Way back in March, I made a raspberry almond tart for Easter, topped with bunny pastry cutouts.
I loved how pretty the cutouts made the tart and also how easy they were to do. Obviously, I used bunnies, but you can use whatever shape your heart desires (stars, leaves, hearts, etc.).
And this tart is every bit as tasty as it is pretty. The filling is a creamy almond custard with the flavor of sweet cake batter, contrasted with sweet (or tart), juicy red raspberries. And baked in a flaky, buttery crust.
There’s touches of almond in almost every layer of this tart: almond flour and extract in the crust and topping, and fresh, homemade almond paste in the creamy filling.
Though I may have jumped the gun a bit with fresh raspberries in March (spring fever hit me so hard I can’t be held responsible for my actions), this is a perfect dessert for those first sweet batches of spring raspberries.
*To make non-gf: Substitute the 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flours in the crust and the 3 tbsp sweet rice flour in the filling with equal amounts of all-purpose flour.
Raspberry Almond Tart
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup almond flour
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flours (I used 1/2 cup millet, 1/2 cup sweet rice, 1/4 cup potato starch, and 1/4 cup corn flour)
scant 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 stick plus 5.5 tbsp cold butter
1/4 cup ice cold water, plus 1-2 tbsp
Almond Paste
heaping 1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups blanched, slivered almonds (see how to blanch your own almonds here)
1/2 tsp almond extract
scant 2 tbsp butter (optional)
Filling
6 oz almond paste
3 eggs (room temp)
3 tbsp sweet rice flour
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp almond extract
10 oz fresh raspberries (about 3 cups)
2-4 tbsp sugar (to taste)
Equipment
10-inch tart pan
decorative cooke cutters
food processor
Make the Almond Paste
You can substitute store-bought for this recipe, but I think the flavor of homemade is much better and much fresher (also, it’s easy to make). You can make the almond paste as early as six weeks beforehand (so the flavor develops) or as soon as you need it.
You can use this simple recipe for almond paste, which requires only almonds, powdered sugar, an egg white, and optional almond extract. This is an excellent quick and simple recipe, but the recipe below (adapted from Jacques Torres) is my favorite: it has an unbeatable consistency and flavor. In place of some of the simple syrup or the almond extract, you can add kirsch, amarretto, lemon juice and lemon zest, orange juice and orange zest, or honey.
heaping 1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups blanched, slivered almonds (see how to blanch your own almonds here)
1/2 tsp almond extract
scant 2 tbsp butter (optional)
Combine the sugar, honey, and water in a saucepan and bring to a strong boil, stirring until sugar and honey dissolve. Place the almonds in the food processor and grind until coarse crumbs form (if you blend the almonds too much on their own, they will start to release their oils and turn into almond butter). Remove the simple syrup from the heat, setting aside about a scant 1/4 cup of liquid, and pour the rest over the almond meal. Add the almond extract if using and process the paste on high until smooth. When the food processor begins to strain, add a little of the extra liquid with the machine running until the blade moves freely again; repeat as necessary until almond paste is smooth and the desired consistency is reached.
Wrap the almond paste in plastic wrap and allow it to cool. When you are ready to use it, knead in the 2 tbsp butter. The butter makes it smooth and not so sticky, though some people have found the butter unnecessary.
This makes about a pound of almond paste. Whatever you don’t use for the recipe will store well in the fridge or freezer, well-wrapped, for a later date (rainbow cookies? :) Just make sure to bring it to room temperature before you use it.
Make the Crust
1 cup almond flour
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flours (I used 1/2 cup millet, 1/2 cup sweet rice, 1/4 cup potato starch, and 1/4 cup corn flour)
scant 1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 stick plus 5.5 tbsp cold butter
1/4 cup ice cold water, plus 1-2 tbsp more.
optional: 1/2 tsp almond extract
Combine the flours, salt, and sugar in the food processor, and whir until combined and cohesive.
