The farmers market near my house has had the most wonderful stone fruits from Michigan; last week was sadly the final week of sour cherries so my caneton Montmorency fantasy will have to be fulfilled next summer as the last few weekends have been oppressively humid and the idea of roasting a duck in such conditions was less than desirable (meanwhile, I have some sour cherries saved in rum and others in Luxardo, which should make for some great late-summer cocktails). I decided to make a frangipane tart; above is the prep for a basic flaky pastry, which doesn't need to be pre-baked as the frangipane — a divine almond-butter-egg mixture — bakes into a cakelike consistency and the excess butter drains nicely out of the false-bottomed tart pan (and hopefully not onto the floor of your oven).
Setting up the tart I almost wished that I had made a fresh tart with pastry cream as the color was so vivid. The plums were very ripe, a rich vermilion, and the apricots were perfectly firm and smooth.
I glazed the tart with apricot jam; the upper edges of the apricots are perfectly caramelized and the frangipane firm but moist.
