Thursday 15 January 2015

Apricot and almond tart

For me, an apricot tart means that the world is as it should be.  As a child I always wanted apricots in desserts rather than apples.  I appreciate apples far more these days and now understand that apricots have a short and wonderful season.  Yet I still glory in a baked dessert that revolves around apricots.  Hence my excitement to see Bill Granger's recipe for an apricot and almond tart in the The Age just before Christmas.

I had grand plans to make the tart on New Year's Eve but we were swimming in food.  Then I thought I would make it for our picnic at the Wind in the Willows.  However it just seemed totally impractical.  How do you keep it upright and serve it neatly at a picnic!

Bill Granger says a picnic isn't a picnic without a sweet tart.  I think his picnics are different to mine.  He probably has the servants run around with wicker picnic baskets of the good china and best silver cutlery with which to serve slices of tart.  Not us!  I don't know that I have ever had a tart at a picnic.  But I digress!

Then fate intervened.  My brother has so many apricots on his tree that he has considered charging people to pick their own.  My mum gave me a generous bag of them.  Sylvia and I enjoyed most of them before they were ever squidgy chin-dripping ripe.  But I did manage to use some in a tart on an evening where we were running behind because we had a late visit to the park.

I had been promising the tart for so long that it seemed only fair that I let Sylvia stay up late to eat a slice of the warm tart with us.  After all it is the school holidays and we had an episode of the Nowhere Boys to catch up on.  She loved helping to make it and loved eating it even more.  Even more surprising was that E - who always says everything is better with less fruit - loved the pie and the fruit filling.  Nobody can resist the spell of the magnificent apricot!

Sylvia ate all of her apricots out and then ate the pastry shell like a biscuit.  It impressed me that it kept its shape and was both soft and crispy with a marzipan-style layer of almonds.  Both E and Sylvia agreed I had made the right decision in leaving the chopped almonds off the top of the tart. 

Despite my claim that this was brilliant with apricots, I am sure this would work well with other fruit.  I always feel a bit awkward with pastry but had no problems with this one.  Perhaps a plum tart in late summer or an apple tart in autumn might work.  I would also love to try the pastry without the egg yolk because I hate having egg whites hanging about.  (Perhaps like this pastry.)

Sadly we are approaching the end of apricot season.  My mum has some more from my brother's tree in her fridge for me.  So even though I don't make fruit tarts very often, I can still dream that might make this tart once more this summer.  (Not over the this week though.  I am be at the beach at Ocean Grove and offline.  However a few scheduled posts should pop up, including this one.)

I am sending the tart to these blog challenges:

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
One year ago: Ocean Grove beach house and what we ate
Two years ago: Baked brie with cranberry sauce and walnuts
Three years ago: Malabar Hut - why it is our favourite Indian takeaway
Four years ago: Fruit mince scrolls and muffins
Five years ago: Gado Gado with Marmalade
Six years ago: NCR How My Chowder Fed the Dalek!
Seven years ago: Scrumptious Sugarfree Slice

Apricot and almond tart
Adapted from Bill Granger in The Age Sunday Magazine 21 Dec 2014
Serves 6

Pastry:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
125g butter (I used margarine)
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg yolk

Filling:
4 tbsp almond meal
finely grated zest of 1 lemon (I used lime)
2 tbsp brown sugar
8 apricots (mine were about 400g ) stoned and quartered
Milk for glazing (I used soy)
2 tbsp raw sugar

To make the pastry: Mix flour, margarine and sugar in food processor until crumbly.  Add egg yolk and enough water to make the pastry hold together.  (Bill Granger suggested 1-2 tsp and I used 2 tbsp.)  Bring pastry together into a ball, kneading briefly and wrap in clingfilm.  Chill in fridge for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile chop the apricots and mix the almond meal, lemon zest of brown sugar.

Preheat oven to 200 C (this worked for my slow oven but 190 C like Bill did might be better for regular ovens).

