Apricot Tart
Before we all move on to apples and pumpkin, lets make the most of the last stone fruits-apricots, peaches and plums, the former and the latter so delicious in cakes and tarts, and so often overlooked in favour of the almighty apple pie.
This beauty comes from one of my favourite new books of the summer, How to Eat a Peach, by the great British food writer Diana Henry. (The title was inspired by a night in Italy when the author was in her twenties, and a couple at the next table at the outdoor trattoria she was dining at were served a bowl of ripe peaches, which they sliced into glasses of cold moscato; they’d then sip the bubbly wine, now infused with peach, and eat the peach slices, now imbued with the flavour of the wine.)
It’s one of those desserts you may glance at and think is too fussy, and while it looks it, it’s really not – it uses a ground almond pastry base you blitz in the food processor and press into the tart pan, and a simple frangipane filling (butter, sugar, egg, almonds, flour) you spread in the crust to anchor thick slices of apricot, although I suspect it would be a perfect vehicle for cherries, plums, nectarines or peaches, too.
The formula is adapted slightly – the original calls for superfine sugar, which I find unnecessary and not commonly kept in home kitchens; I also used salted butter instead of unsalted, and used vanilla in place of the 1/2 tsp amaretto in the pastry and frangipane, simply because I’m not a fan of amaretto and so don’t have a bottle. I also cut my apricots into thick wedges—6 for the large, and quarters for the small—rather than halves. Either works!
I know summer is slipping away, but it’s still beautiful and hot out east, and although cooler in Alberta, the dropping temperature makes me want to turn on the oven – and with so much produce still at the markets, it’s really perfect baking season right now.
Directions
1To make the pastry, blitz the flour, sugar almonds and a pinch of salt in a food processor for a few seconds, Add the butter and pulse again until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and amaretto and blend until the mixture forms a ball. (If it doesn’t, see if the mixture holds together when you squeeze it—if not, add a couple spoonfuls of cold water and blitz again.) Diana suggests shaping the dough into a salami shape and refrigerating for at least two hours, then slicing the dough thinly to line your tart pan. I just pressed the mixture, which resembled fresh bread crumbs, into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Put it into the freezer while you make the frangipane and slice the fruit. And preheat your oven to 350?F.
2To make the frangipane, beat the butter and sugar until light; beat in the egg and amaretto or vanilla, then the ground almonds and flour. Toss the apricot wedges or halves with the sugar.
3Spread the frangipane over the chilled crust—it will look like not much, but will puff up around the fruit. Arrange the apricots overtop, fitting them snugly—the fruit will shrink a bit as it cooks. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300?F and sprinkle the top with the almonds and some icing sugar, then return to the oven for 35-45 minutes, until golden and set. Let cool, and dust with more icing sugar before serving. Serves 8 (or more).
Thank you for a beautiful apricot tart recipe. Made this tonight for my family and the kitchen smells divine. It tastes even better.
So great to hear it Onkar!
This is a great recipe! Our family is firmly in the “pie” camp and this was a nice variation from the traditional pie. I used peaches, and I didn’t bother to sprinkle them with sugar because they are so sweet right now. We will definitely use this recipe again.
Amazing. It would be divine with peaches!
Cannot wait to try this! Thanks for all the great recipes you take the time to give us 🙂
You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Highly recommend your blog to everyone. Especially this beautiful apricot tart recipe really made our day. Made this for my kid’s tonight, they loved it. The taste is lovely and delicious.