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i tried the fruit tart recipe again for an east bay dinner. my rule is if i can make the same recipe twice and it turns out good both times, i keep it. the tart is definitely a keeper and even though the whole thing is made from scratch, it's really easy. even the crust! who knew making pie crust is so easy?!
the filling is something called franzipane, which no one believes me when i tell them. the reply is always 'you mean marzipan?' no, i do not mean marzipan. behold the power of the internet:
FRANGIPANE = an almond pastry cream, made today with a thickish pastry cream containing flour, eggs, milk, sugar, butter and flavorings, to which is added crushed almonds or crushed almond macaroons. Usually used as a crepe, pate a choux, or tart filling. (Seton)
marzipan = A paste prepared from ground blanched almonds, sugar and liquid (in modern recipes usually rosewater, though fruit spirits are often used to add different flavors). The word 'marcipan' probably originates in Italy, where one etymology
traces it to the Venetian feast in honor of St. Mark as 'Marci Pan = bread of St. Mark' while another one argues that 'Marci Pan = bread of March', holding the term to go back as far as Roman times. Marzipan can be prepared as a cold paste or heated during mixing to achieve a thicker consistency. It was served cold or warm, often baked with spices or glazed fruit. Modern confectioners often combine it with chocolate. Two 16th century recipes I have on hand give a proportion of 1:1 for almonds and sugar, and this appears to have survived (a 1950s cookbook given much the same for Lubeck Marzpian). (Bach)
i also like how it's called frangipane, because you can't spell frangipane without 'angi'. HARHAR.
next challenge: profiteroles. or a semifreddo.
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