Peach Frangipane Tart : The Perfect Lust Solution
Serves 4-6

Inspiration

Three or four times a year a lust for serious dessert sneaks into my brain gradually growing toward obsession unless I succumb and make something special like a four layer cake with filling, icing glaze and frosting, a soufflé with satin crème anglais pooled underneath or a fabulous tart.

Decadent, delicious and pretty easy to make, Frangipane tart is one of my favorite lust squelchers.

Frangipane is French for almond paste. In the dessert world it refers to an almond egg filling that rises while it bakes, or more commonly a tart made with the filling and fruit like apples or pears.

Italian lore traces frangipane to Marquis Muzio Frangipani, a 16th century nobleman who dreamed up gloves scented with almond. Chefs then duplicated the aroma in desserts that they named frangipane.

Not to be outdone, the English also claim to have invented frangipane as a mistake made in 1820 by the landlady at the White Horse Inn. She was supposed stir eggs and almond cream into a pastry and then spread jam on top. Instead she put the jam on the crust dough and spread the egg-almond cream on top. While it baked the jam rose through the cream creating a new and instantly coveted dessert that she named Frangipane.

That’s it for culinary trivia!

Recently at the University Farmers Market, about ten days into a major dessert lust I came upon four fruit crates filled with brilliantly colored Yakima peaches. As I lunged for the sample tray the farmer/seller explained that each box represented the day those peaches would be ready to eat, beginning with #1 which was perfect right then.

Hints

1. Some frangipane recipes call for almond paste (not marzipan). I prefer to process blanched almonds into a paste with some crunch consistency. Either way works.
2. Recipes using pears or apples call for poaching the fruit. Peaches should not be poached before they are baked. They should be firm but ripe, with a distinct peach fragrance. Dip the ripe peaches in very hot water, remove and rinse with very cold water; then peel the fruit. Taste a sliver. If it needs a flavor boost, sprinkle it with a little sugar before putting the tart together.

Ingredients

Use an 8” or 10” fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.

Tart Crust
1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp. salt
8 tbs. unsalted butter, very cold and cut into ½” cubes
1 egg, separated
1 tbs. unsalted butter at room temperature

Frangipane Filling
1½ cups slivered blanched almonds (3/4 cup when ground)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. almond extract

Peaches
2 large fresh peaches, dipped in hot water, rinsed with cold water and peeled
Strained orange marmalade or ¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted (optional)

Procedure

Crust

1. With a pastry blender, thoroughly mix flour, sugar and salt.
2. Add butter and blend until mixture is the texture of small peas.
3. Stir egg yolk briskly and add it with your fingers or pastry blender until combined. Gently form the mixture into a rounded sphere, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling and the peaches.

Frangipane Filling
Put almonds in processor and process into a paste. Add other ingredients and pulse until completely blended. Set aside.

Peaches
Cut the peaches in half and then slice into wedges about ¼” across the back. Set onto a paper towel to drain.

Finishing the tart

1. Grease the tart pan and sides with the room temperature butter.
2. Put the dough round between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll it gently into a circle about an inch larger than the circumference of the tart pan. Remove the top piece of the plastic wrap and invert the dough into the pan. Remove the other piece of plastic wrap and gently press the dough into the pan bottom and up the edge slightly higher than the edge. Roll the extra over to form a lip, then press the edges into the pan. Poke the bottom and sides with a fork and chill the tart shell in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 400º. Put the remaining egg white into a small bowl, whip it with a fork until it is bubbly and brush it onto the rim of the tart shell.
4. Bake the tart shell for 10 minutes, remove it from the oven and reduce heat to 350º.
5. Spread almond filling into the tart shell. Carefully place the peach slices around the outer edge of the filling or in another pattern of your choice.
6. This tart will take about 45 minutes to cook. After ten minutes put a pie rim protector (or cut-out foil) over the rim and continue to bake until the filling is puffed, golden brown and slightly firm to the touch. After 25 minutes check the doneness of the filling and the brownness of the rim. If the rim has not browned enough, remove the protection. Keep checking in increments until the tart is done.
7. To Serve: Cool the tart to room temperature on a wire rack. If you want the fruit to have a shiny glaze, brush it gently with melted, strained orange marmalade. Another option is to sift powdered sugar through a small strainer over the tart just before serving (it will dissolve instantly on the fruit and show only over the frangipane).