Bake

Torta di Mandorle (Italian Almond Tart)

by:
December 22, 2016
4
2 Ratings
Torta di Mandorle (Italian Almond Tart)
Photo by Emiko
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

This Italian almond tart is inspired by a recipe from Carol Field's The Italian Baker. I like to up the quantity of almonds to the filling and blind bake the pastry first.

It's so simple, but also easy to dress up. Use your favourite shortcrust pastry (mine is this one: https://food52.com/recipes...), make this incredibly creamy almond filling, smooth it into the pastry and bake. Carol Field doesn't blind bake the tart shell first, but because it's such a buttery, moist filling, I think it's a good idea to bake first. And although this is lovely just as it is, if you wanted to embellish it, scatter it with chopped or sliced almonds, dust it with powdered sugar and serve it with unsweetened whipped cream on the side. This tart works very well with fruit added to it, too. Try some poached pear slices, fresh apricot halves pushed into the almond batter before cooking, or even some jam spread onto the bottom of the tart shell (go with something on the tart side like sour cherry or raspberry). —Emiko

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 9-inch unbaked tart shell, chilled (see note for link or choose your favourite sweet shortcrust pastry)
  • 7/8 cup (125 grams) whole, unpeeled almonds
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
  • 1 cup (225 grams) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or a splash of amaretto liqueur)
  • 3/4 cup (100 grams) roughly chopped blanched almonds (or a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts)
  • Optional: powdered sugar for dusting or whipped cream for serving
Directions
  1. Blind bake the tart shell, lined with parchment and layered with some baking beads (or if you don't have them, some dried beans or dry rice) at 375°F/190°C for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the baking beads and foil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or until the pastry is pale but does not look raw. Remove the tart shell, let cool, but keep the oven on, turned down to 350°F/180°C.
  2. In the meantime, in a food processor, grind the unpeeled almonds and the sugar together until they are like fine sand. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and whip for 3-4 minutes with electric beaters or a mixer until pale and creamy. Add the egg and the yolk, along with the extracts and beat well. Stir through the chopped nuts.
  3. Spread the almond filling over the blind-baked tart shell and smooth over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is set, the top dry to the touch, and the pastry shell is golden-brown. Cool completely before serving.
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    Rose
  • Emiko
    Emiko
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    Sunny Aalami
  • Janet
    Janet

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9 Reviews

Janet
Janet January 5, 2017
I have a jar of almond meal that I'd like to use, but I don't know how much would be the equivalent of 7/8 cup of whole almonds. Any advice?
 
Emiko
Emiko January 6, 2017
Do you have kitchen scales? They should weigh 125 grams. I believe this is about 1 1/4 cups but weight is the most precise way to measure this!
 
Janet
Janet January 6, 2017
Thanks so much! Yes, I have a scale and will weigh it. Can't wait to try the recipe.
 
ellen
ellen December 31, 2016
The linked crust recipe makes enough for a bottom crust & a lattice top. For this recipe, should you use the entire crust for the bottom or halve the recipe?
 
Emiko
Emiko December 31, 2016
You should be left over with just a little bit from that recipe (in reality the lattice top doesn't use half the dough, more like 1/3-1/4 of the whole dough); I would make the whole recipe for that dough (see the recipe for thickness etc) and with the leftovers you can freeze the dough or even make a few cut out cookies with them (lovely just on their own or iced).
 
ellen
ellen December 31, 2016
Ok- thanks!!😊
 
Lincoln@LincsFlavours
Lincoln@LincsFlavours December 29, 2016
I live in Spain and we have our own traditional almond tarts, in particular the "Santiago" tart. Here we tend to use hand graters to grate the almonds. They are relatively cheap to buy and use; you just pop the almonds in and turn the handle……. I would recommend the these traditional graters, for a traditional almond tart, as they produce fine, dry grated almonds without releasing any of their esential oils.

Lincoln @ LincsFlavours
 
Sunny A.
Sunny A. March 22, 2023
I live in Spain too and you can buy ground almonds everywhere. Also Santiago is a cake not a tart.
 
Rose
Rose December 26, 2016
I don't know what I did wrong but the butter soaked through the crust.