Raspberry Almond Tart

This raspberry almond tart is delicious and very simple to make. Raspberry and almond are a great flavor match.

The warm, sweet and soft almond cream contrasted with the fresh tartness of the raspberries makes for an easy-to-eat dessert with just the right level of sweetness.

Besides tasting great, this is a nice recipe to have in your arsenal because it's beautiful, easy to make and versatile.

See below for easy substitutions you can play around with.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this raspberry almond tart are simple and the overall vibe is really similar to a frangipane tart. Frangipane has pastry cream mixed with the almond cream and ends up a bit lighter and wetter after baking.

You can easily turn this into a frangipane tart by using my frangipane recipe instead of the almond cream in this recipe. See the substitutions section below for more info.

Or just use the almond cream. It's a bit denser (which I personally like) and has all the flavor of frangipane with a few less steps.

Almond cream ingredients

• Almond meal
• White sugar
• Eggs
• Butter
• Almond extract (or essence)
• Salt

Almond meal vs almond flour

Finely ground almond meal or almond flour are both okay to use. Almond meal is made from whole almonds whereas almond flour is made from blanched and peeled almonds.

Almond flour will tend to have a finer texture and lighter color. Texture and color can vary widely between different manufacturers. The same goes for almond meal - it can be either finely ground and light or coarse and dark.

I used very finely ground almond meal for this recipe. You can see in the photo above the texture and color.

Grittier almond meal is also okay to use. You will still end up with a nice and tasty cream but it might be a bit darker or gritter than in the photos here.

Another option is to make your own almond meal by using a food processor to grind the equivalent weight of almonds until just fine (but don't go too far or you will end up with almond butter).

Almond essence vs almond extract

Pure almond extract is a natural food flavoring that's made by extracting bitter almond oil from almonds or the pits of other stone fruits.

The bitter almond oil is combined with alcohol and water to create an extract that's been used in baking since the 16th century.

Almond essence is a synthetic food flavoring made using artificial ingredients which means it's usually much cheaper than almond extract.

I use Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract for my almond flavoring needs. It's a really high quality product with a nice flavor and one bottle will probably last a lifetime with how sparingly almond flavor is usually used.

Whatever almond extract or essence you use, keep in mind that you really only need a very small amount or it can easily become overwhelming or bitter to the point of being inedible.

Pastry crust ingredients

• Flour
• Butter
• Water
• Salt

A note on salt in sweet baked goods

I like to add salt or use salted butter in my sweet baked goods because it adds nuance and depth of flavor.

This pie dough intentionally doesn't include extra sugar because I think the dessert is sweet enough as is.

If you like your desserts on the sweeter side of things, you can add 25 grams (about 2 tablespoons) of white sugar to the pie dough ingredients.

Filling

Raspberries: Besides almond cream, the filling is just raspberries. I used frozen raspberries because I find them very convenient. You can also use fresh. Keep scrolling for substitution options down below.

Garnish

• Blanched and roasted sliced almonds
• Powdered sugar

These garnished are wholly optional but make for a very eye-catching presentation.

Preparation

How to make the pie dough

This pie dough is made with a food processor which makes it very easy. It only takes a few seconds of pulsing and the ingredients are mixed.

Steps

1. Weigh out ingredients: Weigh out (or measure) all the ingredients and add them to the bowl of the food processor.
2. Mix: Pulse for 10-20 seconds just until the mixture comes together. You will notice it goes from a grainy mealy texture to a clumpy texture. As soon as it does that, stop mixing. Don't pulse anymore than necessary or you can start forming gluten which is not desirable for a tender and crisp short crust pastry like this one.
3. Check: The dough should have a texture that makes it easy for it to clump together into one mass when pressed. Don't handle the dough too much or you can melt the butter and end up with a dense crust instead of a tender one.
4. Rest: Wrap and place in the fridge to rest while you prepare the almond cream.
5. Flour your work surface: Liberally flour your work surface so the dough doesn't stick as it's rolled out.
6. Roll out: Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to just under half a centimeter (0.25 of an inch) in thickness.

After you've rolled out the dough, trim the edges. You can simply stop there (and use the excess for some mini tarts - it refrigerates and freezes well too).

You can also mix the dough back up, roll it out, cut it into 2cm (0.75inch) strips and use it to make an edge for your tart like I did. I then used a wooden dowel (like a chopstick) to put some indents into it.

