Almond and Raspberry Tart

This almond and raspberry tart is inspired by an almond tart made by Victoria’s Pastry in Northbeach, San Francisco. My Nonno served it for dessert every week after Sunday night dinner– just seeing the white pastry box wrapped in twine made my mouth water so I decided to recreate it at home.

The tart itself is made with a good amount of almond paste which adds a richness to the cake and the layer of raspberry jam just above the shortbread crust is a bright surprise! The sliced almonds toast in the oven, creating a crunchy texture and topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, it’s an almond lovers dream!

If the recipe looks familiar, that’s because it is. I posted it for the first time in 2019, but made a few tweaks to the recipe and it’s better than ever! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

To begin, preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8″ diameter spring form pan or cake pan and set aside.

Place the flour, salt and sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse until the butter is pea sized. With the machine running, pour ice water into the feed tube and pulse until the dough begins to form a ball. Remove the dough and place on a large work surface. Roll it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Once the dough has chilled, roll the dough out to fit the bottom of the pan. Transfer the dough to the base of the spring form pan, pressing it up the sides slightly about 1/4″, (to create a well for the raspberry jam so the sticky jam doesn’t stick to the sides of the pan when it bakes).

Line the pastry shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges, then remove the pie weight and foil/parchment and bake for another 10 minutes until golden. Set aside and allow to crust to cool completely.

For the Almond cake

While the crust is cooling, add the sugar, and almond paste to the bowl of a food processor and grind until the mixture resembles sand. Then, add the butter, almond extract and eggs and process until the batter is homogeneous. Scrape down the sides, as necessary. Finally, add the flour, baking powder and salt and process until well combined. Do not overmix.

To assemble

Add a layer of raspberry jam to the top of the cooled pastry crust. 

Spoon the cake batter over the top of the raspberry jam, gently so the jam does not get displaced.

Scatter almonds and a sprinkling of sugar over the top of the cake.

Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center of the cake is firm to the touch. 

Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the perimeter of the pan, loosening the cake from the sides. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer the tart to a wire rack to cool completely.