Pistachio Cherry Frangipane Tart (Vegan)
Pistachio cherry frangipane tart - this delicious vegan tart is basically a pistachio version of Bakewell tart. It consists of a crisp pastry shell filled with cherry jam, soft pistachio almond frangipane and cherries.
Servings 10 people
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 g (½ cup) ground almonds
- 30 g (⅓ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter cold and diced
- 1 Tablespoon cold vodka (or water)
Frangipane:
- 100 g (3 ½ oz/ 1 cup) finely ground pistachios*
- 100 g (3 ½ oz/ 1 cup) ground almonds
- 100 g (¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 40 g (4 packed Tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 120 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 100 g (3 ½ oz/ ⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) vegan block butter melted
- 120 ml (½ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
To Assemble:
- about 175g cherry jam (about 8 Tablespoons)
- 180 g (about 30) frozen or fresh pitted cherries
- a handful chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Start by making the pastry. Place the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
- Add the cold, cubed butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
- Add the cold vodka (if using) and mix to combine. Gradually add enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Shape the pastry into a disc (don't knead it), wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until firm enough to roll out.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface into a circle big enough to line a 23 cm/9 in round pie dish. Press the pastry right into the corners then trim off the excess.
- Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until solid. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Line the pastry case with baking parchment, pressing it right into the corners, then fill with baking beans or dried rice, making sure that the sides are propped up.
- Bake for 20 minutes then remove the tin foil and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 5 minutes until very pale golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- To make the frangipane, whisk together the ground pistachios and almonds, plain flour, cornflour, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the milk, melted butter, vanilla and almond extract and whisk until smooth.
- Spread a layer of jam over the base of the pastry case then spread or pipe the frangipane over the top.
- Arrange the cherries on top of the frangipane and scatter over a handful of chopped pistachios.
- Bake the tart for 60-70 minutes, until the frangipane is set and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Notes
- *The pistachios need to be a fine flour, without larger pieces (like ground almonds/almond flour texture). See post above for more details.
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- 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!