Brandied Apricot Tart Recipes

APRICOT AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• For the pastry, put the sugar and butter in a bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon (cream) until combined. Sift over the flour and gently mix until incorporated. Stir in the egg, then lightly bring together with your hands. Tip onto a work surface, then lightly knead a few times to make a smooth dough. Divide in half, wrap each piece well in cling film, then leave to rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
• Gently knead one piece of pastry to make it more pliable, then gently shape into a ball and squash down slightly on an unfloured surface. Gently roll the pastry with a rolling pin as quickly as possible, repeatedly turning it about 45 degrees to keep the circle shape.
• When you feel the pastry softening slightly, add a little flour to the work surface and the top of the pastry, then keep rolling until you have a rough circle about 6cm wider than your tin and 3mm thick. Trim the edges a little to make an even circle about 3-4cm wider than your tin.
• Carefully roll the pastry up around the rolling pin, then lay it over the tart case and unroll it from the pin with the floured underside facing up and the more buttery side against the metal tin. Press evenly into the base and sides of the tin, folding the excess back over the outside of the tin. Trim the edge slightly so about 5mm of the tin's outside is showing. Bring the trimmings together and use to help press the pastry into the corners and flutes of the tin, then cover with cling film and chill again for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Fill the pastry case with baking paper and ceramic baking beans or uncooked rice. Put on a baking sheet, cook for 15 minutes, then remove the beans/rice and paper. Bake for 5 minutes more until sandy to the touch. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the frangipane filling. Using a wooden spoon or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with the vanilla, nutmeg and orange zest. Add the ground, whole and flaked almonds and flour, then mix well. Beat in the egg and rum until smooth.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. Fill the tart case with the frangipane mix and use a dessert spoon or spatula to level the top. Top with the apricot halves or quarters and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and slightly springy.
• Once out of the oven, use a small, sharp serrated knife to cut around the edges of the tart to remove the excess overhang and create super-sharp edges.
• Gently warm the apricot jam, brandy and a splash of water in a pan or the microwave and brush all over the tart while still warm, brushing first the frangipane, then the apricots, then the frangipane again. Serve warm in slices, topped with crème fraîche.

APRICOT-MARZIPAN TART

Steps:

• To make the dough, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the 1 cup (140 g) flour, 1/2 cup (40 g) sliced almonds, 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and the salt until the nuts are finely ground. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk and process until the dough comes together.
• Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. (There's no need to wash the bowl of the food processor-you'll need it again to make the filling.) Using your hands, press the dough as evenly as possible into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined tart pan until the dough is firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and prick the dough about a dozen times with a fork. Bake the tart shell on the baking sheet until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. If it puffs up during baking, press it down with the back of a metal spatula. Let cool while making the filling. Decrease the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).
• To make the filling, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the 1/2 cup (70 g) flour, brown sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup (20 g) sliced almonds until the almond paste is broken into fine pieces. Add the 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) chilled butter and pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of corn kernels. Set aside.
• Halve, pit, and cut the apricots into 1/2-inch (1.5-cm) slices. In a large bowl, toss the apricots with the cornstarch and 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar. Distribute the apricot slices in the tart shell and sprinkle them evenly with the almond mixture. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Serve the tart warm or at room temperature.
• Variations
• For RASPBERRY, APRICOT, AND MARZIPAN TART, add 1 cup (5 ounces/135 g) raspberries to the apricots. To make PLUM-MARZIPAN TART, substitute plums for the apricots and increase the cornstarch to 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon.

CHOCOLATE APRICOT TART

Steps:

• For the crust: Combine the flour, almonds, sugar and salt in a food processor and blend until the nuts are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Pour in the vodka and 1 tablespoon water and pulse until the dough just comes together in a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a disc and refrigerate until slightly firm, about 20 minutes.
• Turn the dough out into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Top with a piece of plastic wrap and press the dough out evenly through the plastic wrap on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Pierce the dough lightly with a fork, and then line the crust with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights, beans or rice. Bake until the crust sets, about 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans and then return to the oven until the crust turns a rich golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool.
• For the apricot and chocolate filling: Combine the apricots, brandy and 1/4 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave for 2 minutes, and then set aside to plump.
• 5. Put the chocolates in a medium bowl. Heat the half-and-half in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a separate medium bowl, and then gradually whisk in the heated cream. Pour back into the pan and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, over medium-low heat until thick, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture over the chocolate, let set for 5 minutes, and then whisk in the butter until very smooth.
• Blend the apricots and their liquid with the vanilla in a mini food processor until very smooth. Spread 3/4 cup of the mixture over the bottom of the crust. Top with the chocolate mixture. Cover loosely and refrigerate until set, about 3 hours or up to overnight.
• Meanwhile, whip the cream until it barely holds soft peaks. Whisk in the remaining apricot mixture to make a smooth thick cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. To serve, pipe or spoon small dollops of the cream around the edge of the crust.

APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• For crust
• Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter; cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in vanilla and and enough water to form moist clumps. Knead dough briefly on work surface to combine; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer dough to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press dough into pan; trim excess dough. Freeze crust 30 minutes.
• Place tart pan on baking sheet. Bake crust until light golden, piercing with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool crust on sheet. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar, flour, brandy, yolks and vanilla in processor; blend until smooth. Arrange apricot quarters cut side down in prepared crust. Pour custard over. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake tart on baking sheet until apricots are tender and filling is puffed and set, about 30 minutes. Cool tart on rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• Push pan bottom up to free tart from pan. Cut tart into wedges and serve.

VERLET'S APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23cm) fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside.
• Make the pastry:
• In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and the sugar, and using a wooden spoon, stir to blend. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to form a soft, cookie-like dough. Transfer the dough to the center of the buttered pan. Using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. The pastry will be quite thin.
• Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake unitl the dough is slightly puffy and set, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the crust. (This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.)
• Meanwhile make the filling:
• In a medium-size bowl, combine the crème fraîche, egg, extracts and honey and whisk to blend. Whisk in the flour.
• Pour the filling evenly over the pastry. Starting just inside the edge of the pan, neatly overlap the halved apricots, cut side up, at an angle. Arrange in two or three concentric circles, working toward the center. Fill in the center with the remaining apricots.
• Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. The apricots will shrivel slightly. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Place the tart on a rack to cool. Sprinkle again with confectioners' sugar just before serving.