How to Make a Traditional Belgian Almond Tart

A thick crumbling crust with soft, cool, and creamy almond filling in the center. A sprinkle of powdered sugar on top. In one bite, it’s all gone. You stare longingly at your plate, wishing for more. Don’t like almonds? Don’t despair; you wouldn’t even know it’s present in the cake.

And now you, too, can make this Belgian tart in your own kitchen. All the time. It is a common dessert in Belgium and in other parts of Europe, and is locally known as Frangipane. I was first introduced to this almond meal-based cake thanks to my grandfather’s recipe, as he was a pastry chef and chocolatier in Brussels.

This recipe isn’t extremely complicated and doesn’t require a lot of baking or prep time. You can also freeze the tart so it will keep for a long time.

Just be warned: this tart can be extremely addictive.

Preparing the Almond Filling and assembling the Frangipane

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 15 minutesTotal time: 20 minutesServings:6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup ground almond meal
• 1 cup granulated icing sugar
• 2 eggs
• 6 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon all purpose flour

Instructions

1. 
   

   Using a food processor, combine all of the ingredients until a smooth and creamy paste-like consistency has been formed.

2. 
   

   Spread the almond filling in the chilled crust(s).

3. 
   

   Place tart(s) in preheated oven, and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the tart is golden brown. Let cool, then enjoy plain or with powdered sugar on top.

• Nostalgic
• Snack