We are still in the middle of a summer heatwave here in Greece, so I was hoping to go without switching the oven on until it gets cooler (erm…October?), but cherries (one of my favourite fruits) are in season and I had to bake something with them!
I love cherries and I love almonds and I’ve been wanting to make a cherry frangipane (or vegan bakewell tarts as they’re known in the UK) for a while now. My first attempt was a bit scary – the frangipane mixture exploded during baking and then solidified into a sticky sugary lace all over the muffin tray – it took me several attempts to clean that stuff off. I did not expect such a poor result and was a bit stressed as we’ve had so much on recently that I didn’t start experimenting until Wednesday afternoon (I know!) and if I didn’t crack it, there would be no recipe today. It took me three more goes to get the result I was after and I’m really pleased with the final product. Duncan pronounced it possibly his favourite thing I’ve made since I started the blog so I must be onto something here.
180 g / about 1½ cups white, all-purpose flour, sifted a pinch of salt 2 tbsp icing sugar 45 ml / 3 tbsp olive oil or unmelted coconut oil
FRANGIPANE FILLING
40 ml / 2 tbsp + 2 tsp mild olive oil or refined coconut oil, melted 75 g / 6 tbsp caster sugar 2 tbsp + 2 tsp plain flour ½ tsp almond extract 3 tbsp gelatinous aquafaba homemade / from a tin* 120 g finely ground almonds / almond meal 6 cherry halves
FRANGIPANE FILLING
