Sofias Raspberry Marzipan Tart Food

RASPBERRY-MARZIPAN TARTS

Steps:

• Crust:
• Combine butter, sugar and salt in a bowl. Beat in egg, then flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until you get a shaggy dough (it holds together loosely, but it's not smooth or elastic). Dust a surface with flour, transfer dough to surface and, with lightly floured fingers, knead once or twice until a sticky dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 40 minutes. Heat oven to 350°F. Divide dough in half; reserve half for Chocolate-Banana Tarts or freeze, well-wrapped, for another use. Divide remainder into 4 pieces. With lightly floured fingertips, press 1 piece into each tart pan, working dough up the sides evenly. (If dough tears on bottom, smooth dough over hole to close it up.) Prick pastry along bottom with a fork several times. Gently press a small square of foil into each pastry shell (do not press down hard). Top each with 1 tablespoon uncooked rice or dried beans (to prevent pastry from puffing up). Place on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and rice from each crust; discard. Return crust to oven; cook until golden, about 5 minutes more. Keep oven on.
• Filling:
• Combine butter and sugar. Beat in yolk, followed by flour, until combined. Beat in milk until incorporated. Divide filling among tart shells and bake until puffed, about 15 minutes.
• Fruit:
• Heat preserves with 1 tablespoon water in a small sauté pan over low heat until melted, about 3 minutes. Press through a sieve into a bowl. Let cool. Arrange about 7 raspberries on top of each tart. Brush glaze onto raspberries and drizzle remaining glaze over raspberries until covered. Serve immediately.

STRAWBERRY MARZIPAN TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a floured surface, roll the pastry 3/8-inch thick and line a 10-inch flan ring with it. Place the ring on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and chill it until needed.
• Cream the butter and sugar lightly in an electric mixer; don't let the butter get too soft. Add the eggs and mix lightly.
• Stir in the liqueur, zest, and almond extract, then mix in the ground almonds.
• Pour into the chilled pastry shell and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the pastry and marzipan are a deep golden brown.
• Remove the tart from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
• Brush the top of the tart with the currant jelly. Cover the top of the tart with sliced strawberries arranged in concentric circles or in a flower petal design, making certain the whole top of the tart is covered.
• Remove the flan ring and transfer the tart to a flat serving platter. Cut into wedges.
• Sugar Dough: 1 pound unsalted butter, slightly softened 3 1/3 cups (12 ounces) pastry flour 3 1/3 cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour Pinch salt 3/4 cup (6 ounces) sugar 3 egg yolks 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• Cut the butter into large pieces and place the pieces in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle or dough hook.
• Add the pastry and all-purpose flour, salt, and sugar. Mix on low speed until the butter is evenly distributed throughout the flour.
• Add the egg yolks and cream. Continue to mix on low speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Remove the dough and divide it into 2 pieces. Flatten each piece into a 6-inch round. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Use as needed. The dough will remain fresh for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator; or wrap securely in plastic, then in foil, and it will keep frozen for 2 to 3 months.
• Note: The dough may also be made in a food processor using the same technique, but make half a batch at a time for best results.
• To prepare the dough by hand, place the flours, sugar and salt in a large bowl or on a work surface. Mix together. Cut in the butter with your fingertips. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the egg yolks and cream. Using your fingertips, quickly work in the flour until the dough holds together. Form the dough into rounds, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill.
• Yield: 2 1/2 pounds

RASPBERRY MARZIPAN TART

Steps:

• For crust layer: Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, butter and egg with pastry blender until dough forms.
• Press dough over bottom and up sides of greased 9-inch round cake pan or pie pan.
• Spread 1/4 cup preserves over dough.
• Chill while preparing filling.
• For Filling: In small bowl, cream butter with sugar and almond extract until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, 1 at a time beating well after each addition.
• Stir in almonds.
• Spoon filling over preserves layer.
• Spread gently.
• Bake at 350 degrees 40-50 minutes or until deep golden brown.
• Cool 2 hours.
• Loosen edges.
• Gently remove from pan.
• Spread with remaining 1/4 cup preserves.
• Drizzle Glaze over tart.
• For Glaze: Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and blend well.

RASPBERRY FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• For the pastry: Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-sized pieces. Add 4 tablespoons of the water and stir with a fork until a shaggy dough starts to form. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons water if you need to, but stop before the dough gets too wet. It should just hold together when you squeeze it in your hand.
• Gather the dough into a rough ball in the bowl with your hands. Put a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and set the dough on it. Wrap the dough and flatten it into a 6-inch disc. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
• For the filling: Meanwhile, place the almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Add the granulated sugar, butter, salt and almond extract and blend until smooth. Add the eggs and blend until smooth. Add the flour and pulse until just combined.
• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to an 11-inch circle. Ease the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press in the edges, then run a rolling pin over the top to trim the edges. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or freeze for 15 minutes. Line the cold pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Place the lined tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until set and dry, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• Scrape the filling into the tart pan and spread it out evenly. Top evenly with the raspberries and sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Bake until the filling is puffed and golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

APRICOT-MARZIPAN TART

Steps:

• To make the dough, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the 1 cup (140 g) flour, 1/2 cup (40 g) sliced almonds, 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and the salt until the nuts are finely ground. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk and process until the dough comes together.
• Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. (There's no need to wash the bowl of the food processor-you'll need it again to make the filling.) Using your hands, press the dough as evenly as possible into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined tart pan until the dough is firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and prick the dough about a dozen times with a fork. Bake the tart shell on the baking sheet until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. If it puffs up during baking, press it down with the back of a metal spatula. Let cool while making the filling. Decrease the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).
• To make the filling, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the 1/2 cup (70 g) flour, brown sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup (20 g) sliced almonds until the almond paste is broken into fine pieces. Add the 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) chilled butter and pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of corn kernels. Set aside.
• Halve, pit, and cut the apricots into 1/2-inch (1.5-cm) slices. In a large bowl, toss the apricots with the cornstarch and 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar. Distribute the apricot slices in the tart shell and sprinkle them evenly with the almond mixture. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Serve the tart warm or at room temperature.
• Variations
• For RASPBERRY, APRICOT, AND MARZIPAN TART, add 1 cup (5 ounces/135 g) raspberries to the apricots. To make PLUM-MARZIPAN TART, substitute plums for the apricots and increase the cornstarch to 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon.

RASPBERRY-MARZIPAN TART

Steps:

• Dough:Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or rub it in with your fingers until small bits remain. Stir in egg, and mix until a dough forms. Fit dough into a buttered 9-inch pie plate using plastic wrap or wet fingers. Spread 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons preserves on bottom of tart shell. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Filling:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter, sugar, and extracts with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in nuts. Spread filling over preserves in tart shell.
• Bake tart until crust is deep golden brown and filling is set, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread with remaining 1/4 cup preserves. Tart can be stored at room temperature, tented with foil, up to 1 day. Or, after tart cools, store it at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, then foil, up to 3 days; spread with preserves before serving.