine, not the spreadable kind in a tub. Especially for the pastry. I use Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.

Ground almonds: I think that hazelnuts alone would be a little too oily, so I use part hazelnuts, part ground almonds in the frangipane. I believe that in the US it would be called almond flour rather than ground almonds. I also add some to the pastry which helps to give it a lovely crumbly texture.

Vodka: Vodka is my (not-so) secret trick for crispy pastry. Because it has a lower water percentage than well, water; using a bit of vodka rather than water to bind the pastry makes for crispier pastry as the alcohol burns off when it cooks.

You can't taste it at all and you can absolutely use water instead if you prefer, but if you happen to have a bottle of vodka lurking in the cupboard I urge you to give it a try!

Milk: I used hazelnut milk to help amp up the hazelnut flavour, but any kind of non-dairy milk (except tinned coconut) will work.

Baking powder: Just a smidge in the frangipane to replace the lift that would usually be provided by the eggs.

Sugar: You will need both icing (powdered) sugar and either caster or granulated sugar. This apple hazelnut frangipane tart cannot be made with sweeteners or liquid sugars.

Jam: This is totally optional, but you can add a layer of jam underneath the frangipane if you want. I used blackcurrant as that is what I had, but if you can either make or get hold of some apple or apple and blackberry jam that would be perfect!

How To Make Apple Hazelnut Frangipane Tart:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1, the butter rubbed into the dry ingredients to make the pastry.

Step 1: To make the pastry, mix the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.

Step 2: Add the cold vodka and mix to combine. Gradually add enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Step 3, the pastry rolled out to line the tart tin.

Step 3: Roll the pastry out into a circle big enough to line a 25cm round tart tin. Press the pastry right into the corners then roll over the top with a rolling pin to trim off the excess. Prick the base with a fork.

Step 4, the pastry case lined with baking beans.

Step 4: Freeze the pastry case for 20 minutes then line it with baking parchment or tin foil, and fill with baking beans or dried rice.

Step 5: Bake for 15 minutes then remove the tin foil and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until pale golden.

Step 6: To make the frangipane, place the hazelnuts in a blender or food processor and pulse until they are fairly finely chopped. Add 2 Tablespoons of the flour and continue to pulse until they are finely ground. Be very careful not to blend them for too long!

Step 7: Tip the hazelnut mixture into a bowl, add the rest of the flour, the cornflour, ground almonds, baking powder, sugar, melted butter, hazelnut milk and vanilla and almond extracts and whisk until smooth.

Step 8, the prepared apples on a chopping board.

Step 8: Core the apples. Cut two of them into halves, and the other two into quarters. Thinly slice each of these sections, but keep the slices together.

Step 9, the pastry case with jam in the base.

Step 9: Optionally spread a thin layer of jam over the cooked pastry base.

Step 10, the pastry case filled with the frangipane.

Step 10: Pour the frangipane into the pastry case.

Step 11, the prepared tart before baking.

Step 11: Arrange the apple slices on top, pushing them into the frangipane slightly. Scatter over a handful of chopped hazelnuts.

Step 12: Bake for about 50 minutes until the frangipane is set.

Close up of the baked apple hazelnut frangipane tart.

Top Tips:

All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for standard measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml.

Be very careful when blending the hazelnuts that you don't go too far otherwise they will start to release their oils and you will end up with hazelnut butter. Just pulse them in short bursts, stirring after each burst, and stop as soon as they are finely ground. Adding a bit of the flour to the blender can help to stop them from going too far.

It is important to chill the pastry before rolling it out, otherwise it will be too soft and you will struggle to roll it.

For the best, crispy pastry, make sure that you don’t overwork it or let it get too warm. Freezing the tart shell prior to blind baking it helps to make the pastry crisp and stops it from shrinking too much.

If you want to save time you can use shop bought shortcrust pastry instead. Many are vegan friendly - Jus Roll pastry is vegan (apart from the 'all-butter' one).

If you prefer, you can arrange the apple slices on top of the tart in a circular fan shape rather than keeping them together.

FAQ's:

How should I store it?

Store the apple hazelnut frangipane tart in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can be served either cold or warmed through briefly in the microwave.

Can I prep it in advance?

The pastry can be made in advance and stored (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to 2 days. If it becomes too firm to roll out let it sit out at room temperature for half an hour before rolling. You can also roll out the pastry, transfer it to the tin and freeze it until firm then wrap it well and store in the freezer for up to a week, simply blind bake it from frozen when needed.

The frangipane is best used freshly made as it contains baking powder, but you can grind the hazelnuts, mix the dry ingredients together and store it in an airtight container at room temperature. When you are ready to bake the tart, simply mix in the wet ingredients.

Can I freeze it?

I wouldn't recommend making and freezing it in advance of serving it, but any leftovers can certainly be frozen. Make sure that it is well covered to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature to serve.

How should I serve it?

The tart can be served either warm or cold. It is fantastic warm with ice cream, cream or custard for dessert, or have a slice cold with a cup of tea or coffee.

The sliced apple hazelnut frangipane tart on a dark surface with apples and a bowl of hazelnuts.

More Vegan Frangipane Tarts:

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5 from 1 vote