Pastry week fils me with fear. I’ve not often made any pastry myself and when I have it has more often than not been a failure.

I’ve never made frangipane either, so clearly frangipane tart was the way to go!

My Mum and Dad have been plying me with fruit from their garden so I decided to use some of it in my recipe – Victoria Plum Frangipane!

I’ve only ever made savoury shortcrust pastry before so I had to find a new recipe for that as I didn’t fancy the ketchup and paprika pastry I usually make in a sweet tart!

I’m not very good at hand making pastry – my hands are too warm, they just melt the butter and I end up in a huge sticky mess but I persevered and ended up with pastry that was actually pretty good!

Victoria Plum Frangipane Tart

For the Sweet Shortcrust Pastry you will need:

225g Plain Flour

110g Butter

80g Icing Sugar

1 Large Egg

A Splash Of Milk

Method:

1. Crumb together the butter and flour.
2. Add in the sugar.
3. Mix in the egg and just enough milk to bring the mix together into a soft dough.
4. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes before using.

For the Victoria Plum Frangipane Tart you will need:

Your Shortcrust Pastry from above

100g Butter, softened

125g Caster Sugar (plus an extra tablespoon or so)

2 Eggs, beaten

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

175g Ground Almonds

50g Plain Flour

6-8 Victoria Plums, halved and pitted

Flaked Almonds to decorate (optional)

Method:

1. Roll out you pastry and use to line a fluted tart tin, making sure it is pressed well into the corners and fluted sides.
2. Cut off any overhanging pastry with a sharp knife then chill for 30 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Gradually add the eggs and vanilla, beating well between each addition.
5. Mix in the almonds and flour.
6. Heat oven to 160°C Fan (180°C/GM4).
7. Spoon the frangipane into the chilled tart case and smooth with a palette knife.
8. Arrange the plums on top, gently pressing into the frangipane. Add flaked almonds between plums if using.
9. Sprinkle at least 1 tbsp sugar over the top of the tart.
10. Place the tin on a tray and bake for 45-55 minutes until the pastry is golden and fruit tender.

 

My pastry was slightly underbaked in the middle and slightly overbaked on the edges but, that aside, I was very pleased with the result and it goes particularly well with ice cream!

EDIT: To my great surprise – my Frangipane Tart won me my first ever Star Baker badge! A mere three years in the making, I am over the world to finally be able to add the badge to my blog, I honestly never thought it would happen.

****************************************************************************

 

The Great Bloggers Bake Off 2015 is being hosted by the lovely Jenny at Mummy Mishaps and if you hop over there you can take a look at all the other super tasty entries in the linky.