Almond Tart — crisp pâte sucrée filled with golden almond cream

i. Origin & history

Almonds have been central to European sweet-making since the Middle Ages, when ground almonds and almond milk were used in marzipan, puddings and pies throughout Europe, carried north from the Arab and Mediterranean kitchens of Spain, Sicily and Provence. By the seventeenth century French pastry cooks were making almond creams to fill tarts, and almond-filled pastries were among the luxuries of the court.

The name most associated with the filling — frangipane — has a colourful origin story. It is usually traced to an Italian nobleman of the Frangipani family, said to have created a fashionable perfume, scented with bitter almond, that was used to perfume gloves in sixteenth- or seventeenth-century Paris. The name was later transferred to an almond-flavoured cream. Like many such stories it is hard to verify, but the word was established in French cookery by the eighteenth century.

French pastry chefs today draw a technical distinction. Crème d'amande is the simple almond cream made from equal weights of butter, sugar, ground almonds and eggs. Frangipane, strictly, is almond cream lightened with a proportion of crème pâtissière. In everyday usage — and in English — the two words are used interchangeably, and most almond tarts are made with the simpler crème d'amande.

The plain almond tart is a staple of French bakeries and home kitchens, sometimes called tarte amandine. It is also the base for famous variations: the tarte Bourdaloue, with poached pears sunk into the almond cream; the galette des rois of Epiphany, almond cream enclosed in puff pastry; and, across the Channel, the Bakewell tart, which adds a layer of jam.

ii. Why the almond cream is made "tant pour tant"

The classic almond cream is built on the French principle of tant pour tant — "as much as as much" — meaning equal weights of the main ingredients. Equal butter, sugar, ground almonds and eggs give a filling that is rich enough to stay moist for days, firm enough to slice, and balanced so that no single ingredient dominates. It is a forgiving ratio, which is why almond cream is one of the first things pastry students learn.

The method matters as much as the ratio. The butter must be soft — like mayonnaise — and creamed with the sugar until smooth, but not whipped until fluffy. Unlike a cake batter, almond cream should contain little air. Too much air makes it rise dramatically in the oven, then sink and crack, and can push the filling over the edge of the tart. Beating the eggs in one at a time keeps the mixture emulsified; if it looks curdled, a spoonful of the ground almonds brings it back.

A small amount of flour stabilises the cream, absorbing some of the butter and egg moisture so the filling sets more evenly and does not become greasy. A spoonful of dark rum or almond liqueur is traditional, and a few drops of bitter almond extract intensify the flavour — use them sparingly, as the extract is very strong.

The almond cream goes into a partially baked pastry case and bakes at a moderate temperature until it is puffed, deep golden and springs back when pressed. Because the filling itself protects the pastry, a full blind bake is not essential, but a short one gives a crisper base.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 10 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 200 g plain flour, for the pastry
• 70 g icing sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 110 g cold unsalted butter, diced, for the pastry
• 1 egg, for the pastry
• 125 g unsalted butter, very soft, for the almond cream
• 125 g caster sugar
• 125 g ground almonds
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk
• 15 g plain flour, for the almond cream
• 1 tbsp dark rum or amaretto (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 lemon, finely grated zest
• 30 g flaked almonds
• 2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved, to glaze

Use finely ground almonds (almond flour); blanched almonds give a paler, more delicate filling, while unblanched ground almonds give a darker, more rustic one with more flavour. Grinding your own from whole blanched almonds gives the freshest taste. Make sure the butter is very soft but not melted — melted butter gives a greasy, heavy filling. The rum is traditional in French bakeries; amaretto or kirsch work equally well, and a drop or two of bitter almond extract may replace them. The apricot glaze at the end gives a professional shine and keeps the top moist.

iv. Method

1. For the pastry, rub the flour, icing sugar, salt and cold butter together to fine crumbs, add the egg and bring together into a smooth dough. Flatten, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
2. Roll the pastry 3 mm thick and line a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the base and chill for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), fan 160 °C. Blind-bake with paper and beans for 15 minutes, then remove them and bake 5 minutes more until just pale gold.
3. For the almond cream, beat the very soft butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, without whipping in air. Beat in the ground almonds, then the eggs and yolk one at a time, then the flour, rum, vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Spread the almond cream evenly in the warm pastry case and scatter the flaked almonds over the top.
5. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until puffed, deep golden and set — the centre should spring back when lightly pressed, and a skewer should come out clean.
6. While the tart is still warm, brush the top with the warm apricot jam. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack. Serve at room temperature.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Cream, do not whip. Too much air makes the filling rise, crack and sink. Mix the almond cream until smooth, not fluffy.
• Use very soft butter. Cold butter will not blend smoothly with the almonds; melted butter makes the filling oily.
• Fix curdling with almonds. If the mixture separates when the eggs go in, beat in a spoonful of ground almonds and it will come together.
• Do not overfill the case. Almond cream rises as it bakes. Fill no more than two-thirds of the way up the pastry.
• Watch the flaked almonds. If they brown before the filling is set, cover the tart loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
• Make the almond cream ahead. It keeps for 3 days in the fridge; let it soften to room temperature before spreading.

vi. Variations

Almond cream is a base for fruit. Press halved poached pears into it for the tarte Bourdaloue (see the pear tart), or use apricots, plums, cherries, figs or raspberries — the fruit sinks slightly as the cream puffs around it. The galette des rois encloses almond cream in puff pastry, with a small charm (fève) hidden inside for Epiphany. The English Bakewell tart spreads raspberry jam under the almond filling.

Other almond-led desserts on DessertCat include the brown-butter financier, the Sienese ricciarelli, the Swedish semla with its almond paste filling, and marzipan itself. The fig and honey tart uses the same almond-cream base with figs.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve the almond tart at room temperature, in slices, on its own or with a spoonful of crème fraîche, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It is excellent with a glass of dessert wine or a cup of coffee and makes an easy dessert to bring to someone's house, because it travels well and needs no refrigeration on the day.

Almond tart keeps better than most tarts: up to 4 days at room temperature, well covered, or a week in the fridge. The flavour actually improves on the second day as the almond cream settles. Freeze the baked tart, wrapped, for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature; warm briefly in a low oven to refresh the pastry. Unbaked almond cream freezes well for up to 3 months.

ix. More from French

• Pear Tart — tarte Bourdaloue
• Financier — brown-butter almond cake
• Fig and Honey Tart — figs on almond cream
• Bakewell Tart — British almond-jam tart
• Macarons — almond meringue sandwiches
• Ricciarelli — Sienese almond biscuits