Jeremy Lee’s recipe for almond, chocolate and prune tart

A recipe box was rifled through, but, alas, much like shopping for a present last minute, nothing leapt to the fore. Out of the corner of an eye I spied an old folder of pudding menus, all stained and tattered. A wonder at how this might have escaped notice was soon dispelled – unsurprising, really, given the usual state of my desk and shelves – and the page on which it fell open revealed the scribbles for a midwinter pudding menu. And, just like that, as if the scent rose from the page itself, came a memory of an almond, chocolate, walnut and prune tart being lifted from the oven, all mahogany hued and with a few bubbles bursting from the pieces of chocolate among the prunes peeking out.

My appetite for almond tart has never waned; be it in a restaurant kitchen or at home, an almond tart is nigh-on inevitable. When I was younger, almond tarts were often made with ready-ground almonds and usually invigorated by a drop or two of almond essence, because they were often shy of flavour. But then bags of whole marcona almonds from Spain began to arrive, and quickly usurped any notion of baking with any other almond. Shaped like teardrops and almost milky in colour, delicate, buttery and freshly ground, these almonds imbue a tart with a superb quality and flavour. The benefit of not having to blind bake a tart case balanced the need to bake the tart on a rack sat in a tray to catch any butter and almond oil-infused tears released while baking.

My fondness for baking means I have been on the pastry section of pretty much every restaurant I’ve ever cooked in. And, somehow, an almond tart always seemed to have been on the menu. Some remained plain, some were prettied up with sliced fruit such as apple, apricot and pear; another great favourite was to stud the tart with prunes. To partner those marcona almonds, the prunes had to be from Agen in south-western France, famed for their yielding texture and depth of taste attained by a partial drying (mi-cuit). So much so, in fact, that they’ve been granted protected status.

That same region of France is also home to some very fine walnuts, which also found their way into those tarts, as did shards of bitter chocolate. When I baked these at Alastair Little’s eponymous restaurant in Soho, we steeped Agen prunes in armagnac, but to spare the cook’s purse in these straitened times, amontillado sherry also pleases greatly. The resulting tart was well received and duly bestowed upon the restaurant menu and at home. As is the way of recipes, other variations claimed centre stage until a friend gave me a nudge and suddenly a sleeping beauty was awakened to be presented here.

Almond, chocolate and prune tart

Best made early on, the pastry is a classic rubbing together to a fine crumb of the cold butter with the ‘00’ flour, icing sugar and a pinch of sea salt. Add to this the beaten egg and a tablespoon of cold water, knead deftly into a smooth dough and shape into a disc, then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

The frangipane is made by mixing the softened butter with the caster sugar, then gradually adding the two beaten eggs. Grind the whole marcona almonds to a fine crumb, then mix those in. Again, this is best refrigerated.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to fit a 22-23cm tin with a removable base. Gather up the rolled pastry on to the pin and lay in the tin. Lift the edges gently and let the disc fall into the case, then push the edges downwards, pressing with your fingertips to ensure the pastry squarely lines the case. Pinch together any cracks.

Put spoonfuls of the frangipane in the tin, but do not smooth. Push the chopped walnuts evenly over the tart, then lightly press in the halved prunes. Finally, strew the tart with the chopped chocolate, pressing it down lightly.

Put the tart case on a rack, put the rack in an oven tray and transfer to the oven. Lower the temperature to 150C (130C fan)/300F/gas 2 and bake for an hour, checking occasionally to see if the tart needs turning so it colours evenly. Lower the oven temperature to 120C (100C fan)/260F/gas ½ and bake for a further 15 minutes. The tart is best eaten warm with a jug of the best Jersey cream.

• Jeremy Lee is chef/co-owner of Quo Vadis in London, and author of Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many, published by HarperCollins at £30. To order a copy, visit guardianbookshop.com.