Cranberry vegan frangipane tart

1. Combine the flour, icing sugar, salt and xanthan gum (if making GF pastry) in a large bowl. If using maple syrup instead of icing sugar, add after you’ve incorporated the fat into the flour.
2. Add the solid (not melted) coconut oil and cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or two knives. You can also use a food processor if you wish.
3. Once no large lumps remain, use your fingers to rub coconut oil into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs and there are no lumps of coconut oil left. To check for lumps, shake the bowl and they will come to the surface.
4. If you are using maple syrup, mix it in with 1 tbsp of water and add it at this stage. If using icing sugar, add cold water – be careful, do it gradually – how much water you’ll need depends on how absorbent your flour is. I added about 5 tbsp / 75 ml. Mix the water into the flour with a knife and then check with your hand that no more water is needed – the dough should clump together easily but should not feel wet. If it’s too dry, add a tiny amount (one tsp at a time) more water, mix and check again.
5. Combine all the ingredients into a dough gently, but do not knead (that’s important for the gluten version) or the pastry will be tough. Wrap it up in a piece of cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out between two sheets of baking paper until you get a circle large enough to cover your entire tart case, about 2-3 mm in thickness. Place the rolled-out dough over a tart case and gently line the inside of it with the pastry. Tuck the pastry in well, ensuring that it fits snugly into all the nooks and crannies. Trim the excess pastry with a sharp knife and patch any holes with the cut-off excess. If making gluten-free pastry (which tends to be more crumbly), you may be better off placing the crumbled pastry in the tart case and simply moulding the pastry with your hands to the shape of the tart tin – you do not need to worry about overworking the pastry as it contains no gluten.
7. Pierce the bottom of the pastry with a fork in a few places and chill the pastry-lined tart case in the fridge for about another 60 minutes.
8. 45 min into pastry chilling time, preheat the oven to 175° C / 350° F. Line the pastry case with a large piece of crumpled baking paper and fill with baking beads or rice for a blind bake.
9. Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beads and bake for another 10 minutes.

FILLING

1. While the pastry is baking, prepare the filling. Cream oil and sugar (or maple syrup) with an electric whisk. Next, whisk in the flour. Add aquafaba, a small amount at a time. Whisk well after each portion of aquafaba.
2. Finally, gently fold in the almond meal, orange zest, cardamom, baking powder, vanilla extract and orange blossom water (if using). You should end up with a very thick batter (it will be a bit less thick if you used maple syrup instead of sugar).
3. Fill the pre-baked (and cooled off) pastry case with a layer of cranberry jam / jelly.
4. Next, pipe or dot the almond filling on top and spread it very gently. Take your time and do not apply much gentle pressure as otherwise the frangipane will slide over the jam layer.
5. Decorate the top with cranberries, placing them on top of the filling and pushing them only a tiny bit as the filling will rise during baking.
6. Bake the tart for about 45 minutes, until the filling is nicely browned. I found that the maple syrup filling tends to take a little longer in the oven (by 10 minutes or so). Remove from the oven and allow the tart to cool down before removing it from the tin and cutting it into slices. The top will crisp up nicely as the tart cools down.