Raspberry & Vanilla Frangipane Tart

Directions

1. Firstly make the pastry. Set the oven to 180c. Place the flour, butter and icing sugar in the food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Add the egg yolks and whizz until a ball begins to form. Tip the pastry out onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead it lightly and quickly for a few moments. Now, you can either immediately roll the dough out and place in your pastry tin (this can be a bit tricky as the pastry is very soft and sticky but it is easy to push into place with your fingers) or wrap the pastry in cling film and leave it to chill in the fridge and then roll out – we all have our own preferred way of doing things! Either way, the pastry must be allowed to set cold in the fridge for at least half an hour.
2. When the pastry is in its tin, line it with baking paper and top with baking beads (or old rice as I do) and cook in the oven at 180c for 15 minutes. After this time remove the baking paper and beans and put back in the oven for the base to go golden brown for about 5 minutes. When it’s ready, set aside to be filled with the frangipane.
3. While the pastry is cooking, make the frangipane. Put the soft butter and the sugar into the food processor and beat them together until mixed well. Now add the eggs, one at a time and make sure they are blended well with the butter mix. Add the ground almonds, glass of Amaretto, vanilla essence and the lemon zest. Give it another good blitz so everything is well blended and smooth. Check the taste – you may want to add more lemon zest or Amaretto or vanilla – it all depends on your preference.
4. Now spread the frangipane evenly over the base of the cooked pastry case. Push the raspberries into the frangipane in a circular pattern. Make sure the tip of the raspberries are exposed rather than the hollow base.
5. Place the tart back into the oven at 180c and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the frangipane has risen slightly and is starting to go golden brown. Leave to cool completely then dust with a little icing sugar and serve.