Almond Tart
March 16, 2008 
This is one of our favorite desserts. In fact, Brian and I think this could be the best dessert we've ever had. And that's not surprising because it's Lindsey Shere's Almond Tart from Chez Panisse and it was the most popular dessert on that menu for thirty years. I have to provide dessert for a progressive dinner this weekend and I knew this was what I was going to fix. I fixed a couple of them. We love it. Serve this with a glass of Amaretto and it's just about the perfect thing.
I am using the recipe given in the Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook by Alice Waters. Lindsey Shere, the original pastry chef who developed the recipe, gives a slightly different version in the biography that Thomas McNamee wrote last year about Alice Waters*. She also talks at length about how to bake the tart.
Lindsey's Almond Tart
serves 6-8
for the tart pastry:
- 1 stick butter (real butter)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 drops each of almond and vanilla extracts
- 1 tablespooon water
for the filling:
- 1 cup unpeeled raw sliced almonds
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
- 1 tablespoon kirsch
- 2 drops almond extract
Instructions:
for the tart crust:
Put the flour and sugar in a food processor. Process til blended. Add the butter in slices and process. Add the extracts and water and process til it gathers up in a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill until you are ready to use it. Then take it out and bring it to room temperature.
Press the tart pastry into a 9-inch tart form with a removable ring. You can't really roll out this dough - it's easier just to press it in. Press the dough evenly over the bottom and sides about 1/8 inch thick. Refrigerate for about an hour. Bake the tart in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until it begins to set and brown. Remove the tart to a rack and cool to room temperature.
for the filling:
In a heavy saucepan, mix all the of the filling ingredients and cook mixture over low heat until sugar dissolves and the texture is silky, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool the mixture slightly and pour it into the tart shell.
Place a second oven rack under your baking rack and line with a piece of foil. This tart will bubble over and the foil will catch the mess. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. The filling will bubble up a lot most of the cooking time and then at the end it will begin to caramelize. When the filling is golden, remove tart to a cake rack and let cook to room temperature before cutting.
Reader Comments (8)
Your website looks great! Thanks for leaving me a comment on my blog - this is such a great tool for us to share our recipes. I will visit your site and link to it. Celeste
I don't think almonds could be any happier than in this tart!
I'm sure it tasted as good as it looks.
Elaine, I absolutely want to try it!!Amazing!
This tart is incredible. My roommate and I used to bake it when we both lived as students in Berkeley, since we couldn't afford to eat at Chez Panisse!. I couldn't find my copy of the recipe and hadn't made this in years. Thanks for helping me find it and enjoy this again.
Anonymous: Wow, I'm so glad you found this recipe so you could enjoy this tart again. It really is one of our all time favorite desserts!
I highly recommend the plum tart- I could hardly believe I made it on completion and was very proud.
I contemplate making this almond tart with relish.
Do you use a dropper to measure the extracts . . . or do "drops" convert to fractions of teaspoons? I love almonds . . . and recently had an almond pear tart . . . also a very good combination.
A secret to make this "over the top tart" soar even higher is to toast the almonds before putting them into the cooking cream mixture. It is one of those "little things" that just makes this tart the most it can be. It is a good tart without the toasting, but WOW does the toasting add another wonderful element to the entire experience.
Now I have to go make another one of these tarts so my watering mouth will stop watering!!!!