Raspberry & Pistachio Frangipane Tart with Whipped Pistachio Ganache

Talk about a showstopper: this stunning tart features layers of fragrant pistachio frangipane and raspberry jam in a crisp pistachio shortcrust, studded with fresh raspberries and topped with swirls of luscious whipped pistachio and white chocolate ganache.

This colorful and impressive dessert might look fancy and complicated, but it’s actually easier to make than it looks! The whipped ganache is made the day ahead of time then whipped to fluffy, puffy perfection, and the crust and frangipane filling come together surprisingly quickly too with the help of a food processor and electric mixer (but you could also make the frangipane in the food processor as well).

The first time I made this (for a Hanukkah dinner with our friends, ironic considering the colors make it look like it’s straight from the Grinch’s kitchen), I just made a simple tart crust and the filling of pistachio frangipane and fresh raspberries. No jam layer, and definitely no whipped ganache (sad, I know).

And it looked cute enough and tasted more than fine, but certainly nothing to write home about.

And if there’s anything I want more than anything, it’s to share recipes that are worth writing home about! Writing anyone in fact, I do so love it when my recipes are shared.

So when it came time to make it again, I added a layer of raspberry jam under the frangipane, and topped it with swirls of fluffy pistachio whipped ganache. With those two additions, it became clear, quite quickly, that this is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. All the flavors and textures come together so beautifully in the end, making each and every bite a truly transcendent experience.

Together, pistachio and raspberry make for a vibrant, eye-catching (and mouth-watering) pairing that balances the rich earthiness of the pistachio with the bright fruitiness of the raspberry.

The combination of pistachio and raspberry just screams romance to me, don’t you agree?

Which is why I think this tart would make an excellent Valentine’s day dessert (which is why I’m rushing to post it on a Sunday afternoon when I’d usually be parked on the sofa reading. You’re welcome.)

But also… the red and green palette would make it perfect for Christmas too (the Grinch would approve), so I’m also putting it in my holiday category for later. Even if you can’t make it right this minute, it’s surely worth a bookmark!

Frangipane is a rich, spreadable, nutty cream filling usually made from almonds (think the center of an almond croissant… that’s frangipane). It’s often mixed with fruit and baked to puffy perfection. If you’ve watched any recent season of Bake Off you’ve probably seen it a time or two.

In the case of this recipe, I’ve abandoned the almond in lieu of pistachio, making for a gorgeously green, gloriously gourmet dessert that looks way more complicated than it actually is. Needless to say, if you’re looking for a show-stopping dessert to instantly impress, look no further.

Crust the Process.

The crust is a fairly simple shortcrust with a little bit of pistachio for color. It’s a pretty forgiving dough that is much easier to work with than pie crust, due to the added egg yolk and the tiny pieces of butter (we’re looking for tender here, not flaky like pie crust which is when you want big, visible pieces of butter).

Combin flour, pistachio flour or finely chopped pistachios, powdered sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor; pulse to mix. Sprinkle cubes of chilled butter over the top of the dry flour mixture, then pulse until butter pieces are the size of lentils. Add egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of ice water; pulse until evenly moistened. You may need to add a little more water a teaspoon at a time; when the dough sticks together between your fingers, it’s done. Pour crust mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap, then gather into a flat ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out crust on a lightly floured surface (I like to use a pastry cloth), until it is 1/4-inch thick. Gently transfer the rolled tart crust to a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Gently ease the dough into the corners of the tart pan without stretching it. Run a rolling pin over the edges of the tart pan to trim off excess dough. After chilling, line with parchment and fill with pie weights (I like to use granulated sugar, but rice or beans work too). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges just start to color, then remove parchment and weights and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes to dry it out further.

You can make the crust ahead of time, and chill or even freeze it before or after rolling. If you freeze it before rolling, let it thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling out. If you freeze the already rolled and shaped dough, you can par-bake it straight from frozen.

Note that this recipe makes enough shortcrust dough for a 10 or 11-inch tart. If you’re only making a 9-inch one, any excess can be rewrapped and refrigerated for another use. Or, cut out small ‘cookies’ and bake them on a cookie sheet for a few minutes, they make a great crunchy, nutty snack.

Let’s talk about our fillings.

The filling is a pistachio frangipane that is studded with fresh raspberries and then baked until puffed and lightly golden brown.

I whipped it up in my stand mixer, but I’ve also seen recipes that call for a food processor if you didn’t want to deal with getting out multiple small appliances. If you want to try to do it by hand your filling might not be quite as fluffy (mix that butter and sugar together as good as you possibly can), but even a flat frangipane is better than no frangipane, I say!

To make filling, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add one of the eggs and mix until fully incorporated. Add half of pistachio flour mixture. Then repeat with the second egg and remaining pistachio flour. Add pistachio extract; this enhances the natural pistachio flavor and I highly recommend not skipping it! The frangipane mixture will be smooth and paste-like (the color will depend on the pistachios you used). To assemble, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam into the bottom of the par-baked and cooled crust. Spread or pipe the frangipane on top of the jam; I find piping much easier here since it won’t slide around on the jam. Spread frangipane into an even layer; it should come up to within 1/4″ of the top of the crust (will be thinner if using a larger tart pan). Press fresh raspberries into the top of the filling before baking until puffed and lightly golden brown around the edges.

