Cherry Frangipane Tart

By David Tanis

Updated June 7, 2023

  • Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
2 hours
Rating
5(762)
Comments
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The classic combination of cherries and almonds is irresistible. For this tart, whole pitted cherries are baked in a rich almond batter called frangipane. Softly whipped cream, crème fraîche or vanilla ice cream make nice accompaniments.

Featured in: The Cherries on Top: Three Desserts for Summer

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

FOR THE TART DOUGH

  • 1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour

  • ¼ cup/45 grams granulated sugar

  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

  • 6 tablespoons/86 grams chilled unsalted butter, in small pieces

  • 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water

FOR THE FILLING

  • 1 cup/4 ounces/112 grams sliced natural (raw) almonds, more for sprinkling

  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  • ½ cup/90 grams granulated sugar

  • 4 ounces/1 stick/112 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

  • 12 ounces/350 grams pitted cherries (about 1 ¾ cups)

  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

40 grams carbs; 112 milligrams cholesterol; 436 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 29 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 56 milligrams sodium; 7 grams protein; 23 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the tart dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Work in butter thoroughly. Stir in egg yolk mixture and knead briefly until dough is smooth, then form into a flat disk.

  2. Step 2

    Roll dough to a large circle and lay it in a 10-inch/23-centimeter fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press in well (patch any cracks with extra dough). Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour.

  3. Step 3

    Heat oven to 425 degrees. Blind bake tart shell until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. (You do not need to cover the shell or use pie weights.)

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, make the filling: Put almonds, flour and sugar in work bowl of food processor and grind to a rough powder. Add butter and pulse until well incorporated. Add eggs and almond extract and process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use ground almonds and make batter with a mixer instead.)

  5. Step 5

    Pour almond batter into prebaked shell and smooth with a spatula. Press cherries into batter in a single layer. Sprinkle with a handful of sliced almonds. Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. (An inserted skewer should come out clean.) Cool on a rack and remove outer rim of tart pan. Place tart on a serving dish and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
762 user ratings
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Comments

John A.

My satsuma plum tree is filled with tart, deep purple fruit, so I used 5 cut into 1/6 wedges instead of the cherries. The tartness of the plums balanced the otherwise rich, sweet tart well.
May I suggest that 1tsp of almond extract is too much. In that quantity it becomes the dominant flavor and too much of it tastes fake and solvent-y to me, like marzipan.
It should be a faint enhancement, not a dominant flavor. Try 1/2 tsp., or less.

PeterK

I recommend 1 1/2 times the amount of ingredients for the crust. Also halving the cherries and mixing them into the batter is a great idea. Finally, you should be very careful about the time; I think only 13 minutes for the crust, and also no more than 30 minutes on the total cooking for the cake before you look to see if it's done.

Bubikon

A very nice recipe, but the tart dough ingredients are not nearly enough for a 10 inch tart pan. I suggest making 75% more or even double. Also, the dough cannot be rolled as soon as it is mixed. I suggest refrigerating it for at least one hour, preferably two, before rolling it out. The filling is terrific and I agree that the cherries should be halved.

ML Character

this is GREAT. Yum.

Emily

Made this as written. Plenty dough for my 10” tart pan. And the almond extract was not overwhelming. That said, I found the end result a bit underwhelming, which is sad because the cherries were delicious on their own. Probably would seek another recipe next time.

Suzanne K

Quick and easy. I used wild Italian cherries (Amarena) and I don't have a food processor so I ground the almonds and made the batter in my mixer. The tart was beautiful and tasty. The cherries I used were quite sweet, so I added a dollop of Chantilly cream for serving.

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