Roll pastry out into a 25cm diameter circle on a large piece of baking paper that is spread over the baking tray you will use.  Sprinkle the almond meal mixture over all the pastry.  (It will seem like a lot but that is fine.)  Arrange the apricots in the middle leaving a generous inch of pastry around the edges.  Fold the pastry edge over the apricots.  Brush the pastry and apricots with milk.  Scatter the whole tart with raw sugar.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the apricots have softened.

On the stereo:
Storybook: Kasey Chambers

20 comments:

  1. This looks amazing! The combination of apricots and almonds sounds wonderful. I can imagine this would be great with some additional marzipan, too. Every time I see your posts I am so looking forward to summer.

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    1. Thanks Mihl - agree marzipan would be lovely added here - the almond meal on the pastry forms a marzipan-like barrier between the fruit and pastry

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  2. Yummy, what a great tart, I love apricots too!

    the-veghog.blogspot.co.uk

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  3. This is so funny - I gave in to discounted South African apricots at Tesco today (cheap fresh apricots in winter won over my guilt at air miles this once) and plan to use some of them in an apricot and almond cake! This looks like a delicious alternative and when we are properly in apricot season again is definitely something I'll try.

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    1. Thanks Kari - my memory of so much fruit when I lived in scotland was that it was from abroad (with exception of apples, pears and berries) so I think you probably need to get some imports unless london is hugely different - but imports are never like straight off the tree - hope you enjoyed your apricots

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  4. How wonderful to have access to homegrown apricots. I gave up buying apricots a few years ago because the commercially grown apricots are so awful. If you can buy organic, they take me back to the apricots I enjoyed growing up in NZ where stone fruits do very, very well. Your tart looks gorgeous and yes, much better than an apple tart! xx

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    1. Thanks charlie - I was like you on commercially grown apricots but I have specially gone to our local farmers market in season because their apricots are so good

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  5. I love the rustic look of this tart- apricot and almond is such a great combo. I love apricots in anything. My mum makes a great apricot cake and in summer I make an apricot sorbet type thing!

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    1. Thanks Kate - apricot sorbet would be wonderful and I love apricot cakes but rarely make them - must be great to have your mum's one

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  6. ha! I've never seen a tart at a picnic either! I'm with you about preferring apricots than apples. Growing up this applied to getting the Sara Lee apricot danish, or apricot danishes from a bakery. Never apple! I think you've just committed to bringing a tart if there's a meetup!

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    1. Thanks Veganopoulous - yes I remember the Sara Lee Danish - I always preferred apples raw - not sure if I will make a tart for a meet up - I have visions of it arriving in pieces but never say never :-)

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  7. This looks great, I love a freeform rustic tart! Ooh how I miss the days my granny lived on her farm, with fig and apricot trees, strawberry, blackberry and mulberry bushes.

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    1. Thanks Caeli - your granny's farm sounds wonderful - and free form tarts have always looked great to me but this is my first attempt - so much easier than getting the pastry right in a tin

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  8. You had my full attention as soon as saw apricot & almond in the same sentence! I love open tarts... I always think they look so inviting with the contrast of colour and the amazing aroma which is open to the senses. You are so lucky to have had all those apricots fresh off the tree. And a fab use for them this is too!!!! The almond is the icing on the tart!

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    1. Thanks Kate - yes we were lucky to have apricots off the tree - and I think my mum says she has an apricot tree that is beginning to fruit - just hope my brother stays in that house now! And I love open tart too - must make more fruit tarts

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  9. I love the open tart and the apricots look so juicy and inviting. I can imagine the lime working well with the flavours. Thanks for entering AlphaBakes.

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    1. Thanks Ros - the lime was quite noticeable but I think lemon might be more subtle

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  10. I am so jealous of your brother and his apricot tree! I just adore apricots and they are so expensive in Scotland. You have made a gorgeous tart and the almonds will go so well with the apricots, thank you for joining me for #RecipeClippings

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    1. Thanks Janice - yes an apricot tree in the backyard is a beautiful thing - I really missed good stone fruit when I lived in scotland but at least baking it makes it so much more edible :-)

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  11. That looks very comforting for winter using up stone fruit. Thanks for your Simple and In Season entry, round up now up at http://maisoncupcake.com/winter-sustenance-simple-season-january-round/ :)

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