Cherry Marzipan Tart Food

CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Work in butter thoroughly. Stir in egg yolk mixture and knead briefly until dough is smooth, then form into a flat disk.
• Roll dough to a large circle and lay it in a 10-inch/23-centimeter fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press in well (patch any cracks with extra dough). Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Blind bake tart shell until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. (You do not need to cover the shell or use pie weights.)
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Put almonds, flour and sugar in work bowl of food processor and grind to a rough powder. Add butter and pulse until well incorporated. Add eggs and almond extract and process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use ground almonds and make batter with a mixer instead.)
• Pour almond batter into prebaked shell and smooth with a spatula. Press cherries into batter in a single layer. Sprinkle with a handful of sliced almonds. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. (An inserted skewer should come out clean.) Cool on a rack and remove outer rim of tart pan. Place tart on a serving dish and dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, process the flour (or flour and semolina, which gives it extra crunch) and butter, then add the sugar, followed by the beaten egg and just enough water (about 2 tbsp) to form a dough. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 mins.
• Meanwhile, to make the filling, place the sugar, ground almonds, butter, egg and egg yolk in a bowl and mix to make a creamy paste. Stir in the kirsch or Armagnac. Chill for at least 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Roll the pastry out onto a floured surface and use to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Fill with lightly greased foil and baking beans and bake for 20-25 mins, removing foil after 15 mins, until golden. Spread the almond paste onto the base of the pastry and bake for 25 mins until golden and crisp. When the tart comes out of the oven, arrange the cherries on top in a single layer. Heat the cherry conserve with 1 tbsp water until smooth, then brush over the cherries. Leave to cool before removing from the tin. Cut into wedges to serve, adding a spoonful of crème fraîche if you like.

SOUR-CHERRY FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Pour melted butter over granulated sugar; stir to dissolve. Let cool 10 minutes. Whisk together both flours and 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir into butter mixture until thoroughly combined.
• Press dough into prepared pan, making sides slightly thicker than bottom. Freeze until firm, 15 minutes. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until slightly puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Filling: Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, cream, almond extract, and granulated sugar. In another bowl, whisk together both flours and salt, then whisk into egg mixture until smooth. Arrange cherries in cooled crust in a single layer; gently pour batter around them. Bake, rotating once, until golden brown and just set, 35 to 40 minutes. Let tart cool at least 30 minutes, dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve.

CITRUS & MARZIPAN BAKEWELL TART

Steps:

• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to line a 12 x 35cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Press any overhanging pastry back over the outside of the tin (you can trim after baking). Prick the base all over with a fork and chill for 30 mins. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Bake the pastry for 15 mins until just cooked but not coloured. Lower the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Make the sponge mixture by beating the butter, sugar, ground almonds, flour, almond extract and eggs together with an electric whisk until well mixed. Tip in the candied peel and zests, then coarsely grate in the marzipan - the best way to do this is to keep dipping the end of the block in flour to stop it getting sticky, and stir into the mix every now and then to stop it all clumping back together. Give everything a good stir.
• Spoon 3 tbsp of the lemon curd into a disposable piping bag or a small food bag. Spread the rest of the lemon curd over the base of the tart, then spoon over the sponge mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden and firm. Cool completely in the tin.
• Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in enough of the lemon juice to get a smooth, thick but still runny icing. Spread all over the top of the tart and wiggle the tin to help it smooth. Snip off the tip of the bag of reserved lemon curd. Pipe lines horizontally across the length of the tin, then use the end of a cocktail stick or skewer to drag lines down the length of the tin to 'feather' the lemon curd into the icing. Will keep well for up to five days covered in the tin, or sliced in an airtight container.

PLUM & MARZIPAN TART TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Melt the butter in a 28cm tart tatin tin over a medium heat on the hob. Tip in the sugar and 1 tbsp water and cook for a few minutes, stirring all the time until lightly browned. If it looks slightly crumbly at this stage don't be put off, it will right itself in the oven. Remove from the heat and put in the plums, cut side up.
• Chop the marzipan into as many chunks as there are plum halves and put a chunk of marzipan in the hole in each plum left by the stone. Sprinkle a small pile of ground almonds over each plum half.
• Roll out the pastry and trim to 3cm larger than the tin all round. Lift the pastry on to the tin and tuck it down between the plums and the inside of the tin. (You can chill the tart ready for baking for up to 24 hours.) Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is risen, crisp and golden. Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then place a large flat plate with a rim over the tin. Holding it over the sink in case of drips, carefully invert the tart on to the plate. Some juice from the plums is likely to escape, which is why you need a rim on the plate, but it's delicious, especially when mingled with pouring cream.

SOUR CHERRY & MARZIPAN CHRYSANTHEMUM PASTRY

Steps:

• First, make the dough. Put all the ingredients and a pinch of salt into a stand mixer and mix on low. When it forms a dough, knead for a couple of mins, then cover with a damp cloth. Leave it overnight or at least 8 hrs in a cool place. If you want to speed up the process, knead for about 10 mins until you have a smooth, pliable dough, then cover and leave to rise for 1 hr.
• Put the cherries in a pan with the sloe gin and cherry jam, then bring to a simmer. Leave to cool. Cut the marzipan into 36 thin slices.
• Butter a 24cm pie dish with sloping sides or shallow cake tin. On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into four sections and very briefly knead each one. Keep the pieces you're not using covered and, one at a time, roll out one piece until it's about 4mm thick. Cut out circles using a 7cm cutter. Save all the off-cuts in case you need to re-roll them. You'll need 30-36 circles.
• Lay a piece of marzipan on each circle of dough and add a small spoonful of cherry mixture. Fold the circles in half, then bring the two points together like a fortune cookie. Arrange them in the tin, around the edges with the points facing in. Make a second, smaller circle, then, finally, fill the centre. Cover with buttered cling film and leave for 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Brush the top of the dough with the egg and scatter with the sugar. Bake for 35-40 mins (turn the oven down if the dough browns too much). Cool a little and eat warm. Can be frozen once baked for 2 months. Wrap in foil and reheat from frozen in the oven.