Pistachio Frangipane Tart with Pears and Plums

A little something sweet to wave goodbye to warm days and welcome the crisp cold air. Plus thoughts on planting my first ever bulb lasagna.

Last week I was sweating it out in Florence with highs of 30C sipping espresso and eating cornetti, living my best life you might say. Today I’m wrapped up in heavy blankets, keeping warm with the help of my two needy cats who are just as cold as me. It’s finally here.

While walking to Richmond this past weekend I decidedly said to myself “Autumn is my favourite season” as if I was trying to convince myself. It has to be. Summer is too hot, Spring is never hot enough and Winter, well no point even considering it. This one is particularly anticipated because I’ll be planting my first-ever bulb lasagna, which has nothing to do with the cold-weather favourite but rather the way flowering bulbs are planted in a pot for maximum visual impact. I’m hoping to grow some beautiful tulips come Spring, not having a garden comes with limitations but terracotta pots usually come handier than previously thought. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

As Autumn rolls in, the bakes go heavy on the cooked fruit. I trade lemon meringue pies and melon sorbets for simple frangipane tarts, just like the one above. I love pairing the last of summer’s stone fruit with the first pears of the season, they just really get each other. This tart was inspired by an Oddbox delivery, it was bursting with the most beautiful plums and tiny pears.

I toyed with the idea of serving this tart with a gorgeous scoop of pistachio ice cream but decided in favour of adding chopped pistachios to the frangipane instead. Don’t have pistachios? You can still make the tart without them, it will be just as tasty!

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Pistachio Frangipane Tart with Pears and Plums

Serves 6

Ingredients

100 g unsalted butter, softened
120 g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
160 g ground almonds
65 g plain flour
30 g pistachios, chopped
½ tsp salt

2-3 small pears, sliced — depending on size one more or less
2-3 small plums, sliced — depending on size one more or less
5 g icing sugar, for dusting

For the pastry — for a 27cm tart tin or smaller

75 g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
200 g plain white flour
50 g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp salt
zest of half an orange
1 medium egg, beaten

Method

For the pastry

Put the plain flour, icing sugar and salt together in a bowl with the butter and rub them with the tips of your fingers until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the orange zest and distribute it lightly with your fingers before adding the beaten egg.

Mix everything together with your hand or a spoon - the mixture will appear rather sticky and wet but continue incorporating all the dry bits into the dough. If the mixture seems like it’s too wet and sticks too much to your fingers, add a dusting of flour a little bit at a time.

Once most of the dough has come together, dump it on your work surface and lightly knead before wrapping it with plastic film and placing it in the fridge for an hour.

To assemble

Remove the dough from the fridge, unwrap it and place it on a well-floured surface. Roll it out so it’s at least 5 cm bigger than your tart tin (with this recipe you can make a 27cm tart or smaller with leftover pastry). When you are ready to line your tin, roll the dough onto the rolling pin and place it over the tin, unroll into place.

Take your time lining the tin. Press the corners gently, lifting the sides upwards and into the corners to ensure a perfect fit. If using a fluted pastry tin, use your fingers to push the dough gently into place. Once you are happy with the fit place the tart tin on a baking tray and in the fridge while you prepare the filling. It should chill for at least 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan.

To make the frangipane filling, add the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream together with the help of a handheld mixer (or standing mixer) until it’s pale and fluffy, remember to scrape the sides a couple of times with a spatula. This should take about 5 minutes. Crack the eggs into a small bowl together with the vanilla extract and add into the mixture one egg at a time, wait until the first one is incorporated to add the next one.

Stop the mixer and fold in the ground almonds, flour, chopped pistachios and salt. Make sure you scrape all the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the flour is evenly incorporated, as there can be pockets of unmixed flour on the bottom of the bowl.

Remove the tart tin from the fridge and cut the excess pastry with a knife or clean kitchen scissors to leave a 2 cm overhang. Now use your rolling pin to roll over the pastry in the tin and cut off the excess pastry. Your pastry is now perfectly fitted.

Spoon the frangipane mixture into the tart case and smooth the surface. Arrange the slices of plum and pear over the top making sure they overlap slightly and press them down into the frangipane.

Place the tart tin on a baking tray and into the oven to bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry appears golden.

Remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before dusting with icing sugar.

Serve with your favourite cup of tea or coffee!

Tip: To preserve the moisture in the tart you can use a simple syrup to brush over the top. It will not only keep the moisture locked in but it will make the fruit slices glisten. Just heat up in a pan equal amounts of water and sugar, bring to a simmer and let cool completely.