Puff Pastry Fruit Tart With Almond Cream Food

PUFF PASTRY TART FILLED WITH ALMOND CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Purée almond paste, granulated sugar, butter, and a pinch of salt in a food processor until smooth. Add 1 egg, vanilla, and almond extract and purée until incorporated. Add flour and pulse until incorporated.
• Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet into an 11 1/2-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, then brush off excess flour from both sides. Cut out an 11-inch round by tracing around an inverted plate with tip of a paring knife. Transfer round to a buttered large baking sheet (not dark metal, or pastry may brown too much), discarding trimmings, and chill. Repeat procedure with second pastry sheet, leaving round on floured surface.
• Beat remaining egg with a fork and brush some over top of second round. Score round decoratively all over using tip of knife, then make several small slits all the way through pastry, at about 2-inch intervals, to create steam vents.
• Brush some of egg in a 1-inch-wide border around edge of chilled pastry round (on baking sheet). Mound almond cream in center of chilled round, spreading slightly, and bury bean in cream. Immediately cover with decorated round and press edges together lightly. Holding a small spoon with side at an angle, press around edge to seal galette decoratively.
• Bake galette in lower third of oven until puffed and pale golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Dust galette with confectioners sugar and bake in upper third of oven until edge is deep golden brown and shiny, 12 to 15 minutes more. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm.

PLUM TART WITH ALMOND PASTRY CRUST

Steps:

• For the filling: Fill a large stockpot halfway with water and bring to a boil. While water is boiling, take a paring knife and cut a 1/2-inch X on the bottom of each plum. Set aside. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and set aside. When water is boiling, gently drop plums into water for 30 to 45 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately submerge in ice water for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and dry plums gently with a paper towel. Over a medium-sized bowl, remove skins from plums - they should slip off fairly easily. Slice plums in half and remove pits. Toss with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and set aside.
• For the crust: Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
• Grind the almonds in a food processor until they are a fine crumb. Add the pastry flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar to the almond in the processor and pulse 5 times to incorporate. Add butter and oil and pulse for about 20 seconds, until mixture forms small clumps. Add the egg white and pulse an additional 20 to 30 times, until mixture forms a ball, being sure not to over-process. Dough will hold together, but be slightly sticky. Evenly press dough into the bottom and sides a 9-inch tart pan with a detachable bottom. Bake for 8 to10 minutes, or until surface of tart is no longer shiny. Remove from oven and let cool. Place tart shell on a cookie sheet. Toss plum halves in their own juices in bowl. Arrange plums, cut-side down, in the tart shell, crowding as many plums as you can into tart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until fruit is slightly tender but still firm. Remove from the oven and let cool.
• For the glaze: Heat preserves over a low flame or in microwave until melted. Combine with water and brush surface of tart.

FRESH FRUIT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place 1 piece of puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Lightly moisten one of the short edges with water. Connect the end of the other puff pastry to the moistened edge. Press pieces together to form a long rectangle, trimming off loose ends with a dough scraper as needed.
• Cut the third puff pastry piece lengthwise into 1-inch strips. Moisten the outer edges of the long rectangle with your finger; stick the pastry strips on top. Poke shallow holes all over the bottom of the dough using a fork. Do not prick the raised border.
• Bake pastry shell in the preheated oven until it starts to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Readjust the borders and push the bottom down with the flat side of a fork. Let cool completely while preparing the filling.
• Place butter and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl; smear together using a spatula until combined. Whisk in egg until mixture is creamy. Add almond flour, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Mix thoroughly. Cut each pluot into 6 wedges. Fill pastry shell with the almond paste. Stick the pluots snugly, but not too deeply, into the filling.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and almond filling is set, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer tart onto a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 40 minutes.
• Combine apricot jam and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Bring to a boil in the microwave. Let cool until warm. Brush glaze over the cooled tart.

PUFF-PASTRY FRUIT TART WITH ALMOND CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut 3/4-inch-wide strip off each side of pastry and reserve. Roll out pastry square on work surface to 9 1/2-inch square. Brush edges of square with egg glaze. Arrange 3/4-inch-wide strips atop edges, forming raised border. Brush border with glaze. Pierce center of pastry all over with fork. Bake until pastry is golden brown about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, blend almond paste and cream in processor until almost smooth. Spoon almond filling into center of tart and spread evenly. Bake 5 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
• Melt jam with ginger in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Arrange fruit decoratively atop tart. Brush jam glaze over fruit. Cut tart into squares and serve.

FRUITY ALMOND PUFF PASTRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sheet of puff pastry in the center of a baking sheet fitted with parchment. Top the puff with another sheet of parchment. Place a baking sheet directly on top of the parchment on top of the puff pastry. This weighs down the puff as it bakes and makes it uniform.
• Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the puff pastry is partially cooked and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and take the baking sheet and top sheet of parchment off the pastry.
• While the pastry is baking, make the frangipane. In the bowl of the food processor, pulse the almonds until they become like a coarse, wet powder. Add the sugar, butter, flour, almond extract, cinnamon and egg and pulse until it forms a paste.
• Gently spread the frangipane in an even layer over the puff pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border, and place the baking sheet back in the center of the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake until the frangipane and pastry are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• In a small pot, warm the jam over low heat until it melts slightly, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the puff to a flat surface and use a serrated knife to gently cut into 9 even pieces. Arrange the pieces close together on a serving platter as if they make a whole tart. Drizzle some of the warmed jam over the top edges of the pastry and frangipane to create a "glue" for the raspberries to stick to the pastry. Arrange the raspberries over the top of each piece. Drizzle the remaining jam gently over the raspberries and finish with a sprinkle of sugar for added texture. Serve at room temperature. Refrigerate the leftovers (if there are any!!).

MIXED FRUIT ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Make the crust: Grease the sides and bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until nuts are finely ground. Add remaining butter and sugar and pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Use your fingers and the flat bottom of a drinking glass to press the dough into an even layer in the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the tart is firm and golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Set aside.
• Make the almond cream: Whisk the sugar, flour and egg yolks until thick and smooth in a medium bowl. Bring the milk and almond extract to a gentle boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour about 1/2 of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly, then pour the whole mix back into the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, 5-8 minutes. Stir this mixture constantly, scraping the bottom as you stir, so the flour doesn't stick to the bottom and burn. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and cover it with a coating of plastic wrap so that it doesn't form a "skin". Refrigerate until completely cooled.
• Assemble the tart: Place the tart bottom on a serving platter. Spoon the pastry cream on top. Arrange the kiwi slices, raspberries and blueberries on top of the pastry cream and brush with the jam until the fruit is coated with it. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of sliced almonds.
• Note: You can use a 9-inch springform pan in place of the tart pan, if desired. Build the crust so that it is one inch high on the sides of the pan.

PUFF-PASTRY TARTS WITH STONE FRUITS AND FRANGIPANE

Steps:

• Pulse almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add granulated sugar, butter, 1 egg, salt, and cinnamon; process until smooth.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. On a lightly floured surface, cut pastry into 6 four-inch-squares and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush edges of pastry with egg wash. Spread 2 teaspoons almond mixture in center of each square; top with 4 pieces fruit. Sprinkle each tart with some turbinado sugar.
• Bake until tarts are golden brown and fruit has softened, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, 20 minutes. Sprinkle with flowers; serve.