Peach Tart w/ Brown Butter Frangipane & Tarragon Ice Cream

This tart on its own? Insane.
The tarragon ice cream on its own? Insane.
Together? Outrageous.

I recently had tarragon ice cream at a restaurant in Flagstaff, AZ, and it completely blew my mind. I knew I needed to recreate it. I already had plans for a peach tart, and then I thought, wait… And the perfect pairing was born.

The pâte sucrée tart shell is a recipe I learned during my brief bakery days in 2020, when I was having a quarter-life crisis. It’s crisp, buttery, and the only tart shell I’ll make from this day forward. I paired it with brown butter frangipane for a rich, nutty base. I chose frangipane instead of custard since the ice cream was going to be the creamy element.

And the tarragon ice cream? It’s impossible to describe. Star anise, vanilla, mint, something woody and piney, with a subtle pepperiness. It’s completely unexpected, but somehow works perfectly with the sweet, juicy peaches and brown butter almond cream.

I don’t have the vocabulary for it. I just know you need to make it.

PREP TIME: 1 to 2 hours

COOK TIME: 1 hour (tart shell + filing)

*Make the ice cream the day before!

Ingredients (8 servings)

Pâte Sucrée Tart Shell:

190 g all-purpose flour
100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
65 g powdered sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp cold water
Pinch of salt
dried beans or weights for the blind bake

Brown Butter Frangipane + Peaches:

115 g unsalted butter
100 g granulated sugar
120 g almond flour
1 large egg
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 ripe summer peaches, thinly sliced

No-Churn Tarragon Ice Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
1 cups packed fresh tarragon leaves, for infusing
1 tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Step 1: Pâte Sucrée Tart Shell

Whisk together 190 g all-purpose flour, 65g powdered sugar, and pinch of salt. Cut in the 100 g cold unsalted butter, cubed with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse sand with pea-sized bits of butter.
Add the 1 large egg yolk and just enough 1 tablespoons cold water to bring the dough together. Stop the moment it holds. Do not knead or the warmth from your hands will warm the butter while developing gluten! We want crisp and crumbly. Pat into a flat disc, wrap, and chill.
Roll the disc out on a floured surface to about 1/8" (3mm) thick. Line your tart pan, pressing into the corners, and trim the edges. Chill again to relax the dough. I did this step days in advance and left it in the freezer. You can bake straight from frozen. I actually think it’s better and less likely to shrink.
Heat oven to 190°C / 375°F. Line the shell with parchment and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Blind-bake for 15 minutes.
Remove parchment and weights, then bake another 5–8 minutes until pale gold and dry. Cool.
Optional but worth it: brush the warm shell with a thin layer of 1 egg white, for sealing (optional) and return to the oven for 2 minutes. This seals it against a soggy bottom once filled.

Step 2: Brown Butter Frangipane

Melt 115 g unsalted butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat, swirling, until it foams and smells like toasted hazelnuts with amber-brown flecks. Scrape into a bowl and cool 7-10 minutes.
Whisk 100 g granulated sugar into the warm brown butter until combined.
Whisk in the 1 large egg until smooth and glossy.
Stir in 120 g almond flour, 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp almond extract, until you have a smooth, soft paste. Use now, or chill and re-soften before piping.

Step 3: Assemble & Bake Tart

Pipe the softened frangipane into the par-baked shell. Press it down evenly with your fingers.
Fan the peaches on top.
Bake at 375°F / 190°C for about 25–30 minutes until the frangipane is set and golden. Start checking at 25 minutes.
Brush with lemon curd or a melted stone fruit jam if you want a glossy finish. Trader Joe’s actually has a decent lemon curd.
*Pro tip: Slice the tart all the way in half, then in half again (and so on). This makes dividing the remaining portions and clean wedges much easier without miscounting or ending up with uneven sizes.

Step 4: No-Churn Tarragon Ice Cream

Gently warm the 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 can) with 1 cup packed fresh tarragon leaves, for infusing in a saucepan over low heat for 8 minutes. Keep just below a boil, but do not boil. Remove from heat.
Let the tarragon steep off-heat, then strain out the leaves, pressing to extract flavor. Chill the infused milk completely in the fridge. 1 hour minimum, but can be done well in advance.
Pull the heavy cream from the fridge just before whipping. You want it to be very cold. Whip the 2 cups of heavy cream to stiff peaks in a large bowl.
Fold the chilled infused condensed milk, 1 tsp lemon juice, and a pinch of salt gently into the whipped cream until fully combined. Taste! Tarragon should be clearly present. It has a heavenly aroma as well. It’s a very pale, subtle green, but I think it’s a beautiful contrast next to the vibrant tart. If you want to add food coloring, knock yourself out.
Transfer to a loaf pan, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.
Serve next to a slice of slightly cooled tart (so your ice cream doesn’t turn into a puddle).
Enjoy!!