The frangipane filling can be made and used immediately (your par-baked crust should be mostly cool at this point), or chilled in an airtight container until ready to use (up to 5 days). Let it come to room temperature before using it, you can also re-whip it slightly if you want it fluffier and easier to work with.

While the tart can be filled or baked a day ahead of time (just cover with foil and refrigerate), the raspberries will shrink a bit more the longer it sits (which you can sort of see comparing the image below, which is right out of the oven, with the image of me piping the whipped ganache a bit farther down, as I baked the tart the day before). But seeing as they’re just going to get covered up with the ganache, I didn’t think it mattered all that much.

Oh my ganache.

Finally, the pièce de résistance: the whipped pistachio ganache topping. This is a white chocolate-based ganache with pistachio cream added for flavor and a pale green color. Because it is a whipped ganache, the ratio of cream to chocolate is much higher, 3:1 in this case (vs standard ganaches which are typically 1:1 or even 1:2).

This ganache needs to chill fully before whipping, so plan ahead and make it the day before if you can!

Place chopped white chocolate in a mixing bowl; heat 1/2 cup of the cream until steamy, then pour over chocolate to melt it. Once chocolate is fully melted and smooth, add pistachio cream. Stir or use an immersion blender until smooth, then add remaining heavy cream. Press a layer of plastic wrap onto the surface of the ganache, then refrigerate at least 6-8 hours or ideally overnight. When you’re ready to decorate, remove the plastic wrap from the chilled ganache. With an electric mixer, start to whip the ganache. It won’t take nearly as long as making whipped cream, so pay close attention! Continue to whip until ganache just holds soft peaks. DO NOT overmix or the ganache will get stiff and grainy. The finished ganache will be silky smooth and creamy. Plan to use it right away. Spread or pipe the ganache on top of the cooled tart; I used a Saint Honore piping tip here to pipe these loose waves. Decorate with fresh raspberries. You can also top it with chopped or slivered pistachios for a visual indication of the flavors inside.

When you’re ready to decorate your tart, whip the ganache to soft peaks (take care not to overwhip or it will get thick and grainy), and spread or pipe onto your tart. I finished mine with fresh raspberries and slivered pistachios for a minimal yet elegant appearance, but you can decorate it however you please. Top it with a full layer of raspberries even (in which case just spread the ganache, don’t bother with piping).

I used a saint honore piping tip (Ateco #882 to be exact) for my ganache; it’s a unique v-shaped tip that makes lovely elegant wave or shell-like patterns.

While the ganache needs to be piped pretty quickly after whipping, once it’s piped it can be refrigerated and keeps quite well for a couple days! It doesn’t set up as hard as regular ganache, but won’t ‘wilt’ like whipped cream would either.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Pistachios: both the crust and frangipane filling call for pistachio flour or finely ground pistachios. I had some coarser ground pistachios leftover from other recipe tests that I used in the crust (which is why it looks a bit speckly). I saved my best homemade pistachio flour for the filling since I wanted a striking green color.

If you start with whole pistachios rather than pistachio flour, be sure to read the very first step carefully if you don’t want to end up washing your food processor twice! Basically, grind the pistachios for the filling first (with a little bit of flour), and put that aside. Then, grind a smaller quantity of pistachios (also with a little flour) for the crust, which you can leave in the processor and proceed with the crust portion of the recipe. Yay for less dishes!

For the filling, you can also use a blend of pistachio and almond flours (since I know pistachios aren’t cheap!)

Pistachio extract: the filling needs a little extra pistachio flavor to really shine. For this recipe I used LorAnn super strength pistachio flavor, if you use other brands or varieties of extract may necessitate a slightly higher amount. I know I can’t technically tell you to taste the batter and see (I mean, *I* did, but raw eggs and all that so you know be safe and all), but the smell is also a good indicator of final flavor if you’re unsure how much to add.

Pistachio cream: the ganache calls for pistachio cream, which is a processed, sweetened pistachio spread (think Nutella, just pistachio and white chocolate). You can use pistachio butter instead, however your ganache will have a more speckled/rustic appearance. I’ve also found most pistachio cream products have a more recognizable, pistachio gelato-like flavor; pistachio butter is more of an earthy pistachio taste.

White chocolate: for the ganache, using high quality, real white chocolate is very important (not white baking chips). Look for cocoa butter as the first ingredient. I used Republica de Cacao, which is one of the few white chocolates I’ve found that doesn’t have that overpowering ‘fake’ vanilla aftertaste. Other good brands to look for are Callebaut, Valrhona, and Cacao Barry.

Raspberries: this recipe calls for fresh raspberries, and cannot be made with frozen (they’re too juicy and deformed). One 6 oz container of raspberries should be the perfect amount; set aside a dozen or so of the prettiest berries to decorate, and the rest can go in the filling.

Raspberry Jam: this could be omitted without affecting the overall outcome, though it really adds a nice punch of raspberry flavor in addition to the fresh berries.