Gluten Free Blueberry Frangipane Tart

Instructions

1. Sift the 200g flour, 1 tsp xanthan gum and 1.5 tbsp sugar into a large mixing bowl, then add the 40g ground almonds. Stir to combine.
2. Grate the 120g chilled butter into the bowl (use the large grater setting on a cheese grater) and toss the butter strands through the flour with a spoon. Once the butter is coated with flour, use your finger tips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a coarse breadcrumb-like texture.
3. Beat one large egg and add to the bowl. Stir through with the spoon.
4. Add 1 tbsp water (you may not need the second) and use your hands to bring the ingredients together to form a nice ball of dough. It should come away from the sides of the bowl and be a slightly sticky dough, but will form into a ball. If it is still a bit crumbly, add the second tbsp water and work to combine.
5. Take a large piece of greaseproof paper (approx 30cm long) and place the ball of dough on the waxed, non-stick side. Press it down gently with your hands to form an oval shape a couple of cm thick. Now fold the paper over to cover the other side of the dough and then fold the edges over so that you have a nice little dough parcel. Now place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat your oven to 180C (fan) and lightly grease a 24cm loose-bottomed tart tin.
7. Unwrap the chilled dough and place the greaseproof paper on your worktop. Dust well with gluten free flour and pop the dough on top. Place a 30cm piece of cling film on top of the dough.
8. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry out to 0.5cm thick in a large circular shape - wide enough to completely cover the tart tin and sides. If there's any breaking or uneven edges you can just patch them up easily with other pieces of pastry.
9. Carefully ease the side of the pastry onto the floured rolling pin, then carefully slide onto the tart tin. OR you can also flip the greaseproof paper and dough over onto the tart tin, then carefully peel the greaseproof off.
10. Gently tuck the pastry into the tin, pressing down to completely cover the base and around the sides. Use a sharp knife to slice off any excess pastry (you can save these offcuts in the fridge for later use). You should be left with a nice neat edge.
11. Use a fork to gently prick holes in the base of the pastry tart (image below). Place the used greaseproof paper on top of the pastry and tin, adding baking beads to fill (see image below) so that you can "blind bake" the tart. Place it into the oven to blind bake for 10 minutes at 180C.
12. Now remove the tart case from the oven, lift out the baking beads and greaseproof paper and return to the oven (uncovered) to bake for 10 minutes at 160C (fan).
13. While the case is baking, you can whip up the frangipane filling. First cream 100g butter and 100g caster sugar together until smooth. Then add one large egg and 0.5 tsp vanilla and beat to combine. Finally add 100g ground almonds and 40g plain flour, then give everything a really good mix until thick and smooth. Add three quarters of the blueberries and stir through the mixture.
14. The shortcrust case should now be cooked through (add 5 minutes to the cooking time if it still looks raw on the bottom). Remove from the oven and place onto a wooden board or heatproof mat. Scoop the frangipane mixture into the pastry case and use a small palette knife or back of a spoon to spread it right to the edges and level the top.
15. Place the remaining blueberries on top and use your finger to push them into the frangipane so that they are still showing but sunken into the mix. Bake the tart for 30-35 minutes at 160C (fan) until cooked through and lightly golden.
16. Transfer the cooked tart onto a wire rack to cool. Mix 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp hot water together to create a sugar glaze, then lightly glaze the top of the frangipane using a pastry brush or similar. Allow to cool fully then cut into slices and enjoy - it tastes amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!