I’m just in love with how pretty this apple frangipane tart is. It’s delicate and light but still a total treat to serve to your friends and family. The French shortcrust tart shell is buttery and crisp which is a beautiful contrast to the soft almond filling. Because it’s simple to make, it’s a perfect dinner party dessert.
- Sweet and tart fresh apple slices
- Super easy almond frangipane filling
- Crispy tart shell (though you can use store-bought if you prefer)
- It’s elegant, light and totally delicious.
If you love this gorgeous French apple tart, I know you’ll love these too: Apple crumble tart, this warm apple crostata and this cinnamon apple crumb cake too.
This recipe was first published here on 1st of November, 2018 and has been updated with new photos and an updated tart shell recipe.
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What is frangipane?
You may have noticed I have a bit of a thing for frangipane. Frangipane is a classic French almond pastry filling often used in tarts. Made traditionally with almonds, this soft and moist, baked filling can also be made using other nuts like hazelnuts or pistachios.
Almond frangipane is classically paired with fresh fruits, though you can get creative with desserts like this honey baklava tart or these coconut tartlets. It’s also the basis for the classic bakewell tart so you could call this an apple bakewell tart. Frangipane is so very versatile.
Ingredients you’ll need
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Flour: Just regular plain flour / all-purpose flour.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter so you can control the salt levels.
- Sugars: There are 3 types of sugar in this tart. Icing sugar (powdered sugar) in the tart shell and both brown and white sugars in the filling.
- Eggs: I use large free-range eggs.
- Almond meal: Known in some places as almond flour, almond meal is just blanched ground almonds.
- Flavourings: I use pure vanilla extract along with the warming flavours of ground cinnamon and ground ginger.
- Apples: I just love the tart and sweet flavour of Granny Smith Apples but you can use others. You can even use a combination. Pink lady, Gala, Braeburn, Honey Crisp, Fuji or Jonathan will all work too.
If you like a strong almond flavour, feel free to add ½-1 teaspoon of almond extract as well.
How to make apple frangipane tart
This tart is made from three simple components – the tart shell, the almond frangipane filling and the fresh apple slices. A stand mixer is handy for the tart shell however both the pastry and the filling can be made using a handheld mixer and an large bowl.
The easy tart shell
Pate sucree is a French shortcrust pastry. The dough takes only 10 minutes to pull together with just 4 ingredients. The butter should be softened and the egg at room temperature. You can quickly bring an egg up to room temperature by placing it in a cup of hot (not boiling) water for 10 minutes. The butter you can soften very carefully using the microwave – it shouldn’t be melted or so soft that it’s greasy though.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Start by beating together the butter and powdered sugar until well combined and creamy – just a minute or so.
- Add the egg (photo 1) and beat until smooth – if you’re having trouble getting it to combine, just add a heaped tablespoon of flour to the mixer to help it along.
- Add the flour (photo 2) and mix until clumping (photo 3).
- Pull the dough into smooth ball then roll it (photo 4) out to about 4mm / ⅙ inch thick. Lay it into a loose bottomed tart pan (photo 5) and press the sides down into the corners with the overhang sticking up (photo 6).
- Chill for 2 hours (or up to 3 days).
Blind-baking the tart shell
- Dock the base of the tart shell (prick it all over with a fork) then trim off the overhanging pastry (photo 7).
- Line the base with baking paper or parchment paper and fill with rice (photo 8), lentils or ceramic pie weights / baking beans.
- Bake for around 15 minutes then remove the rice and baking paper and bake for a further 5 minutes.
- Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before adding the filling or it will just melt and go liquidy.
The frangipane filling
This again is a mere handful of ingredients and it’s very simple to make. You can make the filling while the tart shell blind bakes.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Start by beating butter and sugar then add in the eggs (photo 9) and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat just until combined (photo 10).
- Spread the almond filling into the blind-baked shell (photo 11), then top with apple slices (photo 12) in any pattern you like.
- Bake for around 50 minutes until the top of the frangipane is golden brown.
While this apple almond tart bakes, your kitchen will be filled with a divine, cosy aroma wafting around that is totally irresistible. It can be served warm or at room temperature. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for apple pie vibes or, my favourite, a drizzle of crème anglaise.
