Caramelized Almond Tart

Hey there, foodies!

The other day, I went to find a little comfort in a bakery and came across a caramelized almond tart! Oh my! It was absolutely delicious! :o)

So I challenged myself to recreate it at home. A little something to keep my spirits up during this lockdown that has already been going on for 3 weeks.

Let me introduce my almond tart made with a lemon shortcrust pastry and caramelized almonds.

The recipe is super easy to make and it's a real treat!

For a 25 cm tart tin, you will need:

Shortcrust Pastry

- 125gr tempered butter

- 75gr icing sugar

- 25gr egg

- 2gr salt

- Zest of 2 limes

- 225gr flour

Almond Filling

- 160gr butter

- 200gr sugar

- 30gr cream

- 45gr liquid honey

- 250gr flaked almonds

Shortcrust Pastry

Start by pouring 75gr of icing sugar and 125gr of tempered butter into a large bowl. If it is too cold, microwave it at 600Watt for about 10 seconds.

Mix these two ingredients using the K beater (flat beater) until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth.

Crack an egg and lightly beat it with a fork. Then weigh 25gr of egg and pour it into the mixture.

Mix lightly, still using the K beater.

Weigh 2gr of salt using a precision spoon scale and pour it into the mixture.

Zest 2 limes using the famous steel grater! I love this grater! It's magical and works with all citrus fruits as well as tonka beans. It also allows you to level a tart base, I love it!

Mix for just a few seconds with the K beater.

Add 225gr of flour and mix very lightly with the K beater. As soon as you see a crumble-like texture as in the second photo below, stop the K beater and finish kneading by hand.

If you mix too much, the gluten will develop and your pastry will puff up during baking. We want something nice and smooth that doesn't rise too much during baking. So don't over-mix! And everything will be fine. :o)

Once the dough is well mixed, place it between two sheets of baking paper. Place your 3 mm guide sticks on each side of the dough.

Roll out the dough evenly with a large rolling pin.

Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly rolled out, then place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Get yourself a perforated baking tray and a perforated mat. Baking will be optimal with these two tools! The pastry will be crispy and well baked all the way through to the middle.

For this recipe, I used a 25 cm perforated ring from Silikomart! I love their perforated tart rings. The baking and the look are just incredible! You can find them in different sizes in our range.

Just look at this beautiful ring! I love it, it's so easy to use.

Once the 10 minutes are up, take your pastry dough out of the freezer and cut it with the ring. And yes, that's what it's made for! It's so handy to be able to cut directly with the ring.

Then place your dough on the perforated mat, leaving it inside the ring.

With the remaining dough, cut strips 2 cm wide.

Here, I used the adjustable strip cutter which is usually meant for sugar paste but I love it for tarts.

Set it to 2 cm wide then cut strips as long as possible.

Press the strips against the ring and the base of the pastry. You may need to do the strips in 2 or even 3 goes, that's normal.

But press the strips firmly together so there are no gaps between them.

Once the strips and the tart are done, trim the excess dough with a smooth knife. Press the knife firmly against the tart ring to get a nice clean pastry edge.

Dock your pastry with a fork. If you don't dock the pastry, it will puff up during baking.

Place your tart in the freezer for about 15 minutes. This is very important! If you put it in the oven too quickly, the sides will collapse during baking.

Preheat your oven to 170°C fan-assisted.

While the tart is in the freezer, we will prepare our almond filling.

Almond Filling

Pour 160gr of butter into a saucepan and heat over medium heat.

Add 200gr of sugar and mix well with a spatula.

Never stop stirring.

Check the temperature with a thermometer. Once the temperature of 114°C is reached, add 30gr of full-fat cream then pour in 45gr of liquid honey.

Stir for another 1 minute over medium heat.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add 250gr of flaked almonds.

Mix everything well so that the almonds are coated in caramel. :o)

Take your tart out of the freezer.

Quickly pour the almond filling over your tart and spread it evenly with a spatula so that almonds cover the entire surface.

Your tart will be very full, that's normal.

Immediately bake your tart for 20-25 minutes at 170°C, fan-assisted.

Keep an eye on the baking during the last 5 minutes to make sure the almonds don't burn but are nicely caramelized.

Once the tart is baked, take it out of the oven and let it cool for at least 30 minutes.

Once the 30 minutes are up, carefully unmould your tart from the top.

If you remove the ring too quickly, your shortcrust pastry will break as it will still be a little soft. Once cooled, it will harden and everything will work out much better. :o)

And there you have it, a caramelized almond tart! :o)

Warning! Once you start eating this tart, you just can't stop. ;-)

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Have a lovely Sunday, foodies!

Karin

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.