Summer Fruit Mascarpone Tart With Almond Frangipane
This tart is an absolute triumph in every way. It is stunning to look at, easy to make, customizable, and incredibly flavorful— sweet, tart, light, buttery… I can’t think of a single way to improve this. This recipe uses a sheet of store-bought puff pastry (although I sometimes use homemade) to make things as easy as possible. It gets topped with almond frangipane (don’t let the name intimidate you, making it is as easy as creaming a few ingredients together in a bowl), baked until golden, then topped with a simultaneously light and decadent vanilla mascarpone cream, swirled with jam, and topped with summer fruits and fresh mint. This is a show-stealer at any barbecue or summer function and serves 6-9, depending on the size of your slices.
Note: You will end up with extra almond frangipane— this keeps very well covered in the refrigerator, you can use it to make almond croissants or other desserts. Also, feel free to try different fruits like peaches, blackberries, etc!
Ingredients
One sheet of puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator
One egg, beaten for egg wash
1/3 cup jam of your choice (I use a mix of apricot and strawberry)
5 medium apricots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
10-15 fresh mint leaves
Simple syrup for glazing (optional)
Almond Frangipane
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon granulated salt
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Vanilla Mascarpone Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
6 ounces mascarpone
Directions
Before you begin, prepare your almond frangipane by creaming together the butter, salt, sugar, and almond extract in a small bowl until light, then mixing in both flours until the mixture is both uniform and easily spreadable. Voila, you have almond frangipane!
Preheat your oven to 400F and place your sheet of puff pastry on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, carefully score a border 1/2” away from the edge of the pastry all the way around, as if drawing a square. Your knife should not cut through the pastry completely, just enough so that the outer edge of the square will rise in the oven for a “crust” effect.
Poke the sheet of pastry all over with a fork except the outer border to prevent it from puffing up excessively.
Brush away any excess flour and lightly egg wash the edges of the sheet.
Spread about 2/3 cup of the almond frangipane evenly over the pastry with a spatula or butterknife, leaving the edges clear.
Bake the frangipane-covered sheet for 16-18 minutes or until the frangipane and the crust are both golden.
While the pastry cools, make your vanilla mascarpone cream.
In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into stiff peaks, then stir in the mascarpone until there are few to no lumps remaining.
Spread the mascarpone cream over the cooled sheet of pastry, again leaving the crust clear.
Dollop the jam across the mascarpone, then swirl it in with a butter knife so that it is evenly distributed across the pastry.
Arrange the apricots and raspberries on top of the jam and mascarpone as desired, filling in gaps with the mint leaves.
Brush lightly with simple syrup for extra gloss if desired and enjoy!