Take the butter out of the fridge and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Place the pieces of butter in the food processor and blend with the flours until coarse crumbs form. Add 1/4 cup ice cold water and the almond extract if using and process until dough comes together. If dough is too dry and is not coming together, add ice cold water a little at a time with the machine running until the dough comes together (I added an additional tablespoon of water).
Remove dough from the food processor. Dough should be very easy to handle and should hold together well. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Generously butter your tart pan, making sure to get into all the crannies. Arrange two overlapping sheets of plastic wrap on the counter and sprinkle with potato starch flour. After the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, remove it from the fridge, unwrap it, and place it on the plastic wrap. Cover with two more overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and roll out to a circle about 1/4 inch thick and about a 14-inch diameter.
The dough is very easy to work with and handle and should be easy to transfer into your tart pan. I took off the top layer of plastic and rolled my dough circle around my rolling pin and transferred it that way, but if you don’t feel comfortable doing that or feel the dough is too delicate you can transfer the dough with both sides of plastic wrap and all into the tart pan. Fold over one side and peel one side of the plastic from underneath, then replace dough and repeat with other side. Remove the top layer of plastic last (keeping the top layer of plastic while removing the under layer prevents the top of the dough from sticking to itself during this process).
Press the dough into the tart pan, removing the excess and using it to patch any holes. You should still have plenty of dough left over; roll it back up and return it to the fridge for now.
Once the dough is pressed and shaped into the pan evenly and you’ve patched any holes, prick the base of the crust all over with a fork. Bake the crust in the oven for 11-13 minutes. Be careful not to over bake the crust, since it will bake again with the filling; the crust should still be blonde when you remove it from the oven. Do not bake longer than 13 minutes.
Allow the crust to cool on a rack for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
Make the Filling
6 oz almond paste, room temperature
7 tbsp butter, room temperature
3 eggs (room temp)
3 tbsp sweet rice flour
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp almond extract
10 oz fresh raspberries (about 3 cups)
2-4 tbsp sugar
If you haven’t already set the eggs out to come to room temperature, remove them from the fridge now and place whole eggs in a bowl of warm water.
If you followed the above recipe for almond paste and have not yet kneaded in the 2 tbsp butter (but would like to) do that now. Your almond paste should be at room temperature.
Measure out 6 oz of almond paste and cut into thin slices and place in the food processor with the sweet rice flour, honey, and almond extract. Cut the 7 tbsp of butter into 1/2 inch slices and add to the food processor as well.
Whisk the eggs together and set aside 1 oz (2 tbsp) of the whisked eggs for the egg wash. Pour the rest into the food processor.
Process the mixture on high until smooth. making sure there are no chunks of butter or almond paste.
This is one of my favorite parts. Test the mixture for sweetness (mmm). It should taste like sweet cake batter and have a smooth consistency. It is at this point that you can add additional honey or simply sugar. Consider your options: you could make the filling extra sweet and skimp on the sweetness of the berries so the tartness contrasts with the sweetness. Or simply sweeten to taste, adding sugar or honey 1 tbsp at a time until desired flavor is reached.
Once the filling is smooth and sweetened to your taste, pour it into the tart shell and spread evenly with a spatula.
Toss your fresh raspberries with 2 to 4 tbsp of sugar, to reach desired sweetness. Gently press the raspberries into the filling.
Top and Bake
Remove the extra crust dough from the fridge, and roll it out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters (hearts, stars, leaves . . . bunnies) and place in a random pattern over the raspberries and filling.
Mix the remaining whisked egg with 1 1/2 tsp whipping cream and brush generously over cutouts and the edges of the tart crust. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until filling is slightly puffed and pastry cutouts are golden at the edges. Check tart at the halfway point to make sure the crust is not overbrowning. If it is, cover with tin foil or pie crust guards. Filling should still be slightly wobbly when you remove the tart from the oven.
After removing the tart from the oven, allow to cool for about 50 minutes, and chill in the fridge for at least 50 minutes before serving.
This tart is perfect with some high-quality vanilla ice cream. And it only gets better with age. In the days after Easter, I swore the tart tasted better with every passing day.
