Frangipane Tart with Cranberry and Cinnamon

A stunning fall tart with a towering frangipane filling is crowned with cranberry jewels.

1½ cups (5¼ oz) fresh cranberries
½ cup + 1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 Tbsp. water
flour, unbleached, for dusting

Pâté Sucrée:
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
8 oz cranberry jam or preserves
10 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
6 oz (about 1¼ cups) whole almonds, finely ground in a food processor
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. sea salt

Put fresh cranberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and the water into a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring to dissolve sugar, until cranberries have just softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 12" circle, 1/8-¼" thick. Transfer to an 8x2" spring-form pan, pressing crust into bottom and up sides. Trim excess flush with rim. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prick tart crust all over with a fork. Cut a 12" round of parchment, and place on top of chilled crust. Fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights and parchment, and brush crust lightly with egg white. Return to oven, and bake until pale golden, about 25 minutes. Refrigerate remaining egg white. Let crust cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 375°F. Spread jam over bottom of tart crust.

Beat butter and remaining ½ cup sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to medium. Slowly add ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt, and beat until just combined. Spread mixture over jam-covered crust.

Bake tart until filling is set and has darkened slightly, 45-50 minutes. (If top darkens too quickly, cover loosely with foil.) Remove tart from oven, brush top with egg white, and sprinkle with sugar. Return to oven, and bake for 5 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and top with candied cranberries. Serve warm.

Makes 8 servings.