Peach Almond Tart with Vanilla Bean

A peach tart with slices of peaches lining the tart.

Peach Almond Tart with Vanilla Bean

This Peach Almond Tart is made with fresh peaches, a flaky homemade crust, almond flour, and vanilla bean. It bakes free-form on a sheet pan, so no pie plate or tart pan is needed.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 40

Chill time 30

Total Time 1 40

Servings slices

Calories 303kcal

Author Jere' Cassidy

Equipment

Ingredients

Pastry

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
⅓ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ⅓ cups butter chilled
¼ cup chilled water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Peach Filling

1 pound fresh peaches yellow, white, or a combination, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 vanilla bean split lengthwise, seeds scraped out
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Almond Filling

½ cup almond flour
¼ cup granulated sugar

Additional ingredients

1-2 treaspoons granulated sugar for sprinkling
1 large egg white beaten

Instructions

Preheat the Oven and Prepare the Pan

Heat the oven to 350°F. Line an 18-by-13-inch rimmed half-sheet pan with parchment paper.

Mixing Bowl Method for Dough

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut the chilled butter into thin slices or cubes and add a third of the butter to the flour mixture. Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter or two knives, then repeat this process two more times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Mix the chilled water and vanilla extract together and pour on top of the dry mixture. Stir gently with a fork just until the dough begins to hold together. Do not knead or overmix it.

Food Processor Method for Dough

In a food processor add the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Pulse a few times. Cut the chilled butter into thin slices and add to the food processor and process until the mixture resembles crumbs.
With the processor running, slowly add the chilled water and vanilla. Pulse only until the dough begins forming moist clumps. Do not process it until smooth.
Turn the dough onto plastic wrap, gently press it into a disk, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Prepare the peaches while the dough is chilling

In a large bowl slice the peaches into thin wedges.
Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise down the center. Open the pod and scrape out the seeds with the dull side of a small knife.
Stir the vanilla bean seeds into 2 tablespoons of sugar, breaking apart any clumps. Gently toss the sliced peaches with the vanilla sugar and let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

Finishing the tart

Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a floured board to a 12" x 16" rectangle.
Trim any very uneven edges, if desired. For decorative edges like those shown in the process photos, use a small round cutter to make optional cutouts along the sides.
Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin, transfer it to the prepared sheet pan, and unroll it. Adjust the dough gently so it lies flat.
Mix the almond flour and 1/4 cup sugar together then sprinkle onto the tart dough, leaving a 1" border.
Arrange the peach slices over the almond mixture in three rows, alternating yellow and white peaches if using both. Lift the slices from the bowl and leave the accumulated juice behind.
Fold the dough edges over the outside edges of the peaches to form a border.
Brush the crust with the lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle it with 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the peach filling is bubbling. If the crust is still pale, continue baking for about 5 minutes and check again.
Let the tart cool on the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting it into eight slices.

Storage

Cover leftover tart and refrigerate it for up to three days. To crisp the crust again, warm individual slices in a 300°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Video

Notes

If the dough gets too soft after you put it on the baking sheet you can re-chill it before adding the almond meal.

Variations:

To make an almond-flavored dough substitute almond extract for the vanilla extract.
I like to use both yellow and white peaches but you can use all of one color.
Vanilla bean paste can be substituted for the whole vanilla bean - 1 tablespoon, or you can substitute 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

There is no need to peel the skin off the peaches.

Adding the butter in three stages makes it easier to achieve the coarse crumb consistency needed for the tart dough instead of adding all the butter at once.

Nutrition