FOOD FOR THOUGHT - February

Travel and food writer Alexandra Dudley shares her favourite fruit tart - perfect for treating yourself.

'The rhubarb gives it a wonderful sweet tang – a flavour I am most fond of.'

Rhubarb Almond Frangipane Tart with Marmalade Glaze

By Alexandra Dudley

This is a crustless tart made with a naturally gluten free almond frangipane. The rhubarb gives it a wonderful sweet tang – a flavour I am most fond of. It is for this reason that I chose to use marmalade for the glaze (that and the fact that I had about six unopened homemade jars in my cupboard) and if you like a little sharpness you’ll enjoy it immensely. That said, apricot jam also works very well and is the more traditional choice. One other thing about this tart that makes it all the more appealing is that it requires pretty much just one bowl and very little washing up – something that always goes down well in my kitchen.

*note. I always prefer to buy whole blanched almonds and grind them at home as I prefer the texture. To do this just place them in a food processor and pulse until they reach a flour like consistency. However, if time is of the essence you can always use ready ground ones too.

I N G R E D I E N T S

You will need one 9 inch loose bottomed tart pan

• 200g rhubarb (about 4 to 5 stems)

• 100g light brown soft sugar (or coconut sugar)

• 115g unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 150g ground almonds *

• 1 tsp pure, organic vanilla extract

• 3 large eggs

• 25g flour buckwheat flour

• 6 tablespoons of marmalade or apricot jam

M E T H O D

• Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and lightly grease your tart tin.

• Take roughly 50g of your rhubarb and chop it into roughly ½ cm pieces. Chop the remaining rhubarb into inch size sticks.

• In a large bowl cream together your sugar, butter and almonds.

• Add the vanilla and eggs and, using a spatula or wooden spoon beat until combined.

• Gently fold in your buckwheat flour and 50g of finely chopped rhubarb.

• Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out the surface using the back of your spatula or wooden spoon. Gently arrange and lightly press the remaining rhubarb into the tart.

• Bake for about 45 minutes until golden. Remove and allow the tart to cool on a wire wrack.

• Once cool warm your marmalade or jam gently in a saucepan till it has become loose and liquid. Strain this through a sieve if you prefer to loose the orange peel.

• Using a pastry brush or teaspoon paint the glaze over the tart and allow it to set before removing from the tin.

• Enjoy on its own or with a little cream. If you don’t have marmalade or jam the tart is rather delicious with just a little icing sugar sieved over it too.

Read more of Alexandra's recipes here.