Strawberry Blueberry Almond Tart Food

BLUEBERRY & ALMOND TART

Ingredients:

• 85g softened butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 175g ground almonds
• 2 eggs , beaten
• few drops almond extract
• 2 x 125g punnets blueberries
• 23-24cm cooked shortcrust pastry tart case (see 'goes well with')
• icing sugar , for dusting

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Beat together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, about 1 min. Stir in the almonds, egg and almond extract.
• Stir in half the blueberries and spoon into the pastry case. Smooth the top using the back of a metal spoon, then scatter over the remaining blueberries, pressing them in lightly. Bake for 45-50 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden, and the filling is golden and feels firm to the touch.
• Cool the tart for 10 mins in the tin, then lift onto a serving plate. Dust with a little icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

RASPBERRY AND BLUEBERRY ALMOND TART

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17 1/4-ounce package), thawed
• 1 egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 cup whipping cream or heavy cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons amaretto liqueur
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted and coarsely crumbled
• 1 (6-ounce) basket fresh raspberries
• 1 (6-ounce) basket fresh blueberries
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut a 3/4-inch wide strip off each side of the pastry and reserve. Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface to a 10-inch square and transfer to a sheet pan or cookie sheet. Brush the edges of the square with the egg. Working with 1 strip at a time, stand the strips along the edges of the pastry square and crimp where they meet. You want to create a shallow box, where the pastry square is the base and the 4 strips are the walls. Overlap the strips at the corners, stretching them, if necessary, to complete the walls of the box. Brush the border with the egg. Pierce the center of the pastry all over with fork. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the cream to soft peaks. With the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar and continue to beat to stiff peaks. Add the liqueur and beat until just well blended; be careful not to overmix or the whipped cream will turn into a buttery consistency and start to separate. Using a large spatula, fold in the nuts. Spoon the cream mixture into the prepared pastry crust. Arrange the berries over the cream. Sift the cocoa powder over and serve.
• Note: You can use any fruit that's in season (orange segments, berries, plums, bananas, grapes). Blueberries make a good substitute for the raspberries, and sliced peaches or nectarines are delicious as well.

STRAWBERRY ALMOND TARTS

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1/2 pound almond paste
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 stick soft butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• Whole berries and confectioners' sugar for finishing

Steps:

• For the dough, beat the butter and sugar with the paddle on medium speed until very soft and light. Beat in the vanilla and the yolk and continue beating until smooth and shiny, about 3 more minutes. Stop the mixer, sift the cake flour and add to the butter mixture. Pulse the mixer on and off to incorporate the flour. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic, wrap and chill it until firm.
• For the almond filling, combine almond paste, sugar, yolk and zest and beat by machine until smooth. Beat in butter, scrape bowl and beaters and beat in eggs. Continue beating until light.
• Stir in flour. Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll one piece at a time on a floured surface. Use each piece of dough to line a 3 to 4 inch diameter tart pan. Mass the scraps together after rolling the dough for the first four pans and line the last two.
• Arrange the sliced berries evenly on the crust in each pan, then top with the almond filling, spreading it evenly with a metal spatula. Strew evenly with the sliced almonds.
• Bake the tarts at 350 degrees about 25 minutes, until dough is baked through and filling is set.
• Cool in pan, unmold and dust with confectioners' sugar. Decorate each tart with a few whole berries.