These tarts are really lovely, with delicious nectarine slices on a subtle almond cream base, surrounded by caramelised puff pastry.  Delightful.  Light, juicy, crisp and melt-in-the-mouth all at once.  And easy to make.  If you love nectarines and tarts, this is for you. Quick!  While it’s still nectarine season… 🙂

I think the tarts in the photo below had juicier and bigger nectarine slices.  I might also have put a little too much almond cream on each tart (and beaten it too much so it puffed).  And I wasn’t so careful about relaxing the pastry between rolling, so some rounds turned out a bit oval.  Oops.  But even if they come out a bit ‘rustic’ (yeah, messy) they’re still extra delicious.  Look …

TIPS

So my tips would be:

• Don’t use nectarines that are very big (otherwise compensate by having the pastry base 11cm wide).
• Don’t put too much almond cream in the middle – and the cream shouldn’t have too much air beaten into it or it will puff up (Mori Yoshida does say this).
• Relax the pastry and move it around between rolling motions – so the rounds stay round (and not oval).
• Try to place the slices nicely and not in a rush and all higgledy-piggedly.
• Or just take it easy and accept the beauty and deliciousness of rustic tarts – they do taste just as good!

THE RECIPE for 3 to 4 medium tartlets (10cm diametre) – double the recipe for more

These are based on a Mori Yoshida recipe in his book Gateaux, which is why they’re so amazing.  In 2018, he and his team actually won Le Meilleur Pâtissier: Les Professionnels (the French Professional Bake Off) but I have been a fan of Mori Yoshida and his pâtisserie in Paris for ages.  His creations are always light, well-balanced, relatively simple and delicious.

The special touch he brings to these tarts is the caramelisation of the puff pastry (I chose not to spray water as he does, but to brush with beaten egg) and he warms the beaten egg for the almond cream.  This results in perfect texture and really does help avoid greasy splitting.  Warming the egg is probably optional, but I suggest you get a sugar thermometre out and do it – it’s worth seeing a wonderfully smooth almond cream.  And of course, Yoshida makes sure the nectarine is the main focus of the tart.  Brilliant.

Preparation

• Line baking tray with baking paper.
• Rinse and dry nectarines.
• Make almond cream.

Follow this printable illustrated recipe (for printable pdf click here) or the typed instructions below.

Almond cream

Ingredients

• 25g/ 1/5 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 25g/ 5 and 1/3 tsp softened unsalted butter
• 21g (about 1/3 medium large egg) beaten egg (warmed to 30ºC/86ºF)
• 25g/ 1/4 cup ground almonds

Method

Stir icing sugar and softened butter until creamy.  Don’t overbeat.  Warm the egg over a bain marie to 30ºC (86ºF).  Gradually add the egg into the sugar and butter, stirring until creamy again.  Again don’t overbeat.  Fold in the ground almonds until just combined.  Chill in fridge until needed.

Assembling the tarts

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 170ºC/340ºF (fan) or 190ªC/375ºF (static)

Ingredients

• 120-150g/4.2-5.3oz puff pastry – I used my homemade inverted puff pastry (recipe here) but it can of course be good-quality shop-bought puff pastry

• 2-3 nectarines – small to medium-sized if possible
• A little beaten egg for brushing
• 2-4 tbsp caster sugar (I used unrefined golden caster sugar)

Method

Roll out pastry to 2mm/1/16 inch thick.  Use cookie cutter or glass to make 3 to 4 rounds of 10cm/4in in diametre (to make the last round you might need to use the leftover bits of pastry – place them on top of each other to keep some puff pastry effect and roll out again).  Place rounds on baking tray lined with baking paper.

Spoon 1-2 tsp of almond cream in the middle of each round – maybe just 1 tsp (thinner than in the photo).  It should be a little disc of cream of 4-5cm diametre.

Cut nectarines into 9 or 10 slices each.  Place three slices around the sides, making sure to leave a 5mm to 1cm border of pastry.  Then place 2 slices in the middle on top of the almond cream, a bit more neatly than in the photo! Sorry, I was in a rush but one day will make again and take photos again too.  But you get the idea, right?

Spread the caster sugar on a plate.  Carefully pick up a tart and brush underneath it with beaten egg then place on the sugar to coat.  Brush the uncovered edges on top (around the nectarine slices, and not on them) with beaten egg and sprinkle with caster sugar.  Note:  I have wondered if it would be easier to do the brushing and caster sugar underneath the round before placing the nectarines on top – might try that next time.  Is there a reason Mori Yoshida wants to do it after?  With water from a spray bottle in his case, but why water and not beaten egg?  These are questions to ponder on…

Bake 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown and the pastry underneath has caramelised, as well as the edges on top.  Yum yum.

While still warm, brush the nectarine slices with apricot jam.  Optional, but you might like the shiny glaze.  For a better and smoother finish, sieve the jam before brushing – I will do that next time.

These are the tarts before brushing with jam.  Not as shiny, obviously, but perfectly presentable if you want to skip the jam bit.

Eating and Storing

These are best eaten warm or at room temperature on the same day.  But the following day they can be nice too – store in aluminium foil or tin (airtight) at room temperature.  You can also keep in the fridge up to 2 or 3 days, but the pastry won’t be as crisp.  Still yummy though.

Hope you’ll try these delectable nectarine tarts!

And with glaze…

Thank you for dropping by dear reader!  Summer holidays are almost over but it has been a lovely break.  Hope you are having a wonderful time of the year and lots of yummy baking, cooking and eating! Love, Lili xxx