I created this recipe by building on 3 other different recipes and incorporating them into one big bake. Every Christmas we have clementines in the house and I thought I should use them to make a Christmas inspired tart. So I thought to pair the clementines with almond. The almond flavour in this recipe comes from the frangipane, which then compliments the citrusy flavour of the clementines well.
Ingredients:
Sweet Shortcrust Pastry:
175g Plain Flour
100g Cold Butter
25g Icing Sugar
1 x Egg Yolk
1 Tbsp Cold Water
Frangipane:
75g Soften Butter/Baking Spread
75g Caster Sugar
75g Ground Almonds
2 x Eggs
½ tsp Almond Extract
Clementine Jam:
4 x Clementines
65g Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Lemon Juice
Decoration:
500g Icing Sugar
Orange food colouring
1. Peel the clementines and place into a food processor. Blitz the clementines till until smooth.
2. Put the clementines, granulated sugar and lemon juice into a heavy bottom pot. Heat the clementines on a high heat.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the temperature to a medium heat. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. To test if the jam is ready, place a bit of the jam onto a cold plate. The jam should wrinkle when lightly pressed. If the jam has reach the setting point, take the jam off the heat and transfer the jam into a bowl to cool.
5. Cut the butter into small cubes. There are two ways to make this pastry: by hand or in a food processor. Place the flour and butter into a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. When the butter is rubbed in with the flour, the fat in the butter coats the flour, which prevents the formation of gluten strands.
6. Add the egg yolk and water, pulse slowly until the ingredients clump together. At this stage tip the mixture onto a floured surface and form the mixture into a ball. Then kneed the pastry 2-4 times. Do not over work the pastry, as this will cause gluten strands to form.
7. Finally over the pastry in cling film and then leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until it is need. This will relax the gluten strands in the pastry; this will stop the pastry from shrinking when baked.
8. Take the pastry out of the fridge and place on a floured work surface. Roll the out into a large circle with enough pastry left to cover the sides of the tart tin. Lift the pastry of the tart tin and press the pastry into the tin.
9. Lightly prick the base of the tart with a fork (this will prevent the dough from rising when baked). Put the pastry back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Pre heat the oven to 190C/Gas Mark 5.
10. To make the frangipane, mix together the butter and sugar using a stand mixer until the mixture becomes paler in colour. Then add the eggs one by one until fully incorporated. Finally add the ground almonds and almond extract and mix together.
11. Take the lined pastry tin out of the fridge and spread around 3-5 tablespoons of the clementine jam over the base of the tart. Next pour the frangipane over the jam, lightly spread the frangipane using a off set spatula. Try to make the top of the tart as flat as possible.
12. Bake in the pastry for 30-35 minutes. To test if the filling is cooked, use a toothpick to piece the filling. If the toothpick comes out clean, take the tart out of the oven and leave to cool.
13. While the tart is cooling make the icing. Place the icing sugar in a large bowl; slowly add water to icing sugar until a thick icing form. Remove around 2-3 tablespoons of the icing and transfer to a separate bowl. Add a bit of orange food colouring and mix.
14. When the tart is fully cooled, remove from the tin and place the tart on a plate. Pour the icing over the top of the tart. Lightly shake the tart to help evenly spread the icing.
15. Pour the orange icing into a piping bag. Cut small hole in the piping bag and pipe around 5-7 lines across the tart. Move a skewer up and down the tart to create the “feather”decoration.