Fresh Apricot Tart With Prunes Food

EVERYDAY APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Make filling: Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together cornstarch and egg yolks. Whisk in milk and honey until cornstarch is dissolved. Whisking constantly, cook over medium until the first large bubble sputters. Reduce heat to low; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat; immediately pour through sieve into bowl. Press plastic wrap on surface of pudding; refrigerate 3 hours (or up to 3 days).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water). Do not overmix.
• Press dough evenly into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan, starting with the sides. Freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, pressing down with a spoon if the tart shell puffs, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely. (To store, keep at room temperature, up to 1 day.)
• Whisk chilled pudding until smooth; spread in cooled tart shell, and top with apricots. In a small saucepan, heat jam over medium-low until liquefied; gently brush apricots with jam. Refrigerate tart in pan 1 hour (or up to 3 hours); unmold just before serving.

FRESH APRICOT TART

Steps:

• To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.with rack in center. Brush and 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.

FRESH APRICOT TART WITH PRUNES

Steps:

• Quarter the prunes, place them in a small saucepan with the nectar and liqueur, and simmer 10 minutes to soften them. Set them aside to cool.
• Mix the flour, granulated sugar and salt together in a bowl. Add all but one tablespoon of the butter and, using your fingertips or two knives, break the butter up into the flour mixture until the mixture has a coarse, mealy texture. This can be done by pulsing in a food processor. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour and butter mixture and, using a fork, lightly mix until the ingredients begin to cling together and can be formed into a dough. If you mixed the butter and flour together in a food processor, transfer them to a bowl to mix in the water by hand.
• Form the dough into a flattened ball and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Roll out the dough between sheets of waxed paper to form a circle 12 inches in diameter. Peel off one sheet of the waxed paper and place the dough, with the remaining sheet of paper on top, in a nine-inch tart pan. Peel off the top sheet of waxed paper and fit the dough into the pan. Trim the edges. Cover the pastry with a sheet of foil, weight it with pastry weights or dry beans and bake it for 10 minutes, until it looks dry. Remove it from the oven and remove the foil and weights.
• Pit and quarter the apricots, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together.
• Mix the prunes with a tablespoon of the brown sugar and spread them over the bottom of the pastry in the pan. Arrange the quartered apricots in a pattern over the prunes. Sprinkle the apricots with the remaining brown sugar and dot with bits of the remaining tablespoon of butter.
• Place in the oven and bake about 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the apricots begin to brown around the edges. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

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.

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.

APRICOT TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese and flour until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. , For filling, in a small saucepan, bring apricots and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain. Add the pecans, sugar, marmalade, cinnamon and cloves; set aside., Shape dough into 24 balls. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. Spoon filling into cups. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For topping, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon a dollop onto each tart. Store in the refrigerator.

APRICOT CROSTATA

Steps:

• Mix together apricots, white sugar, and rum in a bowl. Cover and let macerate in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a 12-inch square of parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
• Place flour, cold butter, dark brown sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and ginger into a food processor. Blend in short bursts until butter is in pea-sized lumps.
• Whisk together buttermilk and egg in a bowl; pour into butter-flour mixture and continue to blend until it forms a soft dough. Form dough into a smooth ball, using additional flour as needed.
• Pat dough ball into a thick circle onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Drain apricots, reserving juice in a bowl. Spread apricots evenly on top of dough circle; draw edges of dough up over fruit.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crostata is baked through, golden on top, and fruit is soft, about 45 minutes.
• While crostata is baking, pour reserved apricot juice and orange juice into a saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer; cook syrup until it has reduced by 2/3.
• Remove crostata from the oven. Brush syrup on top. Let cool slightly. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

RUSTIC APRICOT TART

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cornstarch and pumpkin pie spice. Add apricots and toss to coat. , Place pastry on a parchment-lined 12-in. pizza pan. Brush with egg white to within 1-1/2 in. of edges. Spoon apricot mixture over egg white; sprinkle with almonds. Fold up edges of pastry over filling, leaving center uncovered. Brush folded pastry with milk; sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Use parchment to slide tart onto a wire rack to cool.

PRUNE, CHERRY, AND APRICOT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Heat the grappa with the sugar in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Add the fruit and gently simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let macerate, stirring occasionally, 24 hours.
• Blend together the flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
• Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture. Gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated. Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
• Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide into 4 portions. With the heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather the dough together with a pastry scraper, if you have one. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Set an 11-inch flan ring on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If using a tart pan, parchment is not necessary.) Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round, then fit into the flan ring and trim excess dough. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F, with the rack in the middle.
• Lightly prick the bottom of the shell all over with a fork, then line with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the side is set and the edge is pale golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the bottom is golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool completely in the pan, about 30 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Beat the almond paste, butter, sugar, extract, and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed 3 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the flour.
• Spread the frangipane filling in the cooled shell. Drain the fruit in a sieve set over a bowl, reserving the syrup, and scatter the fruit over the filling, pressing in slightly. Bake until puffed and golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer the tart on parchment to a rack. Brush the reserved syrup over the tart and cool to warm or room temperature.
• The DRIED FRUIT can be macerated up to 3 days.
• The TART SHELL can be baked 1 day ahead and kept (once cool), wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
• The TART is best eaten the day it is baked but can be made 1 day ahead, covered with foil, kept at room temperature.
• The DOUGH can be chilled 2 days or frozen, wrapped well, 3 months.

FRESH FRUIT TART WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 2 tart pans.
• Blend flour, butter, and sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until combined. Divide mixture evenly and press into the bottoms of the prepared tart pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
• While crusts are cooling, beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon together in a bowl using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Spread mixture over cooled crusts. Arrange strawberries, blackberries, and kiwis on tart in desired design.
• Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan. Pour in water and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Let glaze cool completely.
• Glaze the entire top of each tart gently using a pastry brush.

APPLE, APRICOT, AND PRUNE TART

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Into a chilled large metal bowl sift together flour and salt. Set a grater in bowl and using largest teardrop-shaped holes coarsely grate frozen butter into flour, gently lifting and tossing flour to coat butter. Chill mixture 20 minutes. Drizzle 8 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork until just incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has proper texture it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until just incorporated, and test mixture again. (If you overwork or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
• Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and with floured hands mound into 4 portions. With heel of hand smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough portions together and form it, rotating it on work surface, into a disk (dough will not be smooth). Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 2 hours, or until firm, and up to 2 days.
• On floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough 1/4 inch thick (about a 15-inch round). Fit dough into a 12 1/2- by 1-inch fluted round tart pan with a removable bottom and with a rolling pin roll over top of shell to trim pastry flush with rim. With a fork prick bottom of shell all over. Chill shell 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425° F.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights or rice and foil and bake shell until golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Make filling
• Peel, core, and chop 1 apple. In a saucepan cook chopped apple, apricots, 1/2 cup sugar, and water, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender, about 12 minutes. Cool mixture 20 minutes. In a food processor pulse mixture until smooth and transfer to a small bowl. Chop prunes and stir into purée. Peel remaining 4 apples and quarter. Core apples and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
• Spoon apricot purée evenly into shell and smooth top. Decoratively arrange apple slices, overlapping them, over purée and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake tart in middle of oven until apple slices are slightly browned and crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool tart slightly in pan on rack. In a small saucepan melt jam over low heat and pour through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Press hard on solids and discard. With a pastry brush, brush glaze evenly over tart.
• Serve tart with crème fraîche or whipped cream.