Almond Berry Tart Food

BLUEBERRY & ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Beat together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about 1 min. Stir in the almonds, egg and almond extract.
• Stir in half the blueberries and spoon into the pastry case. Smooth the top using the back of a metal spoon, then scatter over the remaining blueberries, pressing them in lightly. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden, and the filling is golden and feels firm to the touch.
• Cool the tart for 10 mins in the tin, then lift onto a serving plate. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• For the shells: Pulse together the granulated sugar, flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add the butter and continue to pulse until mealy. Add the egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the filling) and pulse until the dough comes together. Press the dough into a disc, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to overnight.
• To mold the shells, grease a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/4-inch-thick, dusting with more flour as needed. Cut out 3-inch circles and press them into the muffin cups so that the dough comes all the way up the sides. (No worries if the dough tears; just patch it up with additional dough.) Freeze the shells for 15 minutes.
• For the filling: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Combine the almond meal, granulated sugar, salt, and butter, either by blending it in the food processor (no need to clean it out after making the dough, you can just use it immediately for this step), or by stirring it together in a large bowl (I find it's easiest to get in there with my hands). Add the almond extract, egg and the reserved egg whites from the shells, and continue to blend/stir until smooth and combined.
• Fill the frozen shells with the filling so that it comes up about 1/4-inch from the top. Bake until the tops and edges are lightly browned; begin checking for doneness at 30 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then use a small offset spatula or a knife to remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze: If making the glaze with heavy cream, combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream and almond extract in a bowl until smooth. Add additional powdered sugar or liquid to thicken it up or thin it out so that you get the consistency of a thick glue.
• To make the glaze with the raspberries, place the raspberries in a fine-mesh sieve and give them a rinse. Place the sieve over a bowl and use a stiff rubber spatula or wooden spoon to smash them through the sieve into the bowl until you're just left with seeds in the sieve. Be sure to scrape the underside of the sieve to get the stuff that's sticking to it. (You should be left with about 2 tablespoons seedless puree. If it's a tiny bit more or a tiny bit less, that's fine.) Add the powdered sugar and almond extract and mix to make a thick glaze. If it's too thick, add a few drops of water to thin it out, and if it's too thin, add a few more spoonfuls of powdered sugar. It should be the consistency of a thick glue.
• Spread the glaze over the cooled tarts and decorate with sprinkles, almonds and anything else you'd like! These will keep for several days at room temperature or in the fridge.

BLUEBERRY-ALMOND TART

Steps:

• For filling:
• Combine 2 baskets berries, sugar, and lemon juice in heavy medium saucepan. Coarsely mash berries. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils and thickens, about 7 minutes. Whisk yolks and cornstarch in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in half of hot berry mixture; return to pan. Stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 3 minutes. Whisk in butter and lemon peel. Transfer filling to bowl. Cover and chill overnight.
• For crust:
• Lightly butter 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Blend flour, 1/4 cup sliced almonds, sugar, and salt in processor until almonds are finely ground. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk egg yolk and almond extract in small bowl; add to processor and blend until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Pierce crust all over with fork; freeze 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is golden, about 18 minutes longer. Cool crust completely on rack.
• Spread filling in crust; sprinkle remaining 2 baskets berries over. Stir currant jelly in small saucepan over medium heat until melted; brush over berries. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sliced almonds around edge of tart. Cover loosely with foil and chill at least 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Remove pan sides. Place tart on platter. Serve cold or at room temperature.

FRESH FRUIT TART WITH ALMOND PRESS-IN CRUST

Steps:

• Crust:
• Place a rack in the middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Whisk egg yolks and 1 Tbsp. cold water in a small bowl to combine.
• Whisk all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter and rub and smash into dry ingredients with your fingers to create large, shaggy pieces (you want some pieces that are flat and thin and some that are large and irregular).
• Drizzle egg yolk mixture over flour and, using a fork or your fingers, toss into dough to incorporate. Knead dough in bowl until it starts to come together (it will still look a little dry; although, if it looks too dry and doesn't come together, add 1-2 Tbsp. more water, but only if needed).
• Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and knead 1 or 2 more times. Divide dough in half, stack pieces, and press down firmly to smash together. Repeat process until dough is well combined and becomes slightly sticky, 2-3 more times. Press dough into bottom and 1" up sides of pan and prick all over with a fork. Freeze until very firm, 20-30 minutes.
• Bake crust until deep golden brown all over, 35-40 minutes. Let cool.
• Do Ahead: Crust can be baked 2 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
• Custard and assembly:
• Bring milk and vanilla paste to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl, starting slowly-it won't want to combine easily at first-then vigorously whisk until mixture is very pale yellow and very thick, about 1 minute (the sugar should be nearly dissolved at this point). Whisking constantly, gradually add hot milk mixture. Return custard base to saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Simmer, still whisking constantly, until custard is thickened and has no cornstarch taste, about 3 minutes.
• Remove custard from heat and add butter a couple of pieces at a time, whisking until fully melted before adding more, until all of the butter is incorporated. Transfer to a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing directly against surface. Let cool.
• Vigorously whisk custard until smooth and slightly loosened. Scrape into crust and smooth surface. Top with berries.
• Do Ahead: Custard can be made 4 days ahead. Keep chilled.

BERRY, ROSE WATER, ALMOND & MERINGUE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out the marzipan to a circle roughly 21cm in diameter - use a plate as a template to cut around. Lay the marzipan circle in the centre of the tart case, then put in the oven and bake for 5 mins. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
• Tip the double cream, icing sugar and rose water into a bowl. Whisk until the cream just holds its shape, then stir through the crushed meringue. Drop some of the berries into the bottom of the tart case. Pile over the cream mixture, then top with the remaining berries and flaked almonds. Serve straight away.

ROSE-SCENTED BERRY TART WITH AN ALMOND SHORTBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• For the crust, place 1/4 cup flour and the almonds in a food processor. Run until the almonds are finely ground, about 1 minute. Pulse in remaining one and a quarter cups flour, sugar, lemon zest and salt.
• Add the butter and pulse until a coarse meal forms. Add the egg and pulse until the dough comes together. Press dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for 4 hours or up to a week.
• To make the pastry cream, pull the rose petals from the stem and drop into a heavy saucepan. Pour in milk and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Strain and discard petals; pour liquid into pot and return to a simmer. (If you are using rosewater, skip the steeping; bring milk to a simmer and stir in the rosewater off the heat.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour and sugar. Slowly whisk in the hot milk. Return mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just starts to boil, 1 to 2 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk yolks until pale and thick. Whisking constantly, pour the hot milk mixture into the yolks. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until custard is thick and smooth (170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Do not let the mixture boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Chill 1 hour before using or up to 5 days.
• When ready to bake the tart, roll the dough out between two sheets of plastic to a 3/8-inch thickness. Remove plastic and line a 9-inch tart pan with the dough; chill for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the tart shell with foil and fill with baking weights. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and weights. Continue baking, uncovered, for 5 to 10 more minutes, until pale golden. Allow tart shell to cool completely before filling.
• Spoon chilled pastry cream into cooled tart shell. Arrange berries over the top of the tart. Serve within 2 hours for the best texture.