Almond Apricot Tart Food

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 AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry: in the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, flour and salt. Pulse until the mixture resembles very fine bread crumbs. Add the confectioners' sugar, egg yolk and 2 tablespoons chilled water, and pulse a few times to bring the mixture together. Pour onto a work surface and knead the dough sparingly until smooth, being careful not to overwork it. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
• To make the frangipane: In a food processor, grind the almonds to a fine powder. Transfer to a bowl. In the food processor, combine 1 cup brown sugar, butter, and vanilla pulp. Process until light and fluffy, then with motor running add the flour and the eggs. Add the ground almonds and pulse to mix evenly. Set aside at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature and stir before using.
• To assemble: Lightly flour a cool work surface and roll the pastry into a large disk about 1/4-inch thick. Press into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable base and trim the edge. Chill at least 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees with a large baking sheet on the middle rack. Spread frangipane in the chilled tart pan, and nestle the apricot halves evenly on top, cut sides up. Sprinkle each half with about 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar. Place the tart on the baking sheet and bake until golden, and set, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the top appears to be browning too fast, cover loosely with foil.
• Trim any baked overflow to loosen the edge of the tart. Press up the bottom of the pan to loosen the sides and cool the tart in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, serve with crème fraîche or whipped cream.

APRICOT & ALMOND BISTRO TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C. Unroll the pastry on to a lightly dampened baking sheet (this creates steam which helps puff up the pastry), then sprinkle over the ground almonds. Lay the apricot halves over the top, nestling them closely together, right up to the edge of the pastry.
• Dust with the icing sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sugar starts to caramelise a little. If you like, drizzle with maple syrup and serve hot, warm or cold. If you really want to indulge, serve with a spoonful of clotted cream or a pouring of single cream.

APRICOT-ALMOND TARTLETS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg yolk and water; stir until dough forms a ball. Roll into twenty-four 1-in. balls. Press onto the bottoms and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups., In a small bowl, beat almond paste and butter until blended; beat in egg white and almond extract. Spoon into tart shells, about 2 teaspoons in each., Bake at 350° until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Top with apricot preserves.

FRUITY ALMOND PUFF PASTRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the sheet of puff pastry in the center of a baking sheet fitted with parchment. Top the puff with another sheet of parchment. Place a baking sheet directly on top of the parchment on top of the puff pastry. This weighs down the puff as it bakes and makes it uniform.
• Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the puff pastry is partially cooked and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and take the baking sheet and top sheet of parchment off the pastry.
• While the pastry is baking, make the frangipane. In the bowl of the food processor, pulse the almonds until they become like a coarse, wet powder. Add the sugar, butter, flour, almond extract, cinnamon and egg and pulse until it forms a paste.
• Gently spread the frangipane in an even layer over the puff pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border, and place the baking sheet back in the center of the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Bake until the frangipane and pastry are browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• In a small pot, warm the jam over low heat until it melts slightly, about 30 seconds.
• Transfer the puff to a flat surface and use a serrated knife to gently cut into 9 even pieces. Arrange the pieces close together on a serving platter as if they make a whole tart. Drizzle some of the warmed jam over the top edges of the pastry and frangipane to create a "glue" for the raspberries to stick to the pastry. Arrange the raspberries over the top of each piece. Drizzle the remaining jam gently over the raspberries and finish with a sprinkle of sugar for added texture. Serve at room temperature. Refrigerate the leftovers (if there are any!!).

APRICOT ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Make tart shell:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 14-inch round and fit into bottom and side of tart pan, then trim flush with top of rim. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork, then line with foil and fill with weights. Bake until pastry is pale golden along rim, and set underneath weights, 18 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until bottom and side are golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool completely in pan on a rack, about 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Fill and bake tart:
• While shell cools, roast apricots in 1 layer, cut sides up, in a 13- by 9-inch baking dish 30 minutes, then set aside.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Pulse almonds with 2 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until finely ground.
• Beat together butter and 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in almond mixture, vanilla, and almond extract until just combined.
• Spread frangipane evenly in tart shell. Arrange apricots, cut sides up, on top of frangipane. (Frangipane will puff up around apricots when baked.) Bake until frangipane is golden brown and just firm to the touch, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat broiler.
• Sprinkle top of tart with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and broil about 6 inches from heat until sugar is melted and top of tart is browned, 1 to 2 minutes (watch carefully). Cool to warm or room temperature in pan on a rack, at least 30 minutes.

