Mango and Almond Tart Recipe

The past couple of days have been really (and I mean REALLY) depressing. Overcast, freezing cold and with the hint of a snow flurry now and then... and this in mid March.

So, given the appalling conditions outside I decided to do some baking to bring a little sunshine inside.

I found an old recipe for a lemon and almond tart and decided to jazz that up with some mango (which I love). The result was this tart, a new twist on an old favourite.

Mango and Almond Tart

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

250g (1 3/4 cups) plain flour
125g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) sugar
50g (2 oz) almonds
1 egg
1 egg yolk, to glase
125g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp) butter
pinch of salt
1 tbsp fine breadcrumbs

For the Mango Custard:

78g (2 3/4 oz) packet of instant custard powder
300ml (1 1/4 cups) orange juice
2 small mangos, peeled, pitted and diced
1 tbsp lemon juice
whipped cream, to serve

Method:

Combine the flour, sugar, almonds, whole egg, butter and salt in a food processor. Whizz the ingredients together until a dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and set aside in the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.

In the meantime, mix the custard powder with 100ml (2/5 cup) of the orange juice until smooth. Add the remaining juice to a pan and heat until just boiling then take off the heat and stir in the custard mixture. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute or until nicely thickened.

Stir in the mango pieces and the lemon juice and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Take 2/3 of the pastry and roll on a lightly-floured work surface until large enough to line the base and sides of a 30cm (12 in) diameter loose-bottomed flan tin. Prick the base with a fork and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs then spoon in the mango custard.

Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into strips. Arrange these over the filling in a criss-cross pattern (see picture). Whisk the egg yolk with 2 tbsp water and brush this over the pastry strips to glaze. Transfer the tart to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mark 4) and bake for 30 minutes then allow to cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm, or col, accompanied by whipped cream. This also makes an excellent dessert, accompanied by custard.

For different pastries to use for your tarts and pies, see the Celtnet pastry (pie dough) recipes page. If you would like even more tart recipes, see the Celtnet savoury and sweet pies and tarts recipe pages.