Pineapple, Coconut and Frangipane Tart

STEP 1: MAKE THE SWEET PASTRY

Blitz the flour, butter, icing sugar, ground almonds and salt in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the egg yolks and pulse, then add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the dough just clumps. Bring it together without kneading, flatten to a disc, wrap and chill for 1 hour.

STEP 2: LINE THE TIN

Roll the pastry to about 3 mm and line the tin, leaving an overhang. Chill for 20 minutes - the second rest is what stops the sides slumping.

STEP 3: BLIND BAKE THE CASE

Blind bake at 190C / 375F (fan 170C) with parchment and baking beans for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and parchment and bake a further 12-15 minutes, until the base is dry, sandy and properly golden rather than merely set.

STEP 4: SEAL THE CASE

Brush the hot case all over with the beaten egg white using a pastry brush and return it to the oven for 2 minutes. The sealed film is the barrier between pineapple juice and pastry, and it is the single most important step against a wet base.

STEP 5: TRIM AND LOWER THE OVEN

Trim the overhang flush with a small knife. Drop the oven to 180C / 350F (fan 160C).

STEP 6: CUT THE PINEAPPLE

Cut the pineapple into rings about 8 mm thick, then halve or quarter them as your design requires. Reserve the neatest pieces for the top.

STEP 7: ROAST THE PINEAPPLE

Toss the pineapple with the caster sugar, dot with the butter and roast in a single layer in a roasting tray at 200C / 400F for 20-25 minutes, turning once, until the edges have taken real colour and the juices have reduced to a syrup.

STEP 8: DRAIN AND DRY THE FRUIT

Lift the fruit onto kitchen paper and leave it to drain and cool completely, then pat the surfaces dry. Wet fruit going onto frangipane is what soaked the original base; dry fruit is the correction.

STEP 9: KEEP THE ROASTING SYRUP

Save the roasting syrup. It is not needed in the tart, but it is the right thing to spoon over the plate.

STEP 10: BRING THE BUTTER AND EGGS TO ROOM TEMPERATURE

Have the butter and eggs genuinely at room temperature. Cold eggs hitting creamed butter is the usual cause of a split frangipane.

STEP 11: CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGAR

Beat the butter and caster sugar in a stand mixer or with an electric whisk until pale and light, 3-4 minutes.

STEP 12: ADD THE EGGS ONE AT A TIME

Add the eggs one at a time, beating each in fully before the next, with a spoonful of the ground almonds alongside each addition to hold the emulsion.

STEP 13: FOLD IN THE ALMONDS, COCONUT AND FLOUR

Fold in the remaining ground almonds, the desiccated coconut and the flour. Stop the moment it is homogeneous - beating on past this point splits it again.

STEP 14: FILL THE CASE

Spread the frangipane evenly into the blind-baked case with a palette knife, levelling it to about 5 mm below the rim.

STEP 15: ARRANGE THE PINEAPPLE

Arrange the drained pineapple over the top in your chosen pattern - concentric rings read best in a window and are the most forgiving to lay. Press the pieces only lightly into the surface.

STEP 16: BAKE THE TART

Bake at 180C / 350F (fan 160C) for 35-40 minutes, until the frangipane is risen, golden and firm to a light press at the centre. Cover loosely with foil if the fruit darkens early.

STEP 17: COOL THE TART

Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then unmould onto a wire rack and cool completely.

STEP 18: FINISH THE COLOUR

Scatter the demerara sugar over the pineapple and work across the surface with a blowtorch until the fruit is lacquered and dark at the edges.

STEP 19: GLAZE AND GARNISH

Warm the apricot jam with the water, sieve it, and brush a thin glaze over the whole surface with a pastry brush. Finish with the toasted coconut flakes around the rim.

STEP 20: SERVE

Serve at room temperature, on the day of baking.