Dried Fruit And Almond Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon zest, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until blended. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, gradually add the water until moist clumps form. Turn the mixture out onto a work surface and form into a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 1 hour.
• In a clean food processor bowl, combine remaining sugar, almond paste, mascarpone cheese, vanilla extract, and honey. Blend until smooth.
• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• On a large sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into an 11-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a large, heavy baking sheet. Spread the almond filling over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Arrange the figs on top of the almond filling. Spoon the jam over the figs. Fold the dough border over the filling to form an 8-inch round, pleating the crust loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in the dough.
• Bake the tart until the crust is golden, about 40 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then slide a metal spatula under the crust to free the tart from the parchment. Transfer the tart to a platter and serve.
• Cook's Note: To reconstitute dried figs, simmer in water for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool completely. Strain before using.

Steps:

• Combine dried fruit, orange juice, cognac, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring; reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Let cool, 15 minutes.
• Cut marzipan into chunks. In a food processor, puree marzipan, egg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Butter two 10-inch tart pans with removable bottoms. Divide dough in half. Roll out one half (keep other half refrigerated) on a lightly floured surface to an 11-inch circle. Fit into bottom and up sides of a prepared pan. Fill with half of marzipan, then half of fruit mixture (or almonds for almond tart). Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Drape with buttered plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Bake tarts, rotating pans once, until golden brown, about 20 minutes (15 minutes for almond tart). Let cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.

Steps:

• To make custard whisk egg, corn starch and maple syrup together in a pan. Slowly whisk in almond milk over medium heat. Bring to a boil, whisking continuously, remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.
• Pour custard into tart crust and top with fruit.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• For the fruit, combine the prunes, apricots and figs in a mixing bowl and cover with the Armagnac. Let stand for 3 hours, turning the fruit from time to time.
• Meanwhile for the crust, place the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse just to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, pour in the egg mixture. Process just until dough begins to come together. Gently press the dough together with your hands, flatten into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain the fruit; set aside. Roll out the dough between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap and fit it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, or a 10-inch quiche dish. For the filling, cream the butter and the confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla. Mix in the flour and the salt. Stir in the ground almonds.
• Spread the fruit evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Spoon the filling over the fruit. Bake until the filling is set and the crust is browned, about 40 minutes. Place on a rack to cool. Cut into wedges and serve.

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Butter ten 1/3-cup metal muffin cups. Bring juice to simmer in small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add cherries; let stand until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat almond paste and melted butter in large bowl until well blended (mixture will still have some small pieces of almond paste). Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in cherry mixture and orange peel. Add flour mixture and mix just until blended.
• Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake until tester inserted into center of muffins comes out clean but slightly moist to touch, about 20 minutes. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cool. Wrap muffins in foil and store at room temperature. Rewarm in foil in 350°F oven 5 minutes.) Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, pour the hot tea over the halved prunes, and let the fruit rehydrate while you make the almond filling.
• Put almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor, and pulse just until ground (be careful not to overprocess, or the filling will become a hard paste). Add the butter, eggs, brandy and almond essence, if using, and pulse just until smooth.
• Drain prunes well, pressing out any excess liquid with your hands, and place in the tart shell, more or less in an even layer. Spoon on the almond mixture, smoothing it with the back of the spoon, then sprinkle over remaining sliced almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is a nice golden brown. Dust with icing sugar, and let cool before serving.