This pineapple frangipane tart will surprise you with its unique flavor. You might not think to combine pineapple, almonds and pistachios but you won't be able to stop eating it!
I start looking forward to the winter by the time Halloween is over. There's so much festive holiday cheer and warmth.
Then there's all the sweet delights...smores, Christmas cookies, hot chocolate and marshmallows, cinnamon and peppermint this and that...Oh and don't forget the excitement of that first snow fall! I just love taking a walk in it.
But it's just around now that the mood takes a turn. The new year's excitement is gone. No one is in the mood to make cinnamon or peppermint cookies.
The second snow fall...not so exciting as you remember the shoveling, the wind and messy streets from the first snow fall. I don't know about you, but post New Year's Day I'm ready for warmer weather again.
Originally, I was trying to stay seasonal with a "winter mood" flavor for the tart I was making this week. Smore's Cupcake? Cinnamon walnut tart? But the winter flavors are just no longer appealing.
So I've gone tropical with this pineapple almond tart. The greatest thing about pineapples is that they are pretty much the same in taste year round.
This is pineapple almond tart is similar to one which I made in culinary school. I thought almond cream (aka frangipane) and pineapples to be a strange combination but it turned out to be one of the most delicious tarts that we made.
If you have never tasted something with frangipane, you should get right to it! Besides this pineapple combo, you can also try it in my cherry almond tart or something classically French like a pear frangipane tart.
I highly recommend it even if you are not a huge fan of pineapples. You will be very surprised!
For a more details on making the crust, I recommend reading my post on making tart dough.
Pineapple Tart
This pineapple tart will surprise you with its unique flavor. You might not think to combine pineapple, almonds and pistachios but you won't be able to stop eating it! Makes one 9.5 inch diameter tart.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ⅔ cup cake flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 8 Tbs cold butter, cubed into ½ inch pieces and chilled
- about ¼ cup ice cold water
For the almond cream (frangipane):
- 6 Tbs butter
- ⅜ cup sugar
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ Tbs corn starch
For the tart:
- Pineapple slices, about ½ pineapple worth
- Shelled, chopped pistachios (optional for garnish and crunch)
- 2-3 Tbs apricot preserves, for shine
Instructions
For the crust:
- Mix together the dry ingredients. In an electric mixer (or food processor) combine the dry ingredients and the cold butter and paddle on slow speed until the butter is the size of small lentils.
- Add the water gradually and mix until just combined. Use your judgement here, don’t use all the water if it looks like the dough has come together. If it is too dry, you may need more. Wrap and store the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
For the almond cream (frangipane):
- In an electric mixer, paddle the butter, sugar and almond flour until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until combined.
- Add the corn starch and mix to combine. If you are not using this immediately, you can refrigerate it but you will have to beat it again to soften it up.
For the tart:
- Roll out your dough to 12 inches and line an 9.5 inch tart ring with the dough, trimming off the excess. Refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes.
- Using a fork, poke holes on the bottom of the dough. Fill the tart shell with the almond cream spreading it as evenly as possible. Place your pineapples on top, overlapping the slices in a nice pattern.
- Bake at 350°F for about 35-40 minutes or until the top has browned and the almond cream has set.
- Heat the apricot preserves on the stove top until it becomes liquid. Brush on the preserves (avoid the chunks) onto the slightly cooled tart. Garnish around the edged with chopped pistachios.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 427Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 315mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 3gSugar: 16gProtein: 7g
This nutrition information is only an approximate provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. Information comes from Nutritionix, an automated nutrition calculator.
Kulsum at JourneyKitchen says
Oh yes I would think of pineapple with almond cream strange, but now I'm tempted to try the combo! Beautiful tart Urvashee, ur quite like me, I often get tired of winter recipes and want some summer recipes back :)
Dimah says
Beautiful tart! Looks amazing!
Paula says
I can only echo Dimah's comment. Super job!
Suniti Patel says
Looks yummy!!
Amrita says
For a split second there I though I saw the tart lined with spinach...and then I did a double-take! It looks gorgeous!
I've never really cared much about pineapple in winter before this....my mouth can't stop watering now!
davina says
It doesn't sound like the most obvious of choices for winter, but you explain why it works so well that you have converted me! I am going to give it ago over the weekend.
The Duo Dishes says
The presentation looks completely different from any pineapple tart out there. It's pretty with the nuts lined up around the crust's edge. The new blog layout is great too!
Meredith says
This was more delicious than I imagined! Thank you for the recipe! It was very simple to make. Because I had no other fruits on hand, I put tart dried cherries (that come in the bag, sweetened with apple juice) on for decoration. The flavor combination of the cherries, pineapple, pistachios and almonds turned out to be outstanding! Again, thank you!
Urvashee says
Thanks Meredith! I'm so glad you tried it. The flavor surprised me as well. Cherries also go great with almond cream so I'm sure your version was fantastic. I also did a cherry almond tart that tasted surprisingly good. https://www.dessarts.com/2010/07/cherry-almond-tart.html