ALMOND AND APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preferably use a tart tin (9" or 24 cm) with loose bottom -- the type with the corrugated sides. Grease well. An ordinary tart plate can also be used.
• Put the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until you have a crumbly mixture. Add the soft butter, egg yolks and vanilla, and knead the dough until smooth. Press it into the greased tart tin and prick the bottom with a fork.
• Preheat oven to 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius.
• Chill the crust in fridge for about 30 minutes. Put baking paper in the crust, weigh down with raw rice or beans, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking paper and rice/beans, and bake about 8 minutes longer or until crust is golden. Cool slightly.
• Spread the smooth apricot jam (not sure if the US still calls it jelly!) over the base.
• With an electric beater whisk the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs one by one, as well as the almond and vanilla essence, whisking well, until you have a light, pale and creamy mixture.
• Whisk in the almonds, flour, salt and lemon zest. Spread this mixture over the jam base.
• Bake about 25 minutes, until the filling is pale brown and set. (The baking time can vary, so check the tart. It might need 5 minutes longer).
• If using, arrange the drained apricot halves, round side up, on the tart.

FRESH APRICOT TART

Steps:

• To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Brush a 8-by-11-inch tart pan with removable bottom with butter.
• Place the almonds and 1 tablespoon sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the almonds are finely ground. Add the butter, and process until combined. Pulse in the flour, the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and the almond extract until combined.
• Transfer the crumbly dough to the prepared pan. Using your fingers, pat out dough evenly to make a thin crust along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Chill the crust 30 minutes.
• Bake crust until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• To make the filling and assemble the tart: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almond slices in a single layer in a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden, about 10 minutes. Shake the pan halfway through baking to make sure the nuts toast evenly. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, salt, all-purpose flour, almond flour, and baking powder; whisk together. Whisk in the eggs, melted butter, and half-and-half until well combined. Pour the filling into the baked crust.
• Arrange the apricot halves, cut sides up, on top of the filling, packing the fruit closely together. Sprinkle the tops of the apricots with the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the entire tart.
• Bake the tart until the filling is puffed and golden brown, 60 to 70 minutes, rotating the pan after 30 minutes for even browning. Transfer tart to a wire rack to cool. Unmold, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

FRENCH APRICOT & ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Sift the flour into a large bowl.
• Add the butter and rub in until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
• Stir in the sugar, then mix in the egg to make a soft, pliable dough.
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface and use to line the tart pan.
• Prebake with the weights in a 400°F oven for 10 minutes,until the pastry shell is beginning to brown at the edge.
• Remove the weights and foil and bake for 5-10 minutes.
• Leave to cool.
• Put the apricots, cut side down, in a shallow pan with the lemon juice, water, and sugar.
• Cover tightly and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat and simmer gently for 3 minutes or until just soft.
• Remove the apricots with a slotted spoon, reserving the juices.
• Drain on paper towels, and leave to cool.
• Remove the pastry shell from the tart pan and put on a serving plate.
• Spread the pastry cream over the pastry shell and smooth the surface.
• Arrange the apricots, cut side down, on the pastry cream.
• Combine the arrowroot (or cornstarch) and brandy (or almond extract) in a small bowl and stir in the reserved apricot juices.
• Return the mixture to the pan and bring to a boil, stirring until thick.
• Add the toasted slivered almonds.
• Spoon the glaze over the apricots,making sure they are coated evenly. (Add a little water to the glaze of it is too thick.)
• Leave to stand until the glaze has cooled and set.
• Serve the tart cold.
• Pastry Cream: Put the 3 eggs, 3/8 cup vanilla sugar, and 1/2 cup flour into a large bowl, add a little milk taken from 1 2/3 cup, and mix until smooth.
• Pour the remaining milk into a heavy saucepan and bring almost to a boil.
• Pour onto the egg mixture, whisking well.
• Rinse out the saucepan, return the egg mixture to the pan, and cook over low heat, stirring, for 15-20 minutes until thickened.
• Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, gently pressing it over the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
• Leave to cool.

ALMOND-APRICOT TART WITH WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse flour andalmonds in a food processor untilground. Beat butter and confectioners'sugar with a mixer onmedium speed until pale and fluffy,about 5 minutes. Add flour mixture,yolk, and a pinch of salt;mix until dough comes together.Press into bottom and up sides ofa 9-inch tart pan with a removablebottom; refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Make thefilling: Heat butter in a saucepanover medium-high heat untilbrowned, 3 to 4 minutes. Let coolfor 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat yolks, corn syrup,and brown sugar with a mixeron medium speed until pale andfluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix inbrowned butter (with bits), amaretto,cream, and vanilla. (Mixtureshould be thick but pourable.)
• Transfer tart shell onto a bakingsheet. Pour in filling to reachhalfway up side. Bake until crustis golden brown and crisp andcenter is set but slightly soft, 40to 45 minutes. Let cool.
• Make the topping: Working in a circle and pressing into filling, top tart with apricots. Garnish with confectioners' sugar. Whisk cream with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Serve tart topped with whipped cream.