PEACH FRANGIPANE TART

Serves 8-10.

For the shortcrust pastry, you will need:

200g (7oz) plain flour 110g (4oz) butter, chilled Pinch of salt 1 tablespoon icing sugar 1 egg, beaten

For the frangipane, you will need:

110g (4oz) butter 110g (4oz) caster sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 egg yolk 110g (4oz) ground almonds 25g (1oz) plain flour

You will need:

4-5 ripe peaches, cut in half, with the stones removed Softly whipped cream, to serve (optional) To glaze the tart, you will need: 150ml (5fl oz) apricot jam Juice of half a lemon

You will also need a 23cm (9in) diameter tart tin with a removable base. First, make the shortcrust pastry. If you’re using a food processor to make the pastry, put the plain flour, the chilled butter, the pinch of salt and the icing sugar in the food processor and whizz everything briefly until the butter is in small lumps. Add half the beaten egg and continue to whizz for just another few seconds until the mixture looks as though it may come together when it is pressed — prolonged processing will toughen the pastry, so don’t whizz it up until it is a ball of dough. You might need to add a little more beaten egg, but don’t add too much, as the mixture should be just moist enough to come together.

If you’re making the pastry by hand, rub the chilled butter into the plain flour, the pinch of salt and the icing sugar until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then, using your hands, add just enough beaten egg to bring it together. Save any leftover egg to brush on the cooked pastry later.

With your hands, flatten out the ball of dough until it is about 1cm (about ½in) thick, then wrap it in cling film or put it in a plastic bag, and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4. Remove the pastry from the fridge and place it between two sheets of cling film that are larger in size than the tart tin (If you don’t want to use cling film, you can just use a dusting of flour). Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry out to no thicker than ½cm (less than ¼in). If the tart tin is round, make sure to keep the pastry in a round shape, and also ensure your piece of pastry is large enough to line both the base and the sides of the tin.

Remove the top layer of cling film, and discard it. Place your hand, palm facing up, under the cling film that’s underneath the pastry. Flip the pastry over, and into the tart

tin. The cling film should now be facing up. Press the pastry into the edges of the tin and, using your thumb, ‘cut’ the pastry along the edge of the tin for a neat finish.

Remove the remaining piece of cling film and chill the pastry in the fridge for another 10 minutes, or in the freezer for five minutes (it will keep for weeks like this, covered, in the freezer.)

Next, remove the pastry from the fridge or freezer and line it with parchment paper, leaving plenty to come up the sides. Fill the paper with baking beans (these can be reused again and again).

Put the pastry in the oven and bake it blind for about 25-30 minutes until the pastry feels just dry on the base. Remove it from the oven and take out the baking beans and the parchment paper. Brush the inside base of the pastry with any leftover beaten egg, then cook it in the oven for another three minutes. When the pastry is completely baked blind, take it out of the oven and set it aside.

Next, make the frangipane. In a food mixer, or using a wooden spoon and a large bowl, cream the butter by beating it. Gradually beat in the caster sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and soft. Gradually add the beaten egg and the egg yolk, beating well after each addition. Stir in the ground almonds and the plain flour. Pour the frangipane mixture into the cooked pastry case, spreading it evenly, then arrange the peach halves — save one for the centre — around the tart on the frangipane. The cut side can be facing down or up, whichever you prefer. Arrange the final peach half in the centre.

Put the tart in the oven and bake it for 30-40 minutes, until the frangipane is set in the centre and nicely golden all over.

While the tart is cooking, make the apricot glaze. Put the apricot jam in a small saucepan with the lemon juice and stir it over a medium heat until it boils. Push the mixture through a sieve to create a glossy glaze. When the tart has cooled slightly, brush it generously with the apricot glaze. Remove the tart from the tin and transfer it to a serving plate.

Serve with softly whipped cream, if you are using it.