Gooseberry Frangipani Tartlets

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When we were children my grandma used to make gooseberry pie and I hated it because the gooseberries were too sour. I’ve never quite got to grips with them becauseI don’t like adding a lot of sugar to fruit recipes, but this year I’ve grown some lovely sweet purple ones which are perfect for this Good Food recipe I found online yesterday. All the sugar is in the pastry and the frangipani and the raw fruit is just popped in between making a lovely tart jammy layer in the middle of all the sweet crispy deliciousness.

 

Ingredients:

Pastry:

1 large egg, separated

225g unsalted butter, slightly softened 

50g golden caster sugar

350g plain flour

Filling:

50g unsalted butter, softened

50g golden caster sugar

1 large egg

1tsp almond extract

50g ground almonds

1tbsp plain flour

300g gooseberries 

 

 

Method:

Pastry: 

Place the egg yolk, butter, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt in a processor and mix until soft and creamy. Add the flour and bring together until only slightly mixed then tip onto a work surface and bring  together by hand. Do not knead or overwork the dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 mins. 

Filling:

Beat the sugar, butter, egg and almond extract until creamy,  then add the almonds and flour and fold together until well combined. 

Prepare a flat baking sheet by lining with parchment and preheat the oven to 180C

Roll the chilled pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out 8 x 9cm circles. Be firm but gentle with the pastry, it will be quite soft and may crack- don’t worry too much, this adds to the rustic appearance and won’t affect the finished tartlets. Place the discs on the prepared tray. Put a dessertspoon of the frangipani filling on each disc, then top with a handful of gooseberries, pushing them gently into the frangipani to hold them in place. 

Cut out 8 slightly bigger pastry circles. Lightly whisk the remaining egg white and brush the edge of each tart then place a lid over the gooseberry filling and press the edges gently together. Brush the remaining egg white over the top of each pie then sprinkle with a little caster sugar.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes until golden and crisp. 

Serve warm with a good vanilla ice cream or some pouring cream.