Vegan Apricot Frangipane Tart

If you have some perfectly ripe apricots--or peaches or berries--sitting on your counter, you will want to make this elegant and easy but delicious Vegan Frangipane Tart. It has a flaky pastry shell enclosing a filling of almonds and all of this goodness is topped with juicy apricots.

You could accuse me of making too many desserts of late, but then would you really want to? Especially when I come to you today bearing this beautiful vegan Apricot Frangipane Tart.

This tart disappeared within hours in my home, and that's only because I put away half of it so it would not be scarfed down in a single sitting. And it's easy to see why, when that tart shell is so crispy and flaky, when that almond filling is so creamy and tasty, and when those perfect, sunny apricots on top scream, "eat me!"

You can make a frangipane tart with so many different fruits, so if you don't have apricots, or don't want to use them, use cherries or berries or peaches. Apples work too.

Ingredients

• 6 ripe apricots. Can use another fruits like cherries, berries, apples or peaches)
• ¼ cup sliced, blanched almonds, For scattering on top, optional.

For the vegan pastry crust:

• 1.25 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons vegan butter 
• ¼ cup sugar
• Ice cold water as needed

For the frangipane filling:

• 1.25 cups almond flour (superfine). A superfine flour is key to making a smooth frangipane custard.
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour.
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch. You can substitute this with tapioca starch.
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

How to make vegan apricot frangipane tart

Make the pastry crust:

• Whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter using a fork or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Slowly drizzle in the cold water, mixing with a fork, until the dough comes together. Try not to overmoisten.
• Place the dough in cling wrap, shaping into a disc as you wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

Make the frangipane filling:

• Place all ingredients in the food processor or a bowl and mix until they come together. This will be a thick batter.

Assemble the tart:

• Roll out the pastry dough to make a disc that will fit into a 10-inch tart pan with a slight overhang. Fit the disc into the pan, making sure to press in the sides. Run a rolling pin over the top to remove any overhanging dough. Use the extra dough to fill in any gaps or cracks. Refrigerate for an hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Place the tart shell in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown.
• Scrape the batter into the baked tart shell and smooth the top if needed.
• Place the fruit on top in a decorative pattern or scatter. Scatter on the sliced almonds if using. Bake 40 minutes or until brown spots appear on top and the filling appears set, particularly in the center.
• Cool the tart on a rack and remove the outer shell of the tart pan. Slice and serve.If you did not bake the tart in a pan with a removable bottom, just cool thoroughly on the rack and then slice.