Plum Frangipane Tart

Use luscious in-season red plums to make this French plum frangipane tart recipe! Its sliced juicy plums encased by the rich and fluffy hazelnut frangipane are a delicious way to celebrate the fall season. You cannot go past this easy-to-make tart baked to perfection.

Plums are in season now! They are another stone fruit to concentrate on and to include at least a single plum dessert into your baking calendar.

Choose to make either this gorgeous Louise Cake With Plum And Coconut or plum tart or maybe both!

This plum tart is made with hazelnut frangipane to accentuate the sweetness of fresh plums.

It does not matter what kind of plums you use to make the tart; the plum and hazelnut combo will elevate this beautiful dessert.

You will end up with an incredibly delicious treat - French plum tart (Tarte aux prunes in French) - that will perfectly fit the end of an exceptional dinner.

What is frangipane?

Frangipane (pronounced fran-juh-pan) is a sweet filling made from almonds.

It is often called almond cream and is used to make different tarts, cakes, and pastries.

The frangipane recipe is of Italian origin and is really simple. It usually calls for butter, sugar, ground almonds or almond flour, all-purpose flour, and eggs added and mixed at once.

Yes, traditional frangipane has almonds in it, but hazelnut frangipane exists as well.

Both almond and hazelnut frangipane use similar technologies but use different nuts.

Why you should try this recipe

1. The plum and hazelnut combo is a winner among stone fruit-nut combinations.
2. The tart's pastry base - sweet shortcrust pastry - is easy to make.
3. This hazelnut frangipane recipe is the basic one: the filling holds fruit, preventing them from sinking to the bottom of the pan. Plum slices are evenly distributed in the tart.
4. Replacing hazelnuts with other nuts such as almonds, pistachios opens different creative ways to customize the present hazelnut frangipane recipe.
5. This fruit tart can turn into a seasonal favorite by changing the fruit; peaches, apricots, different varieties of plums, figs are options to try.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results. 

Sugar: the recipe calls for granulated white sugar. Replace it with caster sugar if desired.

Butter: use unsalted butter to make the recipe. Take it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before you start.

Flour: all-purpose flour is used in this recipe.

Eggs: to be precise with the recipe, you will need ½ large egg and 1 ½ extra-large chicken egg. This ingredient is important! Make sure to bring eggs to room temperature.

Ground hazelnuts: make them yourself. Toast nuts at 300 degrees F/150 degrees C for 15 minutes and let slightly cool.

Rub hazelnuts into a kitchen towel to remove skins. Process toasted nuts until finely ground, using a food processor.

Replace hazelnuts with ground almonds or a store-bought almond meal and make almond frangipane tart.

Plums: use dark-fleshed ripe plums to give the tart a sweeter, sharper tang, and deeper color. You will need 3 large plums. Read about How to Spot the Perfect Plum.

Salt: it enhances the tart's flavors.

How to make plum frangipane tart

To make the crust, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat softened butter and granulated sugar until smooth, followed by the eggs.

Using a flour sifter, sift plain flour with salt and add flour mixture to the main preparation. Mix at medium speed until homogeneous (photo 1).

Cover the tart dough ball with plastic wrap and chill it for 2 hours; better overnight.

Roll the chilled pastry out on the floured surface into a large circle and line a 9-inch/23 cm round (with removable bottom) fluted tart pan.

Roll dough onto a rolling pin and place dough over the tart tin. Then, using your fingers, press into the bottom and edges of the pan.

To trim little excess pastry from the sides, refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes, then cut off with a sharp knife.

Next, prick the bottom of the pastry base with a fork (photo 2).

Heat oven to 355 degrees F/180 degrees C.

To make the hazelnut frangipane, place the softened butter, sugar, ground hazelnuts, all-purpose flour, salt, eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until smooth and homogeneous (photo 3).

Pour the frangipane mixture into the prepared tart crust. Then, using an offset spatula, spread frangipane into the even layer.

Slice plums in half, de-stone them and cut plum halves into smaller slices. Arrange them on top of the pastry (photo 4).

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until the frangipane becomes golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (photo 5).

Let the tart cool, and sprinkle with icing or confectioners' sugar (photo 6).

Recipe variations

I can't get enough of this hazelnut frangipane filling! It tastes so delicious and is perfect for any fruit-filled tart.

You are going to love it because the options are endless: create your own beautiful frangipane tarts with a variety of fruits!

Replace plums with apricots, hazelnuts with almonds, add a few blackberries or raspberries on top of the almond frangipane filling and enjoy your newly-created apricot frangipane tart.

Or switch plums for pears or apples, hazelnuts for almonds, and make an almond tart with pears or apple frangipane tart.

Just slice about 3 pears or apples into halves, then crosswise into thin slices. Arrange sliced pears or apples on top of the tart, fanning them apart as you work.

Also, discover an easy-to-make fig frangipane tart. Just slice seasonal figs in quarters and dip the cut sides into the warm honey. Then place figs on top of the frangipane in a pretty pattern you desire.

Storage

To store, cover the cooled plum tart with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

To freeze, wrap the tart in plastic, then aluminum foil, and place in a freezer bag. You can freeze the dessert for up to 2 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, and then let it come to room temperature.

Expert tips

1. Respect the chilling time.
2. Arrange plum slices on top of the pastry in the way you desire. Slice them thinly and lay them tightly together or scatter them randomly over the filling.
3. Replace hazelnut frangipane with almond frangipane if you prefer. In this case, use almonds and follow the recipe.
4. Experiment with different types of plums, plumcots, pluots, and apriums. You will get a delightful dessert in any way.

Frequently asked questions

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Under no circumstances will Baking Like a Chef be responsible for any loss or damage resulting from your reliance on the nutritional information. You are solely responsible for all decisions about your health and ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

The recipe was originally published on September 30, 2018. It has been re-tested, revised to include improved content and photos.