It’s stone fruit season here in the Middle East, and pairing sweet with tart, using an almond cream body, is a very tasty option.
Baked almond cream (frangipane) is simple to make and consists of almond flour, butter, sugar and eggs. It can be topped with any manner of nuts and fruits. Served up in a short-crust pastry shell, it offers tastes of days gone by. The origin of frangipane is uncertain: 17th century France or Italy, and perhaps named after an Italian nobleman who resided in Paris.
Almond cream can be baked without a short-crust pastry by using baking paper as the base and so offers up a classy and tasty gluten-free dessert option.
Ingredients:
- 200 g sugar
- 200 g butter
- 4 medium eggs
- 55 g cornflour (corn starch)
- 200 g almond flour (mix the cornflour and almond flour together in a bowl)
- 18 g rum
- Sliced almonds for sprinkling
- Nappage, to brush on fruit to make them shiny
- 6 fresh red plums
Method:
Make short-crust pastry and roll out in a 27 to 30 cm pastry pan, making sure the pastry is no thicker than three to four mm. Place in a freezer.
Put sugar and room-temperature butter into a mixer with ‘flat beater’ attachment and turn on to medium-high speed. Add one egg and mix for three minutes. Stop mixer and use a spatula to clean the mixture from the insides of the bowl and the attachment, then add the second egg and repeat the above procedure until all eggs are in. Make sure each egg is beaten for at least three minutes, as this will ensure the mixture becomes creamy and fluffy. After the three minutes of the last egg, add the alcohol, reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix briefly until it comes together.
Remove the pie shell from the freezer and spoon 70 per cent of the frangipane mixture into the shell, then, using a metal spatula, spread and level the mixture so it is five to six mm below the top of the pastry shell. Leftover mixture can be spread in a paper-lined cake tin with offcuts from the fruit and baked along with the pie.
Cut the plums in half, then cut into 2 mm slices. Place in whatever pattern you like on the mixture. Don’t press down, as the mixture will rise as it bakes and envelope the fruit. If wished, sprinkle sliced almonds on the top between the fruit: it’s a nice look and adds to the almond flavour.
Place in a pre-heated 180°C oven, without fan, and bake for 25–30 minutes. Remove and leave to cool. Once cool, brush nappage on the fruit if you want a nice, shiny presentation.
Enjoy.
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