Susan Jung’s recipe for a rich fruit tart with a brioche crust
Indulge your sweet tooth by using buttery and silky smooth brioche dough to make a fig and raspberry tart filled with pistachio frangipane
Tender, slightly sweet and rich with a large quantity of butter and eggs, brioche is a delicious, indulgent bread. The dough also makes an excellent, and somewhat unusual, crust for tarts. It’s a lovely dough to handle – because it has so much fat, it is silky smooth.
Fig and raspberry tart with pistachio frangipane and brioche crust
The butter for the brioche needs to be the right consistency or it won’t incorporate correctly into the dough. If it’s too cold, it will remain in lumps and if it’s too soft, it will melt and make the dough greasy. Take it from the fridge and cut it into 20 to 24 chunks, then leave them at room temperature until they’re pliable, but not melting. A heavy-duty stand mixer makes mixing this dough very easy. It can be made with an electric hand mixer, but be careful that the motor doesn’t overheat. The dough needs to be made a day in advance, so it can rise overnight in the fridge.
For this tart, you will use only half the amount of pistachio frangipane. The rest of the frangipane keeps in the fridge for about a week, or frozen for at least a month. Buy shelled, unsalted, bright green pistachios – the beigeones make the filling look very dull.
For the brioche:
260 grams plain (all-purpose) flour
5 grams instant yeast
40 grams granulated sugar
25ml tepid water
¾ tsp fine sea salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
125 grams unsalted butter, slightly softened