Baked Almond Date Tart Food

LEMON ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Pulse together flour, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade. Pulse in butter until crumbly. Stir egg yolks and vanilla together and pulse into flour mixture. Remove from processor and work with hands to make soft dough. Roll dough out between 2 sheets of waxed paper to about 1/8-inch thickness. Remove waxed paper and place into 9-inch tart pan, pressing dough firmly into sides. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit Toast almonds in shallow pan for 7 to 9 minutes or until brown. Remove and let cool. Finely chop in food processor with metal blade. Set aside. Remove the crust from the freezer. Line crust with aluminum foil and top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and foil and let cool.
• Beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar together on medium speed in large bowl until pale. Stir in lemon juice and zest, then melted butter, almonds and almond extract. Place tart pan with crust in shallow baking pan. Carefully pour filling into crust. Bake for 20 minutes or until tart is set and a rich brown color. When ready to serve dust with powdered sugar.

BAKED ALMOND & DATE TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Lightly butter and flour a 23-25cm fluted flan dish or tin (not loose-bottomed). Crush half the digestive biscuits with a rolling pin. Cream the butter and sugar in a food processor until light and fluffy, 2-3 mins, scraping down the sides halfway through. Add the flour, baking powder, ground almonds and crushed digestive biscuits, along with the eggs, then process again just until smooth. Transfer the mix to a bowl.
• Break the remaining digestive biscuits into chunky crumbs, (see step 1, left). Stir them into the mix (step 2) along with the chopped dates and almonds. Spoon the mix into the flan dish. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden and the tart is just beginning to come away from the sides.
• Remove the tart from the oven and leave it to cool a little, before dusting over icing sugar. Serve warm with cream.

ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• For dough: Beat the butter, sugars, and salt until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well. Stir in the flour until well blended, then refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes or longer.
• Shaping: Place a rounded teaspoon of dough (about 1/2 oz.)into each ungreased mini-muffin cup. With floured fingers or a tart tamper, press the dough up the sides of the cups to form the floor and walls of the crust. Place the crusts in the refrigerator to chill while preparing the filling.
• Filling: Crumble the almond paste into a small bowl. Blend in the sugar, salt and extract(s). Add one egg at a time to the almond paste, mixing well after each addition until there are no lumps.
• Assembly and Baking: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a slightly rounded 1/4 teaspoon of the raspberry jam into each dough-filled cup. Top with almond filling. The almond filling should come to the top of the dough. Bake the tarts for 24 to 28 minutes, until they're puffed and golden brown. Allow the tarts to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely. While they cool, make the glaze.
• Glaze: In a small bowl, mix the confectioners' sugar with the water until dissolved. Add the food coloring, if you're using it. Drizzle the glaze over the tarts. The tarts store well for 3 - 4 days in airtight containers; freeze them for longer storage.

PAN BAKED LEMON ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt, ground almonds, cream, sliced almonds, lemon zest and juice.
• Melt butter in an 8-inch ovenproof skillet over low heat; when foam has subsided, add almond mixture to pan, tilting pan to distribute batter evenly. Continue to cook tart on stovetop until edges just begin to set, then put pan in oven and finish cooking, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
• When tart is done, put it in broiler for about a minute or until just golden on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and sliced almonds. Serve.

HONEY ROASTED FIG & ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to fan 180C/ conventional 200C/gas 6. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a shallow loose-bottomed 25cm flan tin. Make sure the pastry comes above the rim - it may shrink in baking and the filling could spill. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut the figs in half lengthways and sit them cut side up on a roasting tray. Mix the orange juice and honey in a bowl, pour over the figs and roast for 10-12 minutes until just soft. Drain off any juice into a saucepan and reserve.
• Prick the base of the chilled pastry case all over with a fork, then line with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to fan 130C/conventional 150C/ gas 2. Leave the pastry case to cool slightly before filling.
• Cream butter and sugar in a food processor or with an electric beater until smooth and pale. Tip in the ground almonds and zest and whizz briefly to combine. Add egg yolks and 1 tbsp of the reserved fig juice and whizz again until smooth. Spread evenly over the pastry case.
• Gently press the figs cut side up into the almond mixture. Bake for 11⁄4 hours or until it's golden all over (don't worry if the centre still seems soft - a little gooeyness is good). Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove sides and transfer on its base to a wire rack to cool.
• Before serving, take the tart off its base and transfer to a flat platter or board. If you have juice left from roasting the figs, bring it to the boil and simmer for 1-2 minutes until sticky and syrupy. Brush this over the figs and serve as soon as possible, while the syrup is still glossy on the figs (it will start to seep through into the filling if you leave it too long).