This Vegan Greengage and Blackberry Tart are a real celebration of late summer / early autumn produce. They are encased in vegan frangipane for a sweet and nutty flavour. Get the recipe below.
Eating the seasons
I think it's really important that we start eating the food that grows naturally in this country as the seasons come and go.
By eating seasonal fruit and veg you're getting food that's locally grown and so doesn't have the same carbon footprint. It takes a lot less time to get from farm to fork.
Not only that, but you're getting the freshest, most tasty fruits and veggies too! You can't argue with that.
This Vegan Greengage and Blackberry Tart is a great example of taking seasonal produce and turning it into something really special.
Sometimes when fruit and veggies are in season we can end up with a glut of them and so we have to think about new and innovative ways of using them. Of course preserving seasonal fruit like greengages is a good idea. But I've been looking for more exciting greengage recipes. Hopefully this fits the bill.
When are blackberries in season?
In the UK, blackberries are in season from August all the way through to October. You'll see them in hedgerows all around the country making them a fantastic fruit to forage while you are out walking on a sunny day.
When are greengages in season?
Now you might be wondering, what is a greengage? Well a greengage is a bit like a plum but it's smaller, sweeter and GREEN!
Greengages are in season in from August to September which means it's great for pairing with fruit like blackberries which you will find around the same time.
If you love cooking with the seasons like I do, check out my seasonal recipe collection which breaks all of my recipes down into spring, summer, autumn and winter recipes.
How to make a Vegan Greengage and Blackberry Tart
This tart has three key components: (1) pastry, (2) frangipane and (3) fruit! When all three come together the result is heaven.
Let's take a look at them in more detail.
Vegan shortcrust pastry
Worries about making pastry from scratch? Don't be. The recipe below has broken all of the steps down so you don't have to worry. Read the recipe through a couple of times just to make sure you understand it all.
Techniques like rubbing fat into flour might be new but take your time and it will all come together. I promise it will be worth the wait.
One thing you should be conscious of, however, is the type of vegan butter you use. It's essential that you use a block butter like Flora or Naturli. Soft, spreadable butter has a lot more moisture in it which will affect the pastry as it will all run out.
I've heard of people freezing soft, spreadable butter and grating it but I don't recommend this at all. Buy the block!
Vegan frangipane
Making vegan frangipane actually isn't that different to making regular frangipane. We replace butter for vegan butter but then all of the other ingredients are the same. Except for the egg.
To replace egg in vegan frangipane I use aquafaba. Aquafaba is also known as chickpea water and you can actually use the water straight out of the tin. Alternatively you can now buy Aquafaba in stores. I use the brand Oggs.
To make the frangipane all you need to do is whisk together the vegan butter, sugar, flour and cornflour then finally the aquafaba. You then mix in the ground almonds, baking powder and almond extract and vanilla paste.
It's that simple!
Fruit
You want to make sure your greengages are really ripe. If they are too hard they won't soften all that much in the oven and might be a little tough to eat.
If you have extra large blackberries (the ones growing near me are HUGE right now) then cut them in half.
The recipe
Vegan Greengage and Blackberry Tart
Equipment
- 1 7 inch tart tin
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g vegan butter
- 4 - 6 teaspoon plant milk
For the frangipane
- 75 g vegan butter melted
- 100 g caster sugar
- 40 g plain flour
- 10 g cornflour
- 75 ml aquafaba
- 175 g ground almonds
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 0.25 teaspoon vanilla paste
For the filling
- 3 - 4 greengages
- 4 - 6 g blackberries cut in half if large
Instructions
- Cut up the vegan butter into cubes and add to a mixing bowl along with the flour.
- Rub the vegan butter and flour between your fingertips until you have a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the plant milk a few tablespoon at a time until the pastry comes together into a ball of dough.
- Wrap the pastry in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the pastry is resting, pre-heat your oven to 150C.
- Dust the work surface with flour, put the dough in the middle and sprinkle it with flour.
- Flour your rolling pin then roll out the pastry into a circle 5cm/2” larger than the quiche tin.
- Carefully lift it into the tin and push it into the corners and grooves.
- To cut off the excess pastry, roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin.
- Prick the bottom of the pasty with a fork.
- Scrunch up baking paper then place inside the pastry case. Top the baking paper with baking beans.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until beginning to go a pale golden colour.
- Remove the baking paper and baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes until golden.
- While the pastry case is baking, make the frangipane.
- Whisk together the melted vegan butter and the sugar then whisk in the flour and cornflour followed by the aquafaba.
- Next mix in the ground almonds, baking powder and almond extract and vanilla paste.
- Cut the greengages in half and remove the stone.
- Remove the pastry case from the oven.
- Spoon in the frangipane.
- Press the greengages into the frangipane along with the blackberries.
- Scatter over some flaked almonds.
- Place back into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and serving.
Nutrition
More fruit desserts
For the full range of dessert recipes check out the dessert recipe collection.
Enjoy!
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