Apricot Almond Antarctica Recipes

ALMOND-APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Place apricots and whisky in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and set aside. Turn apricots in warm whisky from time to time while continuing with preparation.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, 1/4 cup ground almonds, salt and granulated sugar in a bowl or food processor. Whisk to combine. By hand or machine, add butter, pulsing or using a pastry blender to make a crumbly mixture. Beat egg yolk with 4 tablespoons cold water and add, mixing or pulsing until ingredients come together to form a dough. Add a little more water as needed.
• Shape pastry into a flattened disk on a floured surface and roll to fit a 9-inch straight-sided tart pan. Prick the bottom. Line with foil and pastry weights and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 10 minutes more, until lightly golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Drain apricots, reserving any whisky. Tightly line pastry shell with apricots. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup ground almonds and confectioners' sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk mascarpone until smooth. Beat 2 remaining eggs and add to mascarpone along with reserved whisky and almond extract. Mix into combined almonds and confectioners' sugar. Pour over apricots in pastry shell.
• Place tart in oven and bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle sliced almonds around the outside edge of the tart filling to form a border about an inch wide. Return to oven and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling is puffed and lightly browned. Remove from oven, place on a rack and let cool to room temperature before serving.

APRICOT-ALMOND GIFT BREAD

Steps:

• Pan preparation:
• Butter the pan(s) or spray with butter-flavor nonstick vegetable spray and dust with flour. Tap out the excess flour.
• Make bread:
• Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and wheat germ. If using a food processor, add the apricots and a generous tablespoon of the flour mixture to the bowl and pulse until the fruit is cut into small (¼-inch) bits. Or, cut up the apricots with oiled kitchen shears or an oiled knife. Scrape the apricot bits into the bowl with the flour. Chop the nuts and add them to the dry ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, nectar or buttermilk, and extracts. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the oil-egg mixture. Whisk or stir just to blend well; don't over mix.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan(s), filling them about two-thirds full. Bake 60 to 65 minutes for a large loaf, 40 to 45 minutes for small loaves (or for the time indicated for your altitude in the chart below), or until the bread is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan(s) on a wire rack.
• Make icing:
• To make the icing, whisk together the sugar and liquid in a small bowl until thick and smooth. When the bread is completely cooled, drizzle the icing over the top; it will harden as it dries.
• Cooks' Note
• Icing measurements stay the same at all elevations, but if you are baking the bread at high altitude, follow the adjustments below.
• If baking at 3,000 feet:
• Increase flour to 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon. Decrease baking soda to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon. Increase to 2 large eggs. Place rack in center of oven; bake large loaf at 375° for 50-55 minutes, baby loaves for 30-35 minutes.
• If baking at 5,000 feet:
• Increase flour to 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon. Decrease baking powder to 1¼ teaspoons plus ⅛ teaspoon. Decrease baking soda to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons. Increase to 2 large eggs. Increase apricot nectar (or buttermilk) to ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake large loaf at 375° for 48-50 minutes, baby loaves for 35-40 minutes.
• If baking at 7,000 feet:
• Increase flour to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons. Decrease baking powder to 1¼ teaspoons. Decrease baking soda to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to ¾ cup. Increase to 2 large eggs. Use buttermilk, not nectar, and increase to 1 cup. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake large loaf at 350° for 60-62 minutes, baby loaves for 30-35 minutes.
• If baking at 10,000 feet:
• Increase flour to 2¼ cups. Decrease baking powder to 1¼ teaspoons. Decrease baking soda to ⅛ teaspoon. Increase salt to ½ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to ¾ cup minus 1 tablespoon. Increase to 2 large eggs. Use buttermilk, not nectar, and increase to 1 cup. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake large loaf at 350° for 60-65 minutes, baby loaves for 32-37 minutes.

APRICOT ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Combine flour, almonds, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into egg mixture alternately with the whipped cream., Transfer to two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in extract. Fold in whipped cream., Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with another cake layer; spread with half the preserves. Repeat layers. Frost sides of cake; decorate the top edge with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with almonds.