Apricot Tart With Frangipane
Confession: Eating raw peaches and apricots has never been my thing. Somehow the furry skin just sets my teeth on edge. Cooked fruit, though, is an entirely different matter, and I think peaches, nectarines, plums and especially apricots are amazing in a nutty frangipane filling. As it bakes, the frangipane puffs up around the sweet, tangy fruit, making a very elegant-looking tart. Serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, if you want.
Tart dough
110 grams cold salted butter ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
210 grams plain flour
3 tablespoons iced water, as needed Frangipane filling
110 grams raw almonds
125 grams sugar
75ml cream
2 large egg yolks pinch fine sea salt
6–8 apricots
Lightly butter a 23cm tart tin with a removable bottom.
Tart dough: Cut the butter into small cubes. Put the butter and salt in a medium bowl, add the flour and toss to coat the butter. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour – the mixture will look like coarse crumbs with some larger flakes. You can also pulse the flour and butter together in a food processor until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with pea-sized bits of butter, then transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stirring with a fork, sprinkle in the water just until the mixture clumps together and can be gathered into a ball. It should feel something like modelling clay, but not wet. If it’s too dry, mix in more iced water by the half-teaspoon.
Break up the dough into walnut-sized chunks, and with your fingers press it evenly on to the bottom and up the sides of the tin, being sure it isn’t too thick where the bottom meets the sides. It should protrude about 3mm above the rim of the tin. Refrigerate while the oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Pierce the dough all over with a fork.
Place the tin on a baking sheet. Line the bottom and sides of the dough with a large piece of baking paper and fill it about halfway with dried beans to hold the paper in place. Weighting the crust will help keep the sides of your tart shell from slipping down as it bakes.
Bake until the visible edges of the dough look drier and set, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Lift off the baking paper with the beans and set them aside. Return the baking sheet and tin to the oven and bake until the crust is barely browned, 7–10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Frangipane filling: Process the almonds and sugar in a food processor until the mixture is finely ground. With the machine running, add the cream, egg yolks and salt and process until the frangipane is smooth.
Halve the apricots lengthwise and remove the stones. Spread the frangipane in the crust. Top with apricots, stoned sides down.
Bake until the filling is lightly puffed and golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove the sides of the tin, cut into wedges, and serve. Serves 8