Perfect Pastry from a Perfect Pan: Raspberry Frangipane Tart
I can’t close my cupboards. Baking pans and rolling pins stick their sharp edges against the doors and make it impossible for me to tidy up. Metal mixing bowls roll out and topple onto the floor every day. I have stacks of rimmed baking sheets resting precariously against the wall just waiting to topple and crush my toes. I know I have too much baking equipment, and I fantasize about making a change. I plan for one glorious day when I’ll sort through the piles and take stock of what I truly need. I’ll create a clean and clutter-free work environment. Does any baker really need 12 offset spatulas?
When that day finally comes, I know the one pan I will surely keep. It’s not the most functional of the bunch. One might say it should be the first to go. But I will never get rid of it. It’s the one pan that just makes me smile to look at it. It’s my 9-inch fluted tart pan with the removable bottom. Amidst all of my overflowing baking clutter, it’s my favorite.
I love it because it’s the perfect size. Nine inches of tart is plenty to feed a small crowd, but not too big to be portable. I love it because everything made in a fluted tart pan looks pretty. And I love the action of slipping off the sides to reveal a perfect fluted edge. It’s a dainty pan. It’s decorative and frilly. And it is beloved. If I could, I’d make every dessert in a 9-inch fluted tart pan.
Get the Recipe: Raspberry Frangipane Tart
Here I decided to fill her with a tender, almond-scented raspberry and frangipane tart. Perfect pastry, cakelike almond filling and tangy fruit makes a lovely combination. And, thanks to my favorite little waste of space, it looks just as good as it tastes.
Samantha Seneviratne is a New York-based writer, recipe developer and food stylist. She is the author of The New Sugar and Spice (Ten Speed Press), a baking cookbook combining family stories and food history with recipes that reimagine dessert as a more balanced mix of sugar and spice. She blogs about dessert at Love, Cake.
Related Links: