Summer time and the livin’ is easy…

Hello fellow members, happy summer to you all!

Every summer I tend to get a glut of fruit from one source or another and I love raiding the hedgerows for the seasonal gifts which nature provides. Friends and neighbours who either have allotments or humungous gardens bring round vegetables, fruits and flowers. As if all this wasn’t lucky enough, we also have a very large distributor of fruit and vegetables close by. Although mainly for trade customers, members of the public are welcome. Of this I take full advantage. It’s brilliant to be able to come home with boxes of fruit and vegetables at a fraction of supermarket prices or even FREE!!

The other day I came home with a whole box of 30 ripe peaches for just £1.00. Since I keep kilos of ground almond for different recipes, I used some of the peaches to make peach frangipane. Peach Frangipane with a scattering of raspberries and toasted almond slithers Frangipane is a batter made by creaming together butter and sugar with eggs, ground almonds and a liqueur. It’s used to fill tart cases or other pastries.
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Peach Frangipane Recipe

For the pastry:

The sweet pastry recipe makes enough to line 9 inch/23cm fluted tin.

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 150g chilled chopped butter 1 medium egg yolk
• 1 or 2 teaspoons ice water if required Method
• Place flour and butter in a bowl and rub combine the two with finger tips until the mixture fine breadcrumbs
• Add 30g sugar and combine

Method

• Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add beaten egg yolk.
• Bring the mixture together using a palette knife
• If the dough doesn’t hold add the ice water little at a time until it comes together.
• Don’t knead the dough as it will make it tough
• Form a ball, pat down into a flat disc.
• Wrap in a freezer bag and chill for 20 minutes.
• Roll the dough out swiftly with light pressure to approx. one eighth of an inch.
• Line the tin, gently easing the dough in place. Leave an overhang of pastry to allow for shrinkage during baking. Prick the base of the case and chill again for 15 minutes.
• Blind bake pastry on pre heated oven 180c/160c fan/350 degrees F/gas 4
• Line the pastry case with crumpled parchment or foil and pour in either some ceramic baking beans or rice to weigh down the pastry, blind bake for 15 minutes, remove paper and bake for a further 5 – 7 minutes to crisp up the pastry.
• Remove and cool pastry case.
• Cut off over hang with a serrated knife.
• Fill the case with the creamed mixture and bake as per instructions.

Pastry tip: Don’t over handle the pastry as this will make it tough

Alternatively you can follow Mrs Jones’ lemon meringue tart sweet pastry recipe http://www.cakeflix.com/online-cake-decorating-courses/mrs-jones-lemon-meringue-pie and use it to line a 9 inch loose bottom fluted flan tin, lightly greased and floured as you would a cake tin. This will make unmolding the pastry easier. I didn’t have a loose bottom fluted tin so I lined my quiche tin with strips of parchment paper, these act as lifters once the tart is baked. Follow the blind baking process as in Mrs Jones’ tutorial, taking care to keep the pastry adhered to the tin. The dusting of flour can make the pastry fall from the walls of the tin. Roll the pastry out quite thin for a lovely crunchy texture.

You’ll also need approximately 10 firm peaches, cut in half with stones and skins removed. Keep the fruits covered up while the frangipane is being made.

Ingredients for the Frangipane:

• 120g Unsalted butter
• 120g Either golden caster sugar or white caster sugar
• 2 Medium eggs
• 120 g Sifted ground almonds just enough to rid of any lumps. It doesn’t need to be finely sifted.
• 2 Tablespoons of plain flour
• 1 Tablespoon of Disaronno or a peach liqueur
• 1 – 2 Teaspoons of pure almond extract
• 2 Tablespoons of boiled apricot jam
• A handful of slithered toasted almonds to scatter on the baked frangipane

Method

• Cream together the sugar and the butter, add lightly beaten eggs one at a time, incorporating well.
• Fold in ground almonds, plain flour, liqueur and extract.
• Fill the cooled pastry case.
• Arrange the peach halves close together, cut side down, into the creamed mixture and scatter a few raspberries for colour
• Brush the fruit with a little boiled apricot jam and bake on 180c or 160c fan oven for approximately 35 minutes or until set. All ovens vary so please keep an eye and nose on your baking.

Serve hot or cold with cream, ice cream, caramel sauce or just by itself.

That’s it from me folks, take care, be safe!

madeitwithlove xx

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