There is something almost unfairly beautiful about a cherry frangipane tart pulled from the oven, the cherries having sunk just slightly into the puffed, golden almond cream, their juices bleeding in dark, glossy rivulets across the surface. The kitchen smells of browned butter and toasted almonds and something faintly floral, and for a moment the whole thing feels more like a dream than a Tuesday afternoon bake. This is the kind of tart you find in the window of a French patisserie and immediately rearrange your afternoon to sit down with a slice and a proper coffee.
What sets this version apart is a two-part technique that most home recipes skip. First, the shortcrust pastry is blind-baked until genuinely golden — not just set — which guarantees a crisp base that never goes soggy under the moist frangipane filling. Second, the almond cream itself is built on beurre noisette, brown butter, rather than plain melted butter. That extra five minutes of cooking coaxes deep, nutty, almost caramel-like flavour from the fat, and it transforms the frangipane from pleasant to extraordinary. Fresh cherries are pitted and pressed into the raw frangipane before baking, so they soften into jammy pockets without losing their shape entirely.
This tart sits comfortably in the medium difficulty range. The pastry requires a light touch and a little patience, and the frangipane is genuinely simple to make, but the components do need to be prepared in stages. It is a perfect weekend bake or a make-ahead dessert for a dinner party, and it is equally suited to an experienced baker looking for a reliable showstopper and a confident beginner ready to tackle their first proper tart.
10
servings
Ingredients
- Frangipane
- 200 gall-purpose flour (about 1 2/3 cups, spooned and leveled), plus extra for dusting
- 30 gpowdered sugar (about 1/4 cup), sifted
- 0.25 tspfine sea salt
- 125 gcold unsalted butter (about 9 tbsp), cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 largeegg yolk, cold
- 2 tbspice-cold water, plus more if needed
- 115 gunsalted butter (about 8 tbsp / 1 stick)
- 120 gblanched almond flour or finely ground blanched almonds (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 120 ggranulated sugar (about 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp)
- 2 largeeggs, room temperature
- 1 tsppure vanilla extract
- 0.5 tspalmond extract
- 20 gall-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 tbsp)
- 400 gfresh or thawed frozen sweet cherries (about 3 cups), pitted
- Topping
- 30 gsliced almonds (about 1/4 cup)
- Glaze
- 2 tbspapricot jam
- 1 tspwarm water, to thin the glaze
- Dusting (optional)
- —Powdered sugar
Ingredient Substitutions
Instructions
🔧 Equipment
- Make the pastry: Whisk together the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse, sandy breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized pieces remaining. Make a well in the centre, add the egg yolk and ice-cold water, and mix with a fork until the dough just begins to clump. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and press gently into a disc — do not knead. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Make the beurre noisette: Melt the 115g of butter in a light-coloured saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally. Continue cooking for 4 to 6 minutes until the milk solids turn golden-brown and the butter smells nutty and toasty. Pour immediately into a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Do not refrigerate.
- Make the frangipane: Once the brown butter has cooled, whisk in the granulated sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts, then fold in the almond flour and the 20g of all-purpose flour until smooth and uniform. Set aside at room temperature.
- Blind bake the shell: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled pastry into a circle about 12 inches (30cm) in diameter and 3mm thick. Carefully drape it over a 9-inch (23cm) fluted tart tin with a removable base and press it gently into the edges. Trim any overhang by rolling the pin across the top of the tin. Prick the base all over with a fork. Line with parchment paper and fill with baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the parchment and weights and bake for another 5 minutes until the base is dry and very pale gold. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C).
- Assemble and bake: Spread the frangipane evenly into the warm pastry shell, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. The tin will be about three-quarters full. Press the pitted cherries into the frangipane in a single layer, pushing them about halfway in. Scatter the sliced almonds over the surface. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 28 to 32 minutes, until the frangipane is puffed, deep golden, and just barely set in the very centre — a gentle shake of the tin should produce only a slight wobble, not a liquid jiggle. If the almonds brown too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
- Glaze and cool: Warm the apricot jam with the teaspoon of water in a small saucepan or microwave until fluid. Strain if it is chunky. Brush the glaze gently and generously over the warm tart while it is still in the tin. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before unmoulding. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving if desired.
