Blueberry Frangipane Tart

Over the weekend I was having a sort through my freezer and found some frozen blueberries and a block of pastry and decided to use them to make a tart for the Monday Munchers.

An almond frangipane was my tart of choice, for not only do blueberry and almonds go well together but the tart is also easy to make and does not need refrigerating meaning it could sit happily on the desk at work.

The tart came together in a very short time. I used the blueberries from frozen and loved how they created little pools of inky purple in the batter as they thawed, baked and bubbled. I added a layer of jam under the fruit and frangipane (I used the rhubarb and plum jam I made the day before but any jam would work well.) It has the duel purpose of adding flavour but also helps to seal the pastry and prevents it from going soggy. The frangipane was soft and moist with a wonderful almond flavour that worked well with the blueberries, themselves having intensified in flavour during baking.

The tart was well received at work and made a nice change from the usual cakes or cookies I take in. I am sure you could use any kind of fresh or frozen berry in place of the blueberries and even flavour the frangipane too, chocolate or orange springs to mind but have fun and experiment.

Blueberry Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
250g shortcrust pastry (homemade or shop bought)
100g frozen blueberries
100g butter
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
100g ground almonds
½ tsp almond essence
3 tbsp jam of your choice (I used my rhubarb and plum jam)

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C and place a baking tray into the oven to heat up.
Roll out the pastry until around 4 mm thick. Line a 23cm round tart tin with the pastry and set to one side.
Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Then add the eggs, beating well until incorporated.
Stir in the ground almonds and the almond essence.
Spread your jam of choice over the base of the pastry case. Scatter over the frozen blueberries and drop spoonfuls of the frangipane mixture over the top and spread gently to form a smooth surface.
Place the tart tin onto the hot baking tray and bake for 10 minutes before reducing the oven temperature to 160C and continuing to bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the tart is slightly puffed and golden brown.
Brush the surface of the tart with a little warmed apricot jam and leave to cool before removing from the tin and serving.
Serves 8 - 12