Peaches were exceptionally good this year and all summer I planned to make a peach frangipane tart...I finally did on the last night of our vacation before returning to Brooklyn. Frangipane is made by combining ground almonds with butter and eggs and is the perfect compliment to sweet juicy peaches. Different from other peach tarts, this is never mushy...the almond cream puffs up around the peaches giving structure to the tart. Not too sweet, but very rich, just a sliver will do. This tart will serve 8-12 people.
PEACH FRANGIPANE TART
for the crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4-6 tablespoons ice water
for the frangipane:
1 1/2 cups slivered almonds (7 ounces)
2/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softenned
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 peaches
To make the crust combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until combined and there are pea sized chunks of butter. Continue pulsing while adding the ice water. Do not over process. The dough will come together when you turn it out onto the counter and press it together forming a disk. Chill for 30 minutes before rolling.
Preheat oven to 350°. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until it is large enough to fill a 9 inch springform pan. Carefully fold dough in half and position it in the pan, unfolding carefully and pressing dough up the sides of the pan. Line with parchement paper and weigh it down with dried beans or rice. If you have time you can chill the dough again before baking (I did not do this). Bake the crust for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is dry and lightly golden. Set aside.
To make frangipane, combine almonds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until it is a powder. Add the butter and pulse to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla and process until smooth. Pour batter into the pre-baked tart shell.
Cut peaches in half and peel. If the peaches are very ripe the peel should practically slip off the peach. Cut into 8ths and arrange in the tart shell on top of the frangipane. Bake until the frangipane is puffy and golden brown. I expected this to take about 50-60 minutes but it actually took over an hour. Keep an eye on it...if the filling still looks quite moist it is not done yet.