This MINCEMEAT FRANGIPANE TART is sure to become your next holiday dessert tradition!

Everyone who has the pleasure of enjoying a piece of this homemade MINCEMEAT FRANGIPANE TART says one of two things. Those enchanted by the memorable flavours say, “Oh my gosh, this dessert is absolutely incredible!” Others take one bite and lean in for a close inspection of their dessert, saying, “I am totally making this!” As the maker, it’s a win-win. This holiday dessert really is one you’ve just gotta make.

What makes it so special? First and foremost, we did our absolute best to make a recipe that’s easy to recreate at home. That said, we strongly suggest you watch this VIDEO before you begin. Our step-by-step guide was edited to help by explaining the process in real time. The only caveat is to make this FESTIVE MINCEMEAT RECIPE at least a week before you make the actual tart. I’ll explain why down below.

In a nutshell, or in this case, tart shell, we’re going to show you how to:

• Make a classic shortcrust tart dough for a sweet application.
• Roll the dough out, line a fluted tart pan and then blind bake the shortcrust perfectly.
• Add the citrus, apple and fruit flavourings of a spiced mincemeat.
• Stir up a creamy, fragrant almond custard.
• Assemble, bake and serve.

Here are some additional fun facts about making a MINCEMEAT FRANGIPANE TART.

INGREDIENTS

Your eyes do not deceive you. The ingredients needed to make this scrumptious dessert are shortcrust tart dough, mincemeat, butter, sugar, ground almonds (AKA almond flour), almond extract, sliced almonds, sugars and eggs. I bet many of these ingredients are already in your fridge or pantry. The dough and mincemeat are purpose-made, the rest are standard fare. If any are missing, add them to your shopping list. Your local grocer will have them for sure.

SHORTCRUST DOUGH

I thought I’d include a second photo of the exact ingredients you’ll need to craft the traditional sweetened shortcrust tart dough used in this recipe. You caught that, right? This dough is sweetened, so no savoury tarts in sight. There are basically four types of shortcrust: 

1. Pâte à foncer, where egg and water are used to bind 
2. Pâte brisée, with a higher ratio of butter to flour 
3. Pâte sablée, more sugar
4. Pâte sucrée, where the butter is more blended, creating less puff, more snap to the dough

This dough is a combination of sablée and sucrée, where we first incorporate the flour, sugar and salt with the butter and then add just one simple wet ingredient, the yolk from a large egg. Going forward, it really is the only dough we’ll ever use when making frangipane. There, called it!

HOW TO MAKE SHORTCRUST DOUGH

It’s important we pause for a brief moment; I need to assure novice and nervous bakers that making tart dough is easy. Why? Because we streamlined the process by using a food processor fitted with a blade attachment to do so. The instructions listed below explain the process where we cut the butter into the dry mix of flour, icing sugar and salt, then pulse the machine to add the yolk in three parts. How do you know if you’ve accomplished the process correctly? Collect a small amount of the processed ingredients in your hand and squeeze. When it clumps together, you’re ready to continue.

The final step of making this easy, shortcrust dough is to spill the contents from the food processor out into your work surface and work by hand to create a disc of finished dough. Of course, there’s term and methodology for this process; it’s called fraisage. Once the crumbled dough is on the work surface, use the heel of your hand to sort of smear it together. I kind of worked it a bit with the heel of my hand, then squeezed and smushed everything together. And I repeated a few times in this fashion. I found the heat from my hands warmed the dough, helping it come together. As soon as I could work it into one unified disc, I stopped. Remember, don’t overwork the dough. Head HERE for more information regarding shortcrust pastry.

Once the dough is shaped, we immediately roll it out and then transfer it to a 9-inch fluted metal tart pan with a removable bottom. Unlike making pie dough, where we wrap and refrigerate the dough before rolling, this dough goes straight to pan. Laying the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and then rolling it out to a large 11- or 12-inch round makes for easy work but also allows for a less messy rolling experience. Rolling the dough this way also allows us to run our hands over the parchment to make sure the dough beneath is evenly distributed in an even layer.

FLUTED TART PAN

Before explaining how we transferred the dough to the pan, let’s talk about the pan itself. If you don’t already have one, you’re going to need to purchase a 9-inch fluted metal tart pan. Make sure it has a removable bottom. Although you’d be able to make this dessert in a fluted quiche dish or pie plate, don’t; removing slices is way to difficult. I also included a few important tools in the above photo: cooking spray, a square of foil and a container of clay pie weights. You’ll need the foil and weights to blind bake the tart shell, although you can use beans or rice, too.

HOW TO MAKE THE TART CRUST

Back to the round of dough we just rolled out. Remove the top layer of parchment, then carefully invert the round of dough onto the tart pan. The dough is quite pliable, so you’ll be able to lift the edges slightly and then push the dough down into the centre of the pan. Then trim away the excess dough from the edge of the pan. Last step is to push the side of the tart shell into the side of the pan, you want the dough to take on that wavy, fluted detail. I also suggest running your finger across the lip of the pan so that the dough has a clean edge at the top. Seriously, we’re all suddenly looking like pastry chefs making this treat. 

