Apricot Tart With Honey And Almonds Food

HONEY-CARAMEL TART WITH APRICOTS AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• For crust:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk both flours and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, honey, and lemon peel in another medium bowl to blend. Beat in egg. Add flour mixture; beat just to blend. Gather dough into ball. Roll out on floured surface to 1/4-inch-thick round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan. Trim edges. Press edges so sides rise 1/4 inch above pan. Bake crust until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if bubbles form, about 13 minutes. Cool on rack.
• For caramel-nut filling:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring both sugars, butter, and honey to boil in heavy medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugars. Boil 1 minute without stirring; remove from heat. Stir in cherries, apricots, almonds, cranberries, and whipping cream. Transfer filling to cooled crust. Arrange apricot halves, cut side down, atop filling.
• Bake tart until bubbling all over, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool on rack 15 minutes. Remove pan sides. Cool to lukewarm, about 1 hour.
• Using electric mixer, beat cream until peaks form. Add crème fraîche and beat until peaks form. Serve tart slightly warm or at room temperature with crème fraîche.

ALMOND APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• To make the frangipane, place the almonds and the sugar in a food processor and grind until sandy. Add the butter and continue mixing then add the egg, vanilla, and the flour and mix until smooth.
• To make the tart, on a floured work surface pass your rolling pin over the pastry just to flatten any ridges.
• Place it on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and cut out a 9-inch disk. Spread the almond frangipane in the center of the tart leaving a 1-inch border. Firmly place the apricot halves into the frangipane spacing them evenly around the tart. Dot the spaces between the apricots with the whole almonds.
• Bake until golden brown on the top and puffy, about 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

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 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.

TARTE AUX ABRICOTS - GLAZED FRENCH APRICOT TART WITH ALMONDS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. To make the pastry place the cold butter into a food processor with the sieved flour and lemon zest. Blitz until the mixture becomes the texture of breadcrumbs.
• Whisk the sugar into the egg then pour into the machine with a splash of water. Blitz just long enough for the mixture to form a ball. Remove with your hands and ensure you have a nice firm ball by moulding with your hands. Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour.
• Meanwhile halve and stone your apricots then place on a baking tray cut side up. Sprinkle all over with the light brown sugar then bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes until they are soft to the point of a knife but not falling apart.
• Roll out and line a 25cm loose-bottomed tart tin with the pastry. Chill again for ideally an hour but a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Once rested prick all over the base with a fork then line with parchment paper and follow with baking beans. Bake blind for 15-20 minutes until the base is just beginning to crisp but has not browned. Remove the beans and allow to cool.
• Sprinkle the ground almonds all over the base then top with a layer of apricots. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. Remove the vanilla seeds from the pod and whisk into the egg mixture along with the double cream or whipping cream.
• Place the tart onto a baking tray then carefully pour over the custard mixture. Place in the oven for 15 minutes then lower the heat to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4 for a further 15-20 minutes when the custard should be set and a lovely golden colour.
• For the Glaze: Warm the jam and allow to cool just above room temperature and then pour or spoon it over the tart.
• Allow to cool before slicing and serving with crème fraîche, plenty of icing sugar and some edible flowers.