Recipe: AVOCA’s blueberry, lemon and almond frangipane tart

The weather is warming up and soon we’ll all be out on our patios soaking up the rays. Hopefully the restrictions on friends and family visiting the garden will be lifted soon, and when it is, we want to be prepared to celebrate!

Picture yourself putting out the patio furniture, having friends around, a nice summery drink in hand and sunglasses on. You walk out in your summery outfit and what are you serving them? It has to be AVOCA’s blueberry, lemon and almond frangipane tart. It doesn’t get much more summer than that!

For a delicious, home-made treat this summer, this tart has to be your go-to. The perfect combination of zesty and sweet, it’s a welcome indulgence for the whole family. It’s also perfect as an on-the-go snack for walks and hikes!

You’ll need…

2 punnets of blueberries

100g flaked almonds

For the frangipane:

200g unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

50g plain flour

1 vanilla pod scraped or a teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 whole eggs beaten

Zest of 1 lemon

For the short crust pastry:

300g plain flour

150g unsalted butter

50g icing sugar

2 egg yolks

10ml water

To make frangipane:

Take a large mixing bowl, add the almonds, sugar and vanilla.

Mix together well with a wooden spoon, beat the eggs with a fork and add to bowl. Stir in followed by the plain flour.

Then refrigerate until needed.

To make shortcrust pastry

Take a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, cold butter and plain flour and mix together with your fingertips. Crumble all through your fingertips until a texture like sand is achieved. At this stage add egg yolks and form into a ball, if you think it requires a small bit more add a splash of water.

This will make pastry for two tarts. When pastry is formed, split in two and refrigerate for an hour.

Take out and roll out on a cool surface and then line the tart after flouring lightly. When filled, put back in the fridge for 5 minutes. Take out and fill 2/3 with the frangipane. Then generously add fresh blueberries and flaked almonds.

Preheat your oven to 190C. Preheat a heavy baking tray (this is to give the pastry base a head start, cooking the pastry from the bottom up to give you a nicely cooked base). Place Frangipane tart on the tray and cook for 15 mins on 190C before dropping to 160C for a further 25 minutes.

You are looking for golden brown pastry, almonds and frangipane. Take out and allow to cool on the baking tray. When cooled down sufficiently, serve simply with a good dollop of whipped cream and or homemade custard.

Tip: When working with the pastry, try and use cold butter. If you can refrigerate your rolling pin too, it will make working with the pastry a lot easier.

And voila! The perfect summer treat ready to serve!

For more recipe inspiration visit: www.avoca.com