Tips and tricks
- Don’t skip chilling: For a tart shell that holds it’s shape, without shrinking too much and is crisp and perfect, do not skip the chilling time. You can make the shell up to 3 days ahead of time.
- When shaping the dough into the tart pan, press the sides down into the corners, don’t press from the centre of the pan into the corners or it will become too thin.
- Cut the apple slices fairly thinly so that they become tender within the baking time.
FAQs
Frangipane is a simple combination of almond meal (finely ground almonds), butter, egg, sugar and often a little flour.
Made up mostly of almonds, frangipane has a strong almond flavour. Often almond extract is added to intensify the almond flavour further.
Not really. Rather, frangipane is the filling used in a Bakewell tart. A Bakewell tart is a combination of tart shell, jam and frangipane.
While you could swap the apple slices for pear slices in this apple frangipane tart, I do have a dedicated recipe for pear frangipane tart.
Storage
Leftover apple frangipane tart should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can bring it to room temperature or it can be warmed slightly in the microwave to serve.
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Apple Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
TART SHELL – PATE SUCREE (SHORTCRUST PASTRY)
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened (7 tablespoons / 3.5oz)
- 40 g icing sugar (powdered sugar) (⅓ cup / 1.4oz)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 225 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
FOR THE FRANGIPANE FILLING
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar (50g / 1.8oz)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (50g / 1.8oz)
- 113 g unsalted butter, softened (1 stick / ½ cup)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 95 g almond meal (almond flour/ground almonds) (3.3oz / 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon plain flour (all purp flour) (notes 1)
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced 3mm thick
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- or large bowl with electric mixer
- 9 inch fluted tart pan with removable base
Instructions
- FOR THE TART SHELL:In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat on medium until fully combined and smooth (1 – 2 minutes). Add the egg and beat on low until smooth. If you’re having trouble getting it to combine, just add a heaped tablespoon of flour to the mixer to help it along.
- Add the flour and beat just until large clumps are forming.
- Turn the dough out and pull it together into a smooth ball with your hands (making sure not to handle it too much) then press it out into a 1 inch thick disk.
- Place it onto a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with just a little flouer too. Gently and gradually roll the pastry out, turning it often, to about 4-5mm (⅙ inch) thick or about 11 inches in diameter.
- Place the rolling pin in the middle of the dough and fold one side of the pastry over the top. Lift the rolling pin so the pastry is hanging over it, and lightly dust off any excess flour from underneath. Carefully lay it into a 9 inch round tart pan with removeable base.
- Press the dough down in to the corners all the way round, then press it into the scalloped sides. Leave the overhang standing upright and place the tart pan into the fridge to chill for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight. If your freezer has space you can place it in there.
- PAR BAKE THE TART SHELL:Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F.
- Use a fork to prick the pastry base all over. Use a small sharp knife to trim off the excess pastry.
- Line the tart shell with a sheet of baking paper and fill with pie weights or rice. Fill it quite full and making sure it’s pressed up tight against the edges.
- Bake for 15 minutes. You can proceed with making the filling while it bakes.
- After 15 minutes. Carefully remove the baking paper and rice (or weights) and bake a further 5 minutes then set the tart shell aside. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before adding your filling.
- FOR THE FRANGIPANE FILLING:Beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add the vanilla extract and beat well.
- Gently fold through the almond meal, flour and spices until combined.
- Spread the frangipane filling evenly over the base of the tart shell and arrange apple slices on top – I place groups of 4 slices randomly over the top but you could do a spiral design too.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, turning the tin 3-4 times during cooking, until nicely golden brown on top and just cooked in centre. The centre should not feel soggy when you gently press it.
- Can be served warm or at room temperature with some ice cream or creme anglaise.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (4 teaspoons worldwide). Many countries use a 15ml tablespoon so check yours first.
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
- This is lovely served with Creme Anglaise
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4 Comments on “Apple Frangipane Tart”
Anything almond is lovely.
Thank you Marie.
So true! Thanks so much Pamela.
In America, we use 3 teas = 1 Tabl – interesting that there’s a difference. Thank you for providing that explanation.
No problem Mary. I like to make sure anyone can make my recipes with success 🙂