Apricot Marzipan Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Start with the pastry shell: Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius. Prepare a 9-inch/23-centimeter nonstick tart pan with a removable base by lining the bottom with parchment and greasing the sides with butter. If needed, on a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a circle roughly 1/8- to 1/4-inch/3- to 5-millimeters thick and large enough to line the base and sides of the tin, plus extra to poke above the edge by about 1/2 inch/1 centimeter. (Some store-bought doughs may be the perfect size right out of the package.) Carefully line the pan with the pastry and press it down so it covers the base and sides, with excess overhang.
• Cover the pastry with parchment paper or waxed paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the paper with the beans. Prick the pastry base and sides with a fork about 15 times, then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
• Poach the apricots: Add Sauternes, lime half, vanilla, sugar and 3 tablespoons/40 milliliters water to a saucepan that is just big enough to hold the apricot halves in one layer. Place the pan over high heat and cook until the sugar has melted and the liquid boils.
• Remove the pan from the heat and place the apricots in the hot liquid, cut-sides down. Leave them to poach in the residual heat until they are soft but still hold their shape (20 to 40 minutes, depending on how ripe they are) flipping them every 10 minutes. Transfer the apricots to a covered container and refrigerate until needed. Squeeze the lime into the syrup and then discard it; return the saucepan with the syrup to medium-high heat and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons, 5 to 8 minutes. Set aside at room temperature until needed.
• Next, make the frangipane: Set aside 2 tablespoons of pistachios for serving. In a food processor, blitz the remaining pistachios until coarsely ground. Add the marzipan and blitz to a coarse crumb. Add all the remaining frangipane ingredients and blitz for 30 seconds, until everything just comes together.
• Once the tart shell has cooled completely, spoon the frangipane back in and spread it flat with the back of a spoon. Cut 3 1/2 ounces/100 grams of the apricot halves (3 or 4 of them) into quarters (or sixths if larger) and arrange evenly over the frangipane, pushing them down gently. Bake tart for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and just set. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the tart from the tin and set on a wire rack to cool completely. If making the recipe over two days, wrap the pastry in plastic wrap (cling film) once it has cooled completely.
• While the frangipane is baking (or the next day), make the crème pâtissière: In a medium bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons sugar with the cornstarch (cornflour), flour and yolks until smooth. Add milk, butter, vanilla and the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar to a saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until warm but not boiling. Remove the milk from the heat. While whisking, pour a third of the warm milk into the egg mix, and whisk well. Pour the mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk and return to medium-low heat. Continue cooking, whisking vigorously, until mixture bubbles and becomes very thick. Remove pan from heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then spoon on top of the cooled frangipane, smoothing with the back of a spoon. Cover surface with plastic wrap (cling film) and refrigerate for 2 hours until completely set.
• Just before serving, cut the remaining apricot halves into quarters (or sixths if larger). Arrange the apricots evenly in circles over the crème pâtissière, cut-side up, leaving a 2-inch/5-centimeter gap between each apricot (push them into the crème slightly as you go). Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the reduced poaching syrup evenly over the tart, then drizzle the orange blossom water over the tart. Roughly chop the reserved pistachios and mix with 1 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle the pistachio mix in the gaps between the apricots to cover the crème pâtissière and serve at once with the remaining syrup drizzled over each piece once sliced.

Steps:

• To make the dough, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the 1 cup (140 g) flour, 1/2 cup (40 g) sliced almonds, 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar, and the salt until the nuts are finely ground. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg yolk and process until the dough comes together.
• Transfer the dough to a 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom. (There's no need to wash the bowl of the food processor-you'll need it again to make the filling.) Using your hands, press the dough as evenly as possible into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined tart pan until the dough is firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and prick the dough about a dozen times with a fork. Bake the tart shell on the baking sheet until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. If it puffs up during baking, press it down with the back of a metal spatula. Let cool while making the filling. Decrease the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).
• To make the filling, in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the 1/2 cup (70 g) flour, brown sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup (20 g) sliced almonds until the almond paste is broken into fine pieces. Add the 4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60 g) chilled butter and pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of corn kernels. Set aside.
• Halve, pit, and cut the apricots into 1/2-inch (1.5-cm) slices. In a large bowl, toss the apricots with the cornstarch and 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar. Distribute the apricot slices in the tart shell and sprinkle them evenly with the almond mixture. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Serve the tart warm or at room temperature.
• Variations
• For RASPBERRY, APRICOT, AND MARZIPAN TART, add 1 cup (5 ounces/135 g) raspberries to the apricots. To make PLUM-MARZIPAN TART, substitute plums for the apricots and increase the cornstarch to 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon.

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.

Steps:

• The night before, put apricots and orange juice in a bowl and set aside.
• To make the dough, put flour, 1 tsp salt, butter, milk, yeast and egg in a bowl, and mix together to form a dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 6 mins.
• Transfer dough to a mixing bowl. Cover, then set aside to rise in a warm place for 1 hr.
• Meanwhile, drain the apricots. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and muscovado sugar until fluffy. Mix in the apricots, flour, raisins, walnuts and orange zest.
• Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a rectangle, about 25 x 33cm. Evenly spread over the apricot mix, then roll out the marzipan and lay it on top. Roll up the rectangle tightly so it looks like a Swiss roll. Roll slightly, then cut lengthways along the roll, leaving 1 end joined. Twist 2 lengths together, then shape into a ring on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Set aside to rise for 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Bake the twist for 30 mins until risen and dark golden. Towards the end of the baking time, gently warm the apricot jam in a small pan. Brush the freshly baked loaf with the warm jam to glaze it, then set it aside to cool. Once cooled, drizzle the twist heavily with the runny icing.

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.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat, and set aside on a floured surface. Roll dough out to a 14-inch circle, and place on paper.
• In a medium bowl, toss apricots together with sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and zest. Place apricot mixture on the center of the dough. Spread out, leaving a 2-inch border of dough; turn ends of apricots upward. Fold the dough up and over the apricots, making a crease or fold every 4 to 5 inches to enclose fruit and prevent juices from seeping out.
• Brush dough thoroughly with heavy cream; sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, and lower oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotating baking sheet 45 degrees. Continue to bake until tart is evenly browned and apricots are bubbling, about 25 minutes more.
• Transfer tart from baking sheet to a cooling rack, and cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.