For more tips and information on making the pie dough see my easy all purpose pie dough.

Tips

• It doesn't have to be perfect. If you have gaps or tears anywhere just use some excess dough to patch things up.

How to make the almond cream?

It's very easy - just combine the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature.

Mix with a fork until the whole mixture is homogenous and a bit fluffy as shown in the photo below. As you mix, air is being incorporated which is what makes the mixture gradually feel lighter, fluffy and possibly a bit foamy.

Equipment

Springform pie and tart pan: I used a 31cm (12 inch) 1.8 liter springform pie and tart pan with removable bottom and fluted edges from Ikea called Vardagen. This Amazon pie pan with removable bottom is very similar and well rated.

I didn't use baking paper or butter the pie pan in advance as I know it doesn't tend to stick with pie dough.

You can probably use a slightly smaller or slightly larger pie dish. If using a smaller dish you probably won't have too much excess dough

If you do have excess dough, maybe find a creative use for it - grab a ramekin or muffin tin and make an extra 'mini tart'.

Food processor: A food processor makes it much easier to make pie dough. Literally pulse the ingredients together for a few seconds and you are done.

It's much faster and more error-proof as compared to cutting the butter into the flour with a fork or pastry cutter.

Pie crust shield (or DIY with aluminum foil): An aluminium or adjustable silicone pie crust shield will protect the pie edges from browning too quickly. If left unprotected the edges will definitely get brown too fast and may even end up tasting burnt. You can also DIY a shield using aluminum foil like I've done.

Assembling and baking the raspberry almond tart

All you need to do is add the almond cream to the pie crust and then top with the raspberries.

Tips

• You don't need to pipe in the filling: There are a lot of very aesthetic photos online of piped frangipane or almond cream in tart shells. That technique makes for a nice photo and you are welcome to do it, but it's not necessary and in my opinion just makes for more things to wash at the end. Just pour in the almond cream and use a spatula or the back of a spoon to smooth it out. It will spread as it cooks anyway.
• Avoid a sticky pan: If you know your pie pan sticks (or if you're uncertain) make sure you butter it or cover with baking paper.
• Protect the pie edges from burning: Make sure you use a pie crust shield or your edges will brown too fast and you will be sad. I find it easier to add the pie crust shield before the rest of the fillings but it's up to you how you do it.

Substitutions

Frangipane and almond cream tarts are really popular. There are a lot of different ways to swap out both the fruit and the cream.

Frangipane instead of almond cream: This will make a lighter and softer tart as frangipane stays quite a lot softer after baking compared to almond cream. If you want to use frangipane instead check out my frangipane recipe. You should expect to add up to 10 minutes to the baking time but check the doneness at the 30 minute mark. It should be golden and not jiggly. Also keep an eye on the top so it doesn't brown too much. If it's too dark but not done, tent it with some aluminum foil and keep cooking until it's puffed up, golden and not jiggly.

Different fruit: For example, for the fruit you can easily substitute:

• pear (probably the most popular variant)
• apple
• blueberry
• peach, apricot etc.

Different nuts: You can also substitute the almond meal for other ground nuts like:

• pistachio
• hazelnut
• walnut

There are so many combinations so you can really make this recipe your own if you want to.

Or just go with raspberry almond cream because it's just so good together. Personally this might be my favourite fruit frangipane/almond cream combo. I just love the contrast of the sweetness and tartness.

Serving and storing

Serving

This raspberry almond tart is best served warm shortly after you take it out of the oven.

The sliced almonds can do on either before baking or afterwards but the powdered sugar should go on just before serving, once the tart has cooled slightly from oven temperatures (if it's too hot it can make the sugar melt).

Also very nice with whipped cream or ice cream (classic vanilla or even salted caramel would be good matches).

If serving next day and beyond, I recommend reheating it slightly. This can be done in the oven (185C / 365F for 10 minutes or so) or microwave (30 seconds should do it but depends on the size of the piece being microwaved).

Storing

This raspberry almond tart will keep for 2 days at room temperature. Cover lightly with aluminum foil and then a kitchen cloth.

After two days at room temperature I recommend refrigerating it in an airtight container.

Once refrigerated it will still be good for another 2-3 days but any longer and it will start losing moisture and freshness.

If you enjoy this recipe please let me know in the comments or leave a star rating!

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