Mango Almond Tart

This is a wonderful rich tart with a cookie base and some great seasonal spices.  From Food and Drink Holiday 2000.

BASE:
250 g butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

FILLING:
2 cups ground almonds, toasted
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp stem ginger in syrup, minced
pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten

TOPPING:
1 to 2 mangoes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 cup apricot jam

• With electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and egg yolk.
• Sift together flour, salt, cardamom, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Blend into creamed mixture.  Form into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Lightly flour a board and roll out dough about 1/4 inch thick to fit a 10 or 11 inch tart pan.  Prick with fork.  Place a layer of foil on pastry and fill with dried beans or rice to weight pastry down.  Bake 15 minutes, remove foil and beans and bake a further 10 minutes or until pastry is pale gold.
• Combine almonds and butter.  Sprinkle in sugar and ginger and mix until mixture is lightened.  Add salt and eggs and combine.  Spread on base of baked pie shell.  Bake 20 minutes or until almond mixture is set.  Cool.
• Toss mango slices with lime juice.  Fan mango slices over top.  Melt apricot jam and brush top of tart with glaze.

Serves 8

Cherry Almond Strudel

A really wonderful dessert with great flavour.  Really not that hard to make (but don't tell anyone that)!

From Food and Drink 2003

FILLING
1 1/4 lb (;625g) sour cherries, pitted
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cinnamon

PASTRY
8 sheets phyllo dough
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a bowl, combine cherries, almonds, sugar, bread crumbs and cinnamon.  Reserve.
3. Lay phyllo dough on counter and cover with a tea towel.  Remove first sheet, brush with butter.  Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup ground almonds and sprinkle about 1 tbsp over butter.  Top with a second sheet, butter and sprinkle with sugar almond mixture.  Repeat with remaining sheets.  Place cherry mixture about 2 inches from the long edge and 1 inch from the short edge.  Fold in short sides and roll phyllo into a strudel shape.  Brush with butter and cut 3 slits on top.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until top is browned and cherry mixture is cooked.

Serves 6 to 8 

Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce

I can only say decadent!

1/2 pkg (375g) puff pastry, thawed

1/3 cup ground almonds, lightly toasted

2 cooking apples, Spy, Mutsu or Pink Lady

2 tbsp melted butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup Calvados or Brandy

1. Roll out pastry into a very thin 1/3 inch disk about 11 inches in diameter.  Place the pastry disk on ungreased baking sheet.  Prick well all over with a fork, leaving a 1/4 inch rim untouched around the edge.  Refrigerate the pastry for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 425F.
3. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator and sprinkle with toasted almonds, avoiding the rim.
4. Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters.  Thinly slice the apple quarters, and then place the slices, overlapping, in concentric circles over the pastry leaving the 1/4 inch outside rim of the pastry uncovered.  Brush the apple slices with melted butter and bake the tart for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden
5. While the tart is baking, make the caramel sauce.  Place the sugar in a small saucepan, add 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil over a low heat stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Once the sugar is dissolved, bring to a boil and continue to boil until the sugar turns to golden caramel.  Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the calvados or brandy.  (the mixture will bubble and spit).  Return the pan to a low heat and stir to dissolve the caramel into a sauce.  Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
6. Remove the baked tart from the oven and place on a serving dish.  Pour the warm sauce over the top of the tart and serve.