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We got a lot of rain recently; rivers formed in channels next to sidewalks, racing each other to the ocean. The authorities on these matters are calling such storms “atmospheric rivers,” which makes it sound like a giant waterfall is about to cascade from the sky. In reality it hasn’t felt like that much water, but any amount of forecasted rain is enough to send shivers down a stay-at-home parent’s spine—the mind begins to race, creating a virtual wall of images connected by red thread, analyzing all the possibilities for indoor entertainment: perhaps an hour or two can be filled at the library, depending on how rambunctious the kids are; if friends can meet at the bouldering gym, that’s ideal; how many errands can we run without the baby screaming bloody murder? It’s a delicate dance. I normally love the rain, the way it makes the house feel extra cozy. If I could stay inside, baking or knitting or reading, even working by myself, I would still enjoy it. But I have two kids who will go all Lord of the Flies on each other if I don’t get them out of the house. Ergo, rain equals dread, for now.

In other news, I recently found out that I have gallstones, which might just be the worst diagnosis for a lover of full-fat everything; I am that person who uses liberal amounts of olive oil in pretty much every dish, who spreads butter on toast in almost equal ratios of butter to bread and adores anything custard-based. Essentially, the gallbladder reacts to fat in food—if you have gallstones, those stones can get stuck in the neck of the gallbladder and cause pain. If it gets bad enough, the fussy little organ needs to be surgically removed. Mine is currently still tucked safely under my ribs, occasionally wreaking havoc on my digestive tract. Just the other week it got so bad I had to basically not eat for as long as I could in order to let things settle down in there. I greatly missed my daily matcha latte and extremely buttery toast! The long and short of it is that, regardless of surgery, I need to cut down on fat intake, which feels like an absolute tragedy.

I know you’re not here for updates on my wayward organs, so back to the food: before I had my latest gallbladder episode, I was happily eating at least two Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies per week as well as initiating a couple of other baking projects in that time, like this frangipane tart. I’ve been sitting on this recipe for almost a year, and finally gathered enough courage to shoot it. It takes a lot more thought and planning to shoot more involved desserts like this because I literally have about one hour in which to set up and complete the shoot, as that’s how long Wren usually naps in the morning. Hearing him cry out when I haven’t captured all my carefully planned shots is truly a punch to the gut.

This is a very special tart, with a crisp, super-buttery pastry filled with soft, again buttery, slightly lemony frangipane that covers a tart, generous layer of raspberry jam and is dotted with raspberries and crunchy flaked almonds (sorry, gallbladder.) It’s a dream to eat, truly, and tastes like a grown up version of a jam cookie. If you haven’t heard of frangipane, you must not be watching the Great British Bake Off; it’s basically a mixture of butter, ground almonds, and sugar which, when baked, puffs up and becomes like a cross between a very moist cake and a set custard. It plays fantastically well with tart fruit, like raspberries. You could use any other type of jam and berries, but just remember to have something a bit puckery and tart so as to avoid the whole thing being overly sweet.

Note
If you’re looking at this recipe and thinking, “I could never do that,” know that you can! I’ll break down how I make this tart with two little ones at home:
Tart case: simply stir together the ingredients for the tart shell and bake it the day before you want to make the full tart. Let cool completely. Store it in a well-sealed plastic bag or an airtight container for one or two days.
Frangipane: blitz the filling together in the food processor and use right away, or make it the day before baking and scrape it into an airtight container in the fridge overnight. Take it out a couple of hours before baking to let it come to room temperature and will therefore be spreadable.
Bake the full tart: once you have those two elements done, the rest is super easy! Just spread the jam in the tart case, top with the frangipane, dot with raspberries and sprinkle with flaked almonds, done. See, I knew you could do it.

Raspberry Frangipane Tart

makes one 9-inch round tart or one 5×13-inch rectangular tart

Crust adapted from Alison Roman’s Sweet Enough.
Frangipane adapted from the River Cottage Cookbook.

to make the tart shell:
200g (1 ⅓ cups) all-purpose flour
80g (⅔ cup) powdered sugar
¾ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
170g (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

to make the frangipane:
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g granulated or caster sugar
100g ground almonds
⅛ tsp fine sea salt
juice and grated peel from half a small lemon
1 large egg
¼ tsp vanilla extract

150g (½ cup) raspberry jam
handful of fresh raspberries, for decorating
flaked almonds, for decorating
powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

To make the tart shell: sift 200g all-purpose flour, 80g powdered sugar, and ¾ tsp kosher salt together into a large bowl. Using a fork, stir in the melted butter just until you have a soft dough that feels a bit like play-dough. In an ungreased 9-inch round fluted tart pan,* evenly disperse chunks of your dough around, then press it into the sides and bottom of the pan. Use a measuring cup (or a flat-bottomed cup), dusted with a little flour, to get everything even. Poke the bottom of the tart all over with a fork, then freeze it for 15 minutes. Line the shell with parchment paper, then fill the paper with baking weights (I like to use old rice, but you can also use old dry beans), making sure the weights reach all the way to the sides of the tart. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the paper and weights, and bake a further 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Set aside to cool completely. (Once it’s fully cool, the tart shell can be wrapped in plastic wrap or kept in an airtight container for about 2 days.)

*You can make this in a 5×13-inch rectangular tart tin as well; just check the tart after 35-40 minutes, as it will bake a bit faster than the round version.

To make the frangipane filling: combine 100g softened unsalted butter and 100g granulated sugar in a food processor. Cream until pale and light in color. Add 100g ground almonds and ⅛ tsp fine sea salt, pulse to combine, then add the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Pulse until homogenous. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and whisk in the egg, followed by ¼ tsp vanilla extract. Set aside until ready to use. (At this point, the frangipane will last in the fridge for about 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before using.)

Once your tart shell is completely cool, spread 150g raspberry jam evenly across the bottom. Top with gentle dollops of frangipane, trying to cover the jam as much as possible. Use an offset spatula to carefully spread the frangipane evenly across the entire surface of the tart, all the way to the edges, without disturbing the jam layer. Scatter the frangipane with raspberries, pressing them in lightly, then sprinkle the whole thing with flaked almonds.

Bake the tart for 45-50 minutes, until quite browned. Cool to room temperature, then dust with a little powdered sugar, either just on the edges or over the whole thing. The tart will keep, well sealed, for about 3 days.