By the time you see this blog I will be on a plane with my overpacked (and more than likely over the weight limit) bags heading east to spend a long weekend with my nephew. Last summer we spent a long weekend exploring several towns in Montana, his 'summer internship' home state. This year our adventure will be spent discovering various parts of Pennsylvania, his 'first job post college graduation' home state. While our whirlwind weekend is already over planned (hardly a surprise there), I am secretly hoping we can squeeze in a stop in at least one antique store (because how can one possibly spend any time in Pennsylvania and not look for centuries old treasures?) and a farmer's market or road side stand (because how could one resist the allure of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables). Keeping my fingers crossed the platter of homemade chocolate chip cookies baked in the wee hours before leaving for the airport will be enough to sway him into granting one, if not both, of these wishes.
If our Pennsylvania adventure is anything like the one we had in Montana, this should be another story-filled, memorable, heart-endearing, great food finds, filled with firsts, reinforcing my quirky aunt status (but not 100% of the time) trips. What comes with getting older and wiser is the realization that the memories of a trip or adventure are far more valuable than any tangible gift could ever be (except maybe that 8th grade graduation not exactly jump up and down exciting graphing calculator present). If I asked my now chemical engineering degreed nephew what were the gifts he received for all of the significant events in his life, he may recall some of them. But if I asked him about the trips to New Orleans, Montana, the Ivy League college visits, or the weekend visit adventures, I am pretty certain he would remember details from each of them. Even the ones going back to when he was just two years old (although there are few things I would like for him to forget!). Family connections aside, this amazing closeness between us, without a doubt, has been as a result of the quality and quantity of time we have spent and continue to spend together.
The weather here this week felt more autumnal than summery. Definitely cause for it's own kind of celebration. With the decreased heat and humidity came the added incentive to bake this light and fluffy frangipane with seasonal blackberry tart.
If by chance you have never made or tasted anything having an almond rich frangipane (fran-jee-pan-ee) filling before, it is your lucky day. Similar to a pastry cream, almond paste is mixed together with sugar, butter, eggs, and flour to create a soft, velvety, spreadable cream and used primarily as a filling in tarts or croissants. Topped with slivered almonds and sanding sugar, this Blackberry Almond Tart has both a buttery crust and a luscious frangipane filling studded with fresh, ripe blackberries. In a single bite it is french pastry meets summer bounty goodness. Or in other worlds, it is one of those best of both worlds kind of tarts.
My anxiety-free crust making confidence took a bit of a setback in the making of this tart. Not only was the crust dough was much softer than I had anticipated, it was also slightly more humid than I realized. The crust ingredients call for 1 1/2 cups of pastry flour, but I should have added a little flour more before attempting to knead the dough. And had I allowed the crust to refrigerate for longer than two hours I may have never had to experience a few moments of angst when rolling out and transferring the dough to the 9 inch tart pan. All growling aside, I managed to make it all work. These were the lessons learned when making this tender crumb, buttery crust. So if by any chance you have a similar experience when you make this crust, just persevere as it is incredibly delicious when baked.
The pastry filling will come together easier if you cut up the almond paste before mixing with the butter and sugar. Another one of the lessons learned in the making of this tart.
The almond paste rich taste of the filling might have you think the sliced almonds on top are unnecessary or a bit too much. They aren't. Not only do they add a beautiful finishing touch to the tart, they add some crunch. My new favorite thing is adding a little 'sparkle' on tarts and most pies. Sprinkling a white/clear sanding sugar gives them the most beautiful bakery look finish.
The tart is baked in a preheated 350 degree (F) oven in the lower part of the oven. In case you ever wondered if oven rack position matters, it does. Most cookies and cakes are baked on a rack centered in the oven. As a general rule, if having the bottom brown during baking is critical, the rack is adjusted lower in the oven. Conversely, if it is the top you want to brown, the rack would be adjusted higher. This tart needs both a browned bottom and browned top. So if after 35 of baking time the top of your tart is not a golden brown color, place it on a higher rack and back for an additional 5-10 minutes.
The only adornment this Blackberry Almond Tart needs is a light dusting of confectionary sugar. Some slightly sweetened whipped cream would be nice to balance out the deep almond flavor of the tart, but completely optional.
After cooling the tart on a wire rack, remove the rim of the pan and place the tart on a platter. This is one of those worthy of being placed on a 'pedestal' platter.
Before blackberries go out of season, and you want to make something other than a cobbler, pie or crisp, consider making this tart.
Well it's getting late here and I still have a long list of things to get done before I leave the house. And if there is anyone you care about deeply, love, or value being in your life, spend time with them, make memories as often as you can, go on an adventure, share meals together, bake for them. Have a great weekend.
Recipe
Blackberry Almond Tart (slight adaptation the Blackberry Almond Tart recipe created by Elsie Rhodes, a pastry chef at the Hyannis (MA) Pain D'Avignon)
Ingredients
Crust
15 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectionary sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups pastry flour, plus additional for work surface
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
6 ounces almond paste, cut into pieces (recommend Odense Almond Paste)
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pints fresh blackberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1-2 Tablespoons sanding sugar (optional)
Confectionary sugar for dusting
Directions
Crust
1. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand held mixer, cream butter and confectionary sugar at medium speed until mixture is pale in color (approximately 2-3 minutes).
2. Add egg and beat well.
3. Add flour, vanilla and salt, mixing until combined.
4. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface, kneading for 2 or 3 turns. Note: This is a softer dough, however, if your dough feels 'unkneadable' add little more flour.
5. Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Recommend allowing the dough to chill at least 3 hours as a chilling time of 2 hours made rolling out the dough a bit challenging.
6. Roll chilled dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 1/4" thick circle. Transfer to a 9 inch removable bottom tart pan. Press dough into sides of pan and roll the rolling pin over top of tart pan to create a clean finished top. Refrigerate dough while preparing the filling.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and set rack to the bottom of the oven.
Filling and Assembly
1. Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand held mixer, cream the almond paste with the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (approximately 5 to 7 minutes).
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add flour and beat until blended.
4. Scrape filling into the prepared shell, using an offset spatula to smooth the top.
5. Press blackberries down into the filling, distributing them evenly throughout.
6. Top with sliced almonds and sanding sugar.
7. Place tart on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until top is golden brown (approximately 35-40 minutes). Note: My baking time was almost 45 minutes.
8. Allow tart to cool on a wire rack.
9. Remove rim from tart and transfer to a platter or cake stand. Lightly dust with confectionary sugar.
10. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Optional: Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream and/or additional fresh blackberries.