- Prepare the pastry and frangipane exactly as described in the Oven method steps 1 through 3, scaling all ingredients down by approximately 40 percent to fit a 7-inch (18cm) tart tin that fits inside your air fryer basket. Chill the pastry as directed.
- Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 9 inches (23cm) in diameter and 3mm thick. Line a 7-inch (18cm) fluted tart tin with a removable base, trim the edges, and prick the base all over with a fork. Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer to firm up.
- Blind bake: Line the chilled shell with a square of parchment paper and fill with baking weights. Place the tin in the air fryer basket and air fry at 320°F (160°C) for 12 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and air fry for a further 3 minutes until the base looks dry and pale golden.
- Fill and bake: Spread the frangipane into the blind-baked shell and arrange the scaled-down quantity of pitted cherries on top, pressing them gently into the batter. Scatter over the sliced almonds. Air fry at 320°F (160°C) for 22 to 26 minutes. Check at the 18-minute mark: if the almond topping is browning too fast, lay a small square of foil loosely over the tin for the remainder of the bake time. The frangipane is done when it is puffed, golden, and has just a faint wobble in the very centre.
- Glaze and cool: Brush the warm tart with the strained, warmed apricot glaze as soon as it comes out of the air fryer. Allow to rest in the tin for 15 minutes before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
- Make the crumb crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a food processor, pulse 200g (about 7 oz) of almond shortbread biscuits or digestive biscuits with 20g (2 tbsp) of ground almonds until fine crumbs form. Add 75g (5 tbsp) of melted unsalted butter and a pinch of salt and pulse briefly to combine. The mixture should hold its shape when pressed between your fingers.
- Press and chill the crust: Tip the crumb mixture into a 9-inch (23cm) fluted tart tin with a removable base. Use the flat bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly and evenly across the base and up the sides to form a crust about 5mm thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm.
- Prepare the frangipane: While the crust chills, make the beurre noisette and frangipane exactly as described in the Oven method steps 2 and 3.
- Fill and bake: Pour the frangipane filling into the chilled crumb crust and smooth the top. Press the pitted cherries evenly into the surface and scatter over the sliced almonds. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 to 30 minutes until the frangipane is puffed and deeply golden and a toothpick inserted off-centre comes out with moist but not wet crumbs. Watch the edges of the crumb crust — if it darkens too fast, shield with a thin ring of foil.
- Glaze and cool: Brush the warm tart with the warmed, strained apricot glaze while still in the tin. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then carefully remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. The crumb crust is more delicate than shortcrust, so handle gently when unmoulding.
Nutrition Per Serving
Per 1 serving (makes one 9-inch (23cm) round tart, 10 slices)
Why This Recipe Works
The crispness of a frangipane tart shell comes down almost entirely to managing moisture. Frangipane is a wonderfully moist filling, packed with eggs, fat, and fruit, so a pastry base that is only partially baked will absorb moisture from the filling during baking and turn soft and disappointingly pallid on the underside. By blind-baking the shell until it is genuinely golden and sealed before any filling goes in, you create a barrier that holds its structure beautifully. Pricking the base before blind baking and using weights to hold the sides vertical prevents both the base from puffing and the sides from slumping, which would leave you with too little room for the filling.
The decision to use beurre noisette rather than plain melted butter in the frangipane is a small step with an outsized payoff. When butter is heated past the point of melting, the water evaporates and the milk solids begin to brown through the Maillard reaction, producing dozens of new flavour compounds including nutty, toasty, almost butterscotch-like notes. These complement almond flour deeply, because almonds themselves contain the same kinds of aromatic compounds that develop when they are toasted. The result is a frangipane that tastes more complex, more layered, and more like something from a serious pastry kitchen. The key is to cool the brown butter fully before beating in the eggs, otherwise you risk scrambling them.
