The buttery pastry crumbles like a sandcastle falling and begins to melt as soon as it hits your tongue. The light fluffy filling makes you close your eyes and roll them towards the heavens as you savour every mouthful. Just when you think it can’t get better your teeth burst a bubble of tart fruit. Where does such a wonderful thing exist? My first ever meeting with this luscious tart was on my trip out bush to Jocelyn Hancock’s farm and the tart was made by the pasty queen herself.

Ever since that day I’ve been dreaming of the moment I get to savour something so perfect. When mum asked me to be in charge of dessert for our Easter lunch I knew there had to be a tart along with the requisite doses of chocolate. A few weeks ago I earmarked a recipe for apple frangipane tart that looked similar to the filling Jocelyn had baked for us at the farm. Spotting a few blueberries in mum’s fridge I decided to go all out and create apple and blueberry frangipane tart. Outrageously adventurous I know!

Unfortunately I ran out of time to make my own short crust pastry to take to the coast. Mum doesn’t have a mixer or food processor up there (tell her she needs one please, she won’t listen to me!) and I’m just not confident enough to make pastry by hand quite yet so I settled for the next best thing – Careme pastry. I really wish I’d made the time to make my own pastry because while the Careme version was good, it just wasn’t quite a match for the light, fluffy filling that tasted every bit as good as Jocelyn’s version.

Spreading the batter into the tin I had my doubts. How could something so gooey and not all that much of it rise to light airy goodness? I don’t have the answer to that, all I know is that it did. It was such a delicate filling and really would go nicely with whatever fruit you have on hand. Jocelyn’s tart used poached stone fruit fresh from her backyard orchard. I don’t quite have those resources so a simple apple and a few berries had to do me but it was still something special. If you have a buttery shortcrust pastry recipe I’d love to try it out and I implore you to bake it and fill it with this recipe. So simple yet so very delicious. Enjoy!

What about you? Have you ever tasted something and then spent months dreaming about tasting it again?

Apple and blueberry frangipane tart

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 packet of Careme
• 100g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs
• 1 cup almond meal
• 2tbsp plain flour
• 1 red apple (I used gala) quartered, cored and sliced very finely
• 22 blueberries
• extra 10g butter, melted
• icing sugar to serve

Instructions

1. Grease and line an 11x33cm rectangular tart tin.
2. Prepare the pastry according to the instructions on the packet. You will need to take it out of the freezer and into the fridge the night before.
3. While the pastry is baking, prepare the filling by beating the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix just until they're incorporated.
5. Carefully stir the almond meal and flour into the mixture then spread it into the pastry case.
6. It will seem like there's not enough but don't worry it rises quite a bit.
7. Arrange the sliced apple and blueberries on top of the filling then brush the apples with the extra melted butter.
8. Bake the tart in a pre-heated 180C fan-forced oven for 30-35 minutes or until it is golden on top.
9. Leave the tart in the tin to cool completely.
10. Dust with icing sugar before serving.