Payards Apricot Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Soak apricots in warm water for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, cream the sugar, butter and egg. Stir in orange juice. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture just until combined. Drain apricots well; add to batter with nuts. Pour into a greased 9x5-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing to a wire rack.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange four 3-inch-by-2-inch aluminum molds or ramekins on a baking sheet.
• Stir sugar, honey and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Boil syrup, shaking occasionally, until thick and light brown, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and carefully stir in the butter. Pour syrup into molds to make a 1/4-inch layer in each.
• Arrange 3 apricot halves (or 1 large peach half), cut sides up, in each mold. Place 1/2 almond between two apricot halves and bake 10 to 15 minutes, until apricots are tender and juices bubble. (Time will depend upon ripeness of fruit.) Remove from oven.
• Meanwhile, roll out pastry on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into four 3 1/4-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter. Prick rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a fork and bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Using your thumb, smear each round with a very thin layer of corn syrup to glaze and prevent sogginess.
• Discard almond halves.
• Place a pastry round over fruit in each mold, glazed side down. Wrap the bottom of a drinking glass with plastic wrap and press the glass onto the pastry round to compress the dessert and infuse pastry with fruit. Collect overflowing juice for use as a sauce.
• Carefully invert each onto a serving dish; serve with sauce.

Steps:

• First, make the marzipan. Mix both sugars with the ground almonds and vanilla in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle. Reserve 1 tsp of the beaten egg in a small dish, then tip the rest into the well along with the lemon juice. Mix everything well, then mix in the cream, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture is spreadable (you may not need all the cream). Chill for 20 mins if it's too warm to spread properly, or greasy. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Roll out the puff pastry on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, then score it lightly around the edges to create a 1.5cm border - be careful not to cut all the way through. Lightly score a diamond pattern over the middle to keep the pastry from rising in the centre during cooking.
• Spread the marzipan over the middle of the pastry, leaving the border clear (see tip, below). Top with the apricots, cut-side down. Brush the border with the reserved beaten egg, then bake for 15 mins. Scatter over the flaked almonds. Bake for 5-10 mins more until the almonds are golden and the pastry has cooked through.
• Warm the jam over a low heat, then brush it over the apricots. Cut into squares and serve warm with ice cream or cream. Will keep chilled for up to two days.