BLIND BAKING

When the crust is shaped, then and only then, do we chill. We did a 60-minute chill time where the tart shell is covered with wrap then placed into the fridge. Having made the recipe a few times now, even 30 minutes does the trick, just saying! Once chilled, we prick the surface with a fork, a technique called docking. Then we spritz a square of foil with cooking spray, invert it onto the shell and add the pie weights. The tart shell can then be transferred to the oven and baked for 15 minutes.

After the shell has baked for 15 minutes, we remove it from the oven, carefully lift off the foil and weights and return the shell to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Once the blind baking is complete, you’ll notice the top of the crust is no longer glossy, but rather dry-looking. Additionally, the edge of the crust is a light gold brown. Leave the shell to cool while you stir up the mincemeat and prepare the frangipane filling. They’re both up next.

MINCEMEAT

I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge how much I love this FESTIVE MINCEMEAT recipe. Of course, if you’re in a pinch, you can use store-bought mincemeat, but this homemade version is way more flavourful. Not only that, it’s made without suet (fat from a lamb or beef) or any other meat. Our vegetarian version contains apples, candied mixed peel, orange, lemon, dried black currants, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, plus dark brown sugar, butter and cognac. As mentioned at the top, we suggest making the mincemeat at least a week before making this dessert. Doing so will allow the flavours to mature. You’ll need about a cup of mincemeat for this tart recipe.

Make sure to give it a stir before spooning it over the cooled tart shell; you want the mincemeat glossy, with all those various flavours in the mix.

FRANGIPANE

Frangipane is a creamy almond confection; imagine a spread made from almond flour, AKA ground almonds, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, almond extract plus a smidge of kosher salt and vanilla extract to round out the flavour profile. I’m sure they are expert bakers out there who recommend using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to make it. I also think others will assure us that using a hand mixer with beaters is the only way to go. To be honest, when it came time to making ours, I just thought, “Heck, I’ll just do it by hand!” So, if yanking an additional small kitchen appliance from the cupboard seems like too much work, go the Nik route and stir up the frangipane filling by hand. Pro tip: make sure the butter is really, really soft. It’ll make the stirring way easier.

ASSEMBLE

Once the tart shell is blind baked and cooled, the mincemeat is ready, and the frangipane filling is stirred together, last steps are to assemble and bake. To add the mincemeat to the shell, simply spoon it over the surface, spreading it out in an even layer. Don’t press the mincemeat into the dough. Give it a tiny bit of room, remembering that the frangipane will melt and envelope it as the tart bakes.

Add the frangipane in a similar, gentle fashion. Spoon it over the shell then gently coax it right to the edge of the tart shell. You can push it down a little, but just enough to evenly cover the surface.

BAKE

To bake our MINCEMEAT FRANGIPANE TART, we transfer it to the oven on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the top with sliced almonds, returning it to the oven for a final 5 minutes of baking. When it comes out of the oven, the top of the dessert should be a gorgeous golden colour and the almonds just slightly browned from toasting.

A cake tester inserted into the centre of the tart will come away clean. And my goodness, your kitchen is going to smell so scrumptious and heavenly, prepare to marvel!

SERVE

We suggest serving this dessert a room temperature. If it’s a tiny bit warm, that’s okay, too. To serve, first pop the tart up from the ring, it will come away without incident. Then, place the tart onto a pretty plate or serving platter. Dust the top with icing sugar.

We have two serving sizes to share. If you’re serving this MINCEMEAT FRANGIPANE TART for a relaxed entertainment, perhaps an afternoon where friends drop by for warm bevvies and dessert, cut the tart into 8 larger portions. If the plan is to enjoy the tart as a dessert course, we suggest cutting it into 12 pieces. Guests may be full from your fabulous holiday meal, so these reduced wedges will be perfect.

Final thoughts on serving: make sure you have freshly whipped cream at the ready. I also like giving the dollops of whipped cream a tiny sprinkle of either cinnamon or nutmeg. If you have fresh mint in the house, add a sprig or a leaf. How gorgeously festive is that?!

Before embarking on this dessert recipe, two reminders:

Make sure to click HERE for our full list of holiday cookies, squares and confections. Within you’ll find wonderful recipes to help you get your bake on. We also have a few other dessert options for the holidays, too, like our famous BLACK FOREST TRIFLE, this amazing STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING or our easy-to-make CRANBERRY COBBLER.

Last reminder, send some love our way and subscribe to our monthly newsletter HERE where we share our top recipes and give a sneak peek at upcoming posts. You’ll also receive Gather, our mid-month missive focused on ideas to entertain family and friends.

Serve this Mincemeat Frangipane Tart to your friends and family. We’re building holiday memories with every bite.

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