A while back Silva posted a prune and frangipane tart on her blog that she referred to as Torta Delizia (delicious tart). She used to eat this cake when visiting signora Gigia in the town where she grew up, and years later she got the recipe from signora Gigia’s daughter. I made a very similar tart with fig jam instead of prune jam, and the tart is indeed worthy of its name. Here is my version.

Ingredients

For a 27 cm (11″) tart, 8 to 10 servings

200 grams (1 1/3 cup) pastry flour

100 grams (7 Tbsp) cold butter

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 to 3 Tbsp of ice cold water

40 grams (1/2 cup) slivered almonds

225 grams (8 oz) fig jam (or prune jam)

For the frangipane

100 grams (7 Tbsp) butter at room temperature

80 grams (6 1/2 Tbsp) sugar

80 grams (3/4 cup) almond meal

50 grams (1/3 cup) self-raising flour

2 eggs

Preparation

Combine 200 grams (1 1/3 cup) of flour with 100 grams (7 Tbsp) of cold butter in cubes, 2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in the bowl of a food processor.

Pulse a few times, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary…

…until the mixture is crumbly with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.

Now add about 2 tablespoons of very cold water.

 

Pulse a few times until the dough starts to come together. You may need to add an additional tablespoon of ice cold water.

Emtpy the food processor on a work surface sprinkled with flour.

Gather the dough into a ball.

Roll out the dough to a circular shape that is large enough to line a 27 cm (11″) tart pan. Rolling out works best if you roll out in all directions, always starting from the center.

Butter a 27 cm (11″) tart pan.

Transfer the dough to the pan, using the rolling pin to trim away any edges that stick out.

Allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190C/375F (not fan forced).

Many recipes tell you to rest the dough in the refrigerator before rolling it out, but that makes it a lot harder to roll it out. The resting, which reduces shrinkage when you bake the tart, can also be done after rolling it out.

After the dough has rested, pierce it all over with a fork to prevent it from bubbling up.

Put a sheet of parchment paper in the tart pan and fill it with baking weights. Bake it like that for 15 minutes. This is called blind baking.

After 15 minutes, remove the baking weights and the parchment paper, and return it to the oven for another 10 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the frangipane. Combine 100 grams of butter with 80 grams of sugar in the bowl of a mixer.

Mix until the mixture is creamy.

Add an egg, mix until incorporated, then add another egg, and mix until incorporated.

Add 80 grams of almond meal and 50 grams of self-raising flour.

Mix until it is homogeneous. The frangipane is now ready.

After 10 minutes of blind baking without the weights, remove the tart from the oven and lower the temperature to 180C/350F.

Spread out 225 grams (8 oz) of fig jam on the tart shell.

Next, spread out the frangipane on top.

Sprinkle evenly with 40 grams (1/2 cup) slivered almonds.

Bake the tart at 180C/350F (without fan) for 40 minutes or until it is nicely golden.

Take the tart out of the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Wine pairing

This is great with a glass of passito, Italian dessert wine made from dried grapes.

Flashback

This was the weirdest dessert I’ve ever made, but it sure was delicious. Ancho chile pepper stuffed with chocolate mousse and served with cherries and almonds. Inspired by who else than Richard.