Raspberry Tart With Almond Pastry Food

RASPBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and 1/3 cup sugar; cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly. Beat 1 egg; add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. tart pan with removable bottom. Spread 1/4 cup of jam over dough. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate., Meanwhile, cream remaining butter and sugar until light and fluffy; stir in almonds and extract. Add remaining eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; spoon filling over jam. Place tart pan on a baking sheet., Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Carefully remove sides from pan. Spread remaining jam on top. Combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice; drizzle over the top.

RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar together until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.
• Butter one side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Spread the tart with raspberry preserves and place the raspberries, stem end down, in concentric circles. If you are making a square tart, place the raspberries in rows. Serve immediately.

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!!).

ALMOND TART WITH RASPBERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F /180 degrees C.
• Cream the butter well and then just stir in the sugar and ground almonds. (Don't over beat or the oil will come out of the ground almonds as it cooks.) Put a teaspoon of the mixture into 24 small patty tins, or divide between 2 by 7-inch sandwich tins. Bake until golden brown 10 to 30 minutes depending on the pans used.
• The tarts or tartlets are too soft to turn out immediately, so cool in the tins for about 5 minutes before turning out. Do not allow to set hard before removing to a wire rack or the butter will solidify and they will stick to the tins. If this happens pop the tins back into the oven for a few minutes so the butter melts and then they will come out easily.
• Just before serving, arrange whole raspberries on the base. Glaze with Red Currant Glaze and decorate with rosettes of Jersey cream.
• Melt the red currant jelly with the water in a small stainless steel saucepan. Stir gently, but do not whisk, or it will become cloudy. Cook it just for 1 to 2 minutes longer for the jelly to darken. Store any leftover glaze in an airtight jar and reheat gently to melt it before use.

RASPBERRY AND BLUEBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a 3/4-inch wide strip off each side of the pastry and reserve. Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a 10-inch square and transfer to a sheet pan or cookie sheet. Brush the edges of the square with the egg. Working with 1 strip at a time, stand the strips along the edges of the pastry square and crimp where they meet. You want to create a shallow box, where the pastry square is the base and the 4 strips are the walls. Overlap the strips at the corners, stretching them, if necessary, to complete the walls of the box. Brush the border with the egg. Pierce the center of the pastry all over with fork. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream to soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat to stiff peaks. Add the liqueur and beat until just well blended; be careful not to overmix or the whipped cream will turn into a buttery consistency and start to separate. Using a large spatula, fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the prepared pastry crust. Arrange the berries over the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
• Note: You can use any fruit that's in season (orange segments, berries, plums, bananas, grapes). Blueberries make a good substitute for the raspberries, and sliced peaches or nectarines are delicious as well.

RASPBERRY ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a 3/4-inch wide strip off each side of the pastry and reserve. Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a 10-inch square. Brush the edges of the square with the egg. Working with 1 strip at a time, stand the strips along the edges of the pastry square and crimp where they meet. You want to create a shallow box, where the pastry square is the base and the 4 strips are the walls. Overlap the strips at the corners, stretching them if necessary to complete the walls of the box. Brush the border with the egg. Pierce the center of the pastry all over with fork. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Add the liqueur and beat until just well blended; be careful not to overmix or the whipped cream will turn into a buttery consistency and start to separate. Using a large spatula, fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the prepared pastry crust. Arrange the berries over the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
• NOTE: You can use any fruit that's in season (orange segments, berries, plums, bananas, grapes). Blueberries make a good substitute for the raspberries, and sliced peaches or nectarines are delicious as well.

RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Lightly flour a clean work surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out dough into a rectangle at least 9 by 18 inches and 1/8 inch thick, being careful not to press too hard around the edges. Using a pastry wheel or sharp paring knife, trim edges, and cut out four 1-inch strips, 2 from one of the short ends and 1 from each of the long sides. Set aside. The resulting rectangle should be about 6 by 15 inches. Transfer to a baking sheet.
• Dock, or pierce, the dough all over with a fork. Using a pastry brush, moisten dough with beaten egg, being careful not to let any drip down over the cut edges.
• Lay reserved 1-inch strips on top of the edges of the large rectangle, positioning them to line up exactly with the outside edge; this will be the raised border that will encase the filling. Trim strips to fit, overlapping them at the corners; brush egg wash underneath each of the four overlapping corners to seal them together. Brush tops of strips with egg wash, being careful not to let any drip down the sides. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator to chill 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer tart shell to oven, and bake until well browned and puffed all over, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven; using a balled-up clean kitchen towel, press down on the center, leaving the borders puffy. Return to oven; bake 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Press down again, if needed.
• When tart shell is completely cooled, place pastry cream in a medium bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form; fold into pastry cream. Using a small offset spatula, spread cream mixture over bottom of tart shell. Arrange raspberries neatly in rows on top of cream mixture to cover bottom of tart. Dust with confectioners' sugar; cut into strips, and serve.

WHITE CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY TART, WITH ALMONDS AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• You will need a tart pan with a removable bottom that has been lined with baking parchment.
• Roast the nuts by popping them into a medium oven for 10 minutes or so, until they are just going brown - keep a close eye on them. Put to one side.
• For the tart crust, put the flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Add the egg and 2 tablespoons of the water and pulse until a dough ball starts to come together, add the rest of the water gradually until you have a smooth dough. (you may need more or less water).
• Shape the dough into a disk, pop into a plastic bag and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• When rested, place the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out to fit the tart pan. Trim excess pastry and chill for 20 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 350ºF while the pastry is chilling. After removing the case from the fridge, pop a piece of foil or baking parchment onto the crust and fill with baking beans or pie weights. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, edges should be just tuning brown, remove the weights and cook for 5-10 minutes more, or until golden. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the tart filling:.
• Spread the raspberries evenly over the tart crust, sprinkle half the almonds and pistachios over the raspberries.
• In a double boiler, over a gentle heat, melt the chocolate and butter. Stir gently and remove from heat, add the vanilla/almond extract and the cream and stir gently until mixed.
• Pour the chocolate cream over the raspberries and nuts, work quickly as the chocolate will begin to set, smooth top with a spatula or spoon.
• Immediately sprinkle with remaining nuts.
• Refrigerate for 4-5 hours and remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving, dust with icing sugar.
• Notes: If you prefer you can omit the pistachios and another variation is to replace the raspberries with blueberries, although I have not tried it this way. You must use fresh fruit, not frozen. Time does not include refrigeration time.

RASPBERRY AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Mix the flour, sugar, and lemon peel, in a food processor.
• Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
• Add salt and pulse in the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until moist clumps form.
• Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk then wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface to an 11-inch round then transfer the dough onto a heavy baking sheet that has been lined with a silpat or parchment paper.
• Heat in the microwave the almond paste with 2 T of butter to thin it out, then spread on top of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border.
• Stir the lemon juice into the raspberry preserve and spread on top of almond paste, still leaving a 2-inch border.
• Fold the 2-inch dough border over to form an 8-inch round, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough (looks like a flat pie).
• Bake until the crust is golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Allow to cool.
• Sprinkle with the almonds and dust with the powdered sugar, if you wish.
• Slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the crostata from the baking sheet and serve.
• Optional: Top with chopped hazelnuts instead of almonds; or mix some lemon juice w/powdered sugar and drizzle over the top after cooking.
• *There are several good almond paste recipes on Zaar.