Little sweet pastry cases filled with almond frangipane mixture, with a raspberry jam filling
These tarts are one of my most popular recipes, with many friends requesting them by the dozen, whenever an excuse arises to bake and eat them! My teenage son now regularly makes these for me, as we have made them so often together and he assures me this will become a recipe handed down amongst the generations!
I admit, I do use ready-made sweet pastry cases, but it would be very easy (if only a little more time consuming), to make the pastry yourself if time allows. I usually keep a packet or two of them in my cupboard, ready to make a batch at short notice as they are ideal for a tea-time treat or a dessert. Served warm straight from the oven with a dollop of crème fraiche, or vanilla ice cream, they are impressive to serve and always go down extremely well.
I find myself making these throughout the year, and they are well suited to any season. I’ve tried swapping the raspberry jam for other flavours such as blackcurrant or fig but I always come back to raspberry as the traditional choice. Let me know if you try any other jams which work well.
Serves: makes 6-10 small tarts
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 18 minutes
Meal Type: cakes & pastries; desserts; pies & tarts
Occasion: tea; lunch; family favourite; dessert; sweet treat; packed food
Ingredients:
6 -10 small deep short crust or sweet pastry cases (stocked by Asda, M&S and Waitrose)
1 large egg
100g ground almonds
100g softened butter
90g golden caster sugar
Grated zest of half an orange
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Approx. 125g good quality raspberry jam (I prefer to use the unseeded type)
Flaked almonds to sprinkle
Icing sugar to dust
Crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream to serve.
Notes:
Tips here on prep, freezing, short cuts etc.
Directions:
Turn the oven on to 190 degrees C
Put the pastry cases onto a baking tray, ensuring they are well spaced and not touching each other.
Dot about a teaspoon of jam into each case, making sure it is well down in the cases.
Soften the butter slightly if it’s not soft, and add the egg, ground almonds, sugar, vanilla extract and orange zest.
Mix to a smooth consistency.
Top each tart with a teaspoon of the frangipane mixture, using a knife to ‘spread’ the mixture evenly, covering as much of the jam as possible.
Sprinkle over the flaked almonds then bake the tarts for exactly 18 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven.
When the tarts are gently golden and cooked, remove from the oven to cool.
Dust with icing sugar and serve with the crème fraiche or ice cream.
Can be kept in an airtight container