Prune And Almond Tart Recipes

FRANGIPANE-PRUNE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, pour the hot tea over the halved prunes, and let the fruit rehydrate while you make the almond filling.
• Put almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse just until ground (be careful not to overprocess, or the filling will become a hard paste). Add the butter, eggs, brandy and almond essence, if using, and pulse just until smooth.
• Drain prunes well, pressing out any excess liquid with your hands, and place in the tart shell, more or less in an even layer. Spoon on the almond mixture, smoothing it with the back of the spoon, then sprinkle over remaining sliced almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is a nice golden brown. Dust with icing sugar, and let cool before serving.

PRUNE AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• At least one hour before preparing the tart, pour the hot tea over the prunes and set aside to marinate.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Prepare the cream filling. In a spice grinder or the bowl of a food processor, grind the almonds to a fine powder. Thoroughly blend the almonds with the egg, sugar, brandy and cream. The mixture should be very smooth.
• Thoroughly drain the prunes, discarding the soaking liquid. Carefully arrange the prunes in the cooled, prebaked tart shell. This will seem like a lot of prunes, and you may have to arrange them in two layers. Pour the cream filling over the prunes and place the tart in the center of the oven.
• Bake until the cream filling has set and the tart shell is nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

PRUNE AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• TO PREPARE THE PASTRY: In a food processor, combine 1 cup of the flour, the butter, salt, and sugar. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, 5 to 10 seconds but no longer. Add the ice water and pulse 8 to 10 times, or until the pastry just begins to hold together. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and flatten into a disk. (If the dough is too sticky, knead it briefly, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to make a smooth dough.) Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up 24 hours.On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch-diameter round. As you roll, lift up the edges and dust some flour underneath to keep the dough from sticking to the surface. Fit the dough into a 10 1/2-inch false-bottomed tart pan. Trim the overhang, leaving about 3/4 inch, then fold the overhang back into the pan, pressing gently along the sides to create double-thick sides. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour.Preheat the oven to 375°F.Prick the bottom of the tart shell with a fork and line with aluminum foil, pressing into all the edges to avoid shrinkage while baking. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 20 minutes, or just until the pastry begins to brown along the edges. Remove the weights and foil and return shell to the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned all over. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes.TO PREPARE THE FILLING: Pour the hot tea over the prunes in a large bowl and let stand for at least 1 hour, or until soft. (Depending on when you plan to fill the tart shell, you may want to soak the prunes before you begin making the pastry.)Preheat the oven to 375°F.In a food processor, grind the almonds to a fine powder. Add the egg, crème fraîche, sugar, and brandy. Process until smooth.Drain the prunes and briefly run them under water to remove any tea leaves. Delicately pat them dry with paper towels. Arrange the prunes in concentric circles in the cooled tart shell in one layer. Pour the almond mixture evenly over the prunes.Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the filling begins to set and the shell is nicely browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust evenly with the confectioners' sugar and serve.From Dinner Parties. Text copyright © 2004 by Jessica Strand. Photographs copyright © 2004 by Victoria Pearson. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.

PRUNE & CHOCOLATE TORTE

Steps:

• Put the prunes and brandy in a small bowl and leave to steep for about 30 minutes until most of the brandy has been absorbed.
• Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5/fan oven 170C. Grease a 23cm/9in loose-bottomed cake tin or springform tin. Put the cocoa, chocolate, butter and 140g/5oz of the sugar in a pan, add 100ml/31⁄2fl oz hot water and gently heat until the mixture is smooth. Leave to cool slightly.
• Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, then gradually whisk in the remaining sugar. Sift the flour and cinnamon over and gently fold in with a metal spoon, until almost combined. Add the chocolate mix and fold in until evenly combined.
• Pour the mixture into the tin and arrange the prunes over the top (they will sink into the sponge during baking). Sprinkle over any remaining brandy and bake for about 30 minutes until just firm. Serve with cream or crème fraîche.

PRUNE, CHOCOLATE AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Line a 30 cm tart tin with pastry and prick with a fork. Bake blind in the oven at 180°C for 15 minutes or until done.
• Meanwhile tip the prunes, demerarra sugar and wine in a saucepan and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until the prunes have absorbed the wine. Set aside to cool, then stuff each prune with broken chocolate.
• Cream the butter and sugar until pale, beat in the eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
• Stir in the ground almonds.
• Spoon the almond filling into the cooked shell and scatter around the prunes, pressing down lightly. Bake the tart in the oven at 180°C for 20 - 30 minutes or until coloured.
• Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing the tart. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.