Adding a small amount of all-purpose flour to the frangipane is a structural choice, not an accidental one. Pure almond cream without flour tends to be very soft and custardy, and while delicious, it can be difficult to slice cleanly. The flour gives the protein and starch network just enough structure to hold a slice upright while keeping the interior tender and moist. If your frangipane comes out of the oven looking underbaked at the edges but still wobbly in the centre, give it an extra 3 to 5 minutes, tented with foil. The egg proteins need to set fully for a clean cut, and residual heat will carry the very centre the rest of the way.
Baker’s Tips
- Keep everything cold when making the pastry. Cold butter creates steam pockets as it bakes, which is what gives shortcrust its flaky, crisp layers. If your kitchen is warm, work quickly and refrigerate the dough for an extra 15 minutes before rolling.
- Do not skip chilling the pastry dough. Resting in the refrigerator allows the gluten strands to relax, which prevents the pastry from shrinking dramatically in the oven. A rushed, unchilled pastry will pull away from the sides of the tin during baking.
- Use a light-coloured pan or saucepan when making brown butter so you can actually see the colour of the milk solids. In a dark-coloured pan it is very easy to overshoot from golden to burnt before you realise it.
- Pat the cherries dry with paper towels before pressing them into the frangipane, especially if using frozen or jarred fruit. Excess surface moisture will create wet patches in the filling and can prevent the frangipane from setting properly in those spots.
- Cool the brown butter to room temperature before adding it to the sugar and eggs. If it is still warm, it will begin to cook the eggs and you will end up with a grainy or scrambled frangipane rather than a silky one.
- When checking for doneness, look for frangipane that is deep golden across the entire surface, slightly puffed and domed, and gives only a very subtle, uniform wobble when you shake the tin. Wet jiggling means it needs more time.
- The apricot glaze is not just decorative. It seals the surface of the tart, prevents the cherries from drying out as it sits, and gives the finished tart that professional patisserie shine. Do not skip it.
Variations
- Raspberry frangipane tart: Replace cherries with 300g fresh raspberries. Arrange them point-side up in a single layer. The tartness of raspberries is a perfect counterpoint to the sweet almond cream.
- Pear and almond tart: Peel and halve 3 ripe but firm pears, core them, and fan each half slightly. Arrange on top of the frangipane before baking for an elegant, classic presentation.
- Orange zest frangipane: Add the finely grated zest of 1 large orange to the frangipane and use cherry-orange jam for the glaze. The citrus lifts the richness beautifully.
- Pistachio frangipane: Replace half the almond flour with finely ground unsalted pistachios for a greener, earthier filling. Omit the almond extract and pair with fresh apricots instead of cherries.
- Chocolate drizzle finish: Once the tart is fully cooled and glazed, drizzle 50g of melted dark chocolate over the surface in thin lines for an extra layer of richness.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
My pastry shrank badly down the sides of the tin during blind baking. What went wrong?
My frangipane is still liquid and jiggly in the centre after the recommended bake time. Is it ruined?
The base of my tart is soggy even though I blind-baked it. What happened?
My frangipane tastes grainy or looks curdled. Where did it go wrong?
The edges of my pastry are browning too fast but the frangipane is not done yet. What should I do?
Storage & Make-Ahead
- Storage: Store the cooled tart loosely covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerate for up to 5 days, covered. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving for the best flavour and texture. Freeze individual slices wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then foil for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Make-Ahead: The pastry dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for up to 1 month. The blind-baked shell can be completed 1 day ahead and stored at room temperature loosely covered. The frangipane can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. Bring it back to room temperature and stir well before using. The fully assembled and baked tart is also excellent made 1 day ahead.
