I feel like frangipane is so under-utilized and under-appreciated. Anyone else? It is a quick, delicious filling for tarts, bostock and day-old croissants. You can customize with the nut of your liking, and it’s so easy to dabble with the spices that you add to compliment the other filling components. That flexibility inspired this nectarine & walnut frangipane tart!
The nectarines and peaches have been just “choice” this summer – so I’ve made it a habit to grab a few each week at the store. I was a tad over-zealous a few weeks ago, and grabbed maybe a few too many. Fast forward to us moving (again….), somehow the nectarines survived, and I found myself on a Saturday morning with ripe nectarines and some pate sucre that had to be used up from my freezer stash. I guess that’s one thing about moving – it makes you clean out your freezer stash of odds and ends!
I always have walnuts on hand – so that was a easy choice for the frangipane. Almond flour, IMHO, kind of lacks flavor for me when used in frangipane, so I opted to toast my nuts and process them into a medium-fine meal for frangipane. But, with that said, feel free to use whatever nut flour you have.
For spices, I opted for my “coffee spice” blend, a proprietary mix of nutmeg bits that are too small to microplane, some cardamom seeds (not pods!), and some pieces of cinnamon stick, processed in a spice grinder. Any spices work here, but I do highly recommend that you grate some nutmeg over the top of the fresh out of the oven, hot tart! It is a truly aromatic experience.
Lastly, I choose to not peel my fruit for these types of tarts. The color and flavor the skins contribute is great, but feel free to peel. Sprinkle the fruit with sugar before baking to encourage moisture to seep out of the fruit, which helps to maintain moist and tender fruit.
Nectarine & Walnut Frangipane Tart // makes 1 9-10″ tart // Adapted from my Apple Frangipane Tart (here)
Pate Sucree: see post here for how to make & blind bake – this recipe makes enough for 2 tarts, so use half and freeze the rest for up to 6 months.
Frangipane:
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (54g) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (57g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp sea salt I use fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (72g) freshly toasted walnuts, ground into a medium-fine flour
- 3 tsp bourbon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 2 TB (15g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp each nutmeg and cardamom (optional! Add spices to your liking)
Topping: granulated sugar, for sprinkling on the apricots
Instructions:
- Make the pate sucree at least 1 day ahead. Roll out and blind bake up to 1 day ahead.
- Toast nuts: pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment (or use the same one as you use to blind bake the tart shell). Bake nuts for 10 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant.
- Grind nuts: to a food processor, add the toasted nuts and pulse into a medium-fine texture. Don’t over-process, or you’ll have oily nuts.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer; or food processor — especially if you’re toasting and grinding your own nuts), add the butter, sugar, and salt until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each. Scrape down the bowl once to ensure even mixing.
- Add in the remaining ingredients, and beat until everything is combined. Scrape with a spatula to make sure everything is incorporated. Place in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until needed (up to a few days ahead of baking the tart), or proceed to assembling & baking.
- To assemble & bake the tart: allow frangipane to come to room temperature if it was stored in the fridge. Pre-heat oven to 350F, with a rack in the middle position. Line a sheet pan with parchment (or use the same pan from blind baking the tart shell).
- Slice 3-4 nectarines into thin (about 1/4″) slices. Keep sections of the slices together if you want to fan them out in the frangipane.
- Spread frangipane into the blind-baked tart shell into an even layer – leaving a bit of room for adding the nectarines. Arrange the nectarine slices in the frangipane, gently pressing them in. You may not use all the nectarines but use enough to cover the surface of the frangipane. Sprinkle the fruit with sugar.
- Bake tart for 30-40 minutes until the frangipane is golden and puffed. When out of the oven, grate nutmeg over the top if desired.
- Allow the tart to cool before cutting. Store covered at room temp up to 2 days, or a few days in the fridge.