Summer Fruit Frangipane Tart

There are certain recipes I always keep in my back pocket for last minute dinner party invitations, and this tart is at the top of that list. The ratio of effort to wow-factor for this recipe is off the charts thanks to a magical tart shell (from David Lebovitz) that defies everything you’ve ever learned about tart dough.

There’s no chilled butter to keep cold, no rolling or refrigerating. This dough gets mixed together, dumped into a tart shell, and baked, before being filled with a beautiful pillow of almond-y frangipane and studded with summer fruits like peaches, apricots, berries, or a mix of whatever’s in season.

This recipe features all the things I love most about summer flavors and is a fantastic way to use up whatever’s around. Plus, it’s a delicious, tried and true crowd pleaser that people will think you labored over for days.

Summer Fruit Frangipane Tart

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 0 tart

This summer tart features a dead simple French tart dough (from the great David Lebovitz) filled with a puffy almond-y filling (think almond croissant), and studded with fresh or frozen summer fruit. The ratio for effort to wow-factor is off the charts with this recipe: that is, it's the perfect show stopper to keep in your back pocket for your next summer barbecue. It's also a great way to use up summer fruit.

This recipe makes enough for an 11" tart, but can easily be scaled up or down to accommodate your tart pan. If it's your first time making this recipe and your tart pan is just a bit smaller than 11", I recommend making the full recipe. You'll have some leftovers, but the amount of waste overall should be minimal and you can try scaling it next time.

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Ingredients

For the Tart Dough

• 130 g unsalted butter
• 20 g neutral oil
• 70 g water
• 20 g granulated sugar
• Pinch kosher salt
• 240 g all purpose flour

For the Frangipane Filling

• 140 g almond meal*
• 10 g all purpose flour
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 140 g unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 14 oz fresh fruit like berries, peaches, apricots, etc.
• sliced almonds optional, for sprinkling
• 1.5 Tbsp granulated optional, for sprinkling

Instructions

Make the Tart Shell

• In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex container, combine 130 g unsalted butter, 20 g neutral oil, 70 g water, 20 g granulated sugar, and salt.
• Place the bowl in a cold oven and turn the heat to 400F. Let the mixture heat until the butter is bubbling and starts to barely brown around the edges. This can take up to 25 or 30 minutes, but start checking at around the 20 minute mark to make sure it doesn't burn.
• Carefully remove the bowl — the butter may sputter a bit — from the oven *carefully* dump in 240 g all purpose flour all at once. Stir the mixture quickly until it comes together, forms a ball, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Immediately transfer the dough to an 11" tart mold with a removable bottom and spread/press it a bit with a flexible spatula to fill the bottom of the mold.
• Once the dough is still quite warm but cool enough to handle, press it into the mold and up the sides of the pan with your finger tips. Reserve a small piece of the dough about the size of a raspberry, for filling cracks in later on.
• Prick the bottom of dough all over with the tines of a fork, then bake the tart shell for about 15 minutes, or until the dough is a light golden brown.
• Remove the tart shell from the oven and fill in any large cracks with the reserved dough, like patching a hole in the wall with spackle.
• Let the shell cool completely before moving on.

Make the Filling and Bake the Tart

• Preheat the oven to 375F.
• If using whole nuts (instead of almond meal) add the nuts, flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor and pulse until powdery. The coarser the grind, the more "bite" your frangipane will have to it. The finer the grind, the more "even" and "smooth" your frangipane will be.
• If using pre-ground almond meal or hazelnut meal: add 140 g almond meal*, 10 g all purpose flour, 100 g granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt to a food processor and blitz until smooth.
• Add 140 g unsalted butter and process until smooth. Then add 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp almond extract, and process until the mixture is smooth and homogeneous — about 2 minutes.
• Dump the frangipane mixture into the cooled tart shell. Slice larger fruit (peaches, apricots, etc.) and press slices into the frangipane gently, or press whole fruit into the frangipane if using smaller fruit like berries.
• Sprinkle the top of the tart with a handful of sliced almonds and dust with granulated sugar if desired (the granulated sugar will give the top a delicate, "professional" crunch).
• Bake until golden brown, about 40-50 minutes. The tart is done when a toothpick inserted at the middle of the tart comes out clean, just like a cake. You may need to cover the edges of the tart shell with foil if they start to brown too quickly in the last 15 minutes of baking or so.
• Cool the tart completely before unfolding and serving. Serve at room temperature. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours, or in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

*While almond meal is the easiest option for this tart, you can also use whole nuts. Experiment with pistachios, hazelnuts, and anything else you might have — you can even try a mix!