Frangipane  Pineapple  Tart

Ingredients:

1 piece 22 cm / 11 inches blind-baked Tart Shell 

¾ cup / 6 oz  almond paste – see below**

¼ cup / 2 oz  castor sugar

1 cup / 4 oz  cream butter, softened

1 large egg

1 Tbsp / ½ oz custard powder or corn flour (cornstarch)

¼ cup / 2 oz brown sugar

1 fresh pineapple - skinned, cut into rings and halved

Cinnamon powder for dusting

Handful of sliced toasted almonds

2 Tbsp / 1 fl oz dark rum (optional)

22-cm Blind-baked Base Ingredients*:

150 g / 5 oz butter, cut into large cubes, chilled

¼ cup / 2 oz castor sugar

1 egg

1½ cups / 12 oz all-purpose slour

½ cup / 4 oz sliced toasted almonds

Green beans / chickpeas – enough to cover pan for a layer

Almond Paste:

¾ cup / 6 oz raw almond (with skin attached)

¼ cup / 2 oz castor sugar

½ cup water

Finely ground castor sugar, raw almonds, and water together.

 22-cm Blind-baked Base:

Place flour, butter, sugar and almond in a large bowl, and rub them through fingertips till rough dough is formed. Add in egg, and continue to knead the dough till smooth. Add cold water if necessary. Place to rest in fridge for 20 minutes. Place dough in a 22-cm non-stick spring form pan. Pat pastry into corners of the pan, making sure the pan is evenly lined with pastry before trimming off the excess. Score the pastry with a fork, and then place tin foil over the pastry and fill the top with green beans. Bake the pastry for 20 minutes at 180°C (360°F), till crust becomes nice and golden. Remove foil (together with green peas), and set aside to cool.

Method:

Melt ½ cup Butter on high heat.

Sprinkle brown sugar (and rum) on melted  butter, and glaze pineapple in caramel mixture till brown. Do not crowd the pineapple slices too much or they will not caramelized easily. Turn  pineapple from time to time. When done, turn off heat and allow pineapple to cool down.

In another bowl, mix cream butter with remaining sugar. Beat in almond paste, egg, and custard powder.

Pour batter into blind-baked base, and bake tart in a preheated oven, on the lowest shelf, at 180°C (360°F) for 25 minutes.  

Decorate tart with caramelized pineapples and glaze the pineapples with the remaining caramel. Dust cinnamon Powder on top of the tart, and top on with almonds and castor sugar.