Apricot Tart

I have to say, the apricots I saw at the grocery store looked much larger than normal. They were so soft and very ripe... they were practically begging me to buy them. I gave in and thought they'd look absolutely beautiful in a tart. I haven't done much baking and blogging lately, which I feel terrible about, because of my busy schedule with my college internship and the project for it; I'm hoping this tart will help me get back into the swing of things. I believe an important part of food blogging is about quality not quantity, so let's hope this post lives up to that! 


I've learned so much from my internship at Scratch Baked Goods, and have found that I really enjoy observing and learning about the pastry aspect of the bakery. How combinations of flour, butter, and water can help create wonderful, light and crispy puff pastry is beyond me. But, I still love learning about it as well as learning about the rest of the bakery. The American Patisserie inspired bakery is filled with pastries, artisan breads, cakes, and other French inspired baked goods with added American flare, all made daily from scratch. It is the perfect place for me to learn everything about both French inspired pastries and artisan breads! 


So, my time at Scratch helped inspire me with this apricot tart. I've seen one made there before and since then I couldn't get the beautiful circular design of the apricots out of my head. I researched two parts of the tart online, the puff pastry recipe and the frangipane recipe and adapted them together to create this great summer tart. 


Here is the recipe: 


Puff Pastry recipe from Cooking.com:

• 4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 C cold butter (1 pound)
• 1 1/4 C cold ice water

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and salt. Cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch-thick slices (not cubes). Add the butter slices to the flour mixture; toss till butter slices are coated with the flour mixture and are separated. Pour ice water over the flour mixture. Using a spoon, quickly mix (butter will remain in large pieces and flour will not be completely moistened).
2. Turn out dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough 10 times by pressing and pushing dough together to form a rough-looking ball. Shape dough into a rectangle (dough still will have some dry-looking areas). Make the corners as square as possible. Slightly flatten dough.
3. Working on a well-floured surface, roll the dough into an 18x15-inch rectangle. Fold crosswise into thirds to form a 15x6-inch rectangle. Give dough a quarter turn, then fold crosswise into thirds to form a 5x6-inch rectangle and to create 9 layers. Repeat the rolling, folding, turning, and folding process once more, forming a 5x4-inch rectangle. Wrap dough with plastic wrap. Chill for 20 minutes. Repeat the rolling and folding process 2 more times. Before using, chill dough for 20 minutes more. 

Frangipane (Almond Cream) recipe adapted from Joy of Baking:

• 1/2 C chopped blanched or natural almonds (or almond meal)
• 1 tbl all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C granulated sugar
• 3 tbl unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt

1. In your food processor, place the almonds, sugar, and flour. Process until finely ground. Then add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate.

Assembling the Tart:

• About 1 pound of ripe apricots, pitted and quartered 
• Any fruit glaze you may want to add after baking

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Once the puff dough has finished chilling, roll it out keeping a circular shape and place in your 12 inch tart pan. Trim off any overhanging edges. Fork the bottom of the dough and place parchment paper on the bottom surface. Add dry beans while baking to help the shell keep its shape. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, after remove the beans and evenly apply the frangipane to the entire bottom surface of the tart. 
2. Now apply the quartered apricots in a circular pattern starting on the outside edge. You will create about 3 circles of apricots, depending on the size of the fruit. Place the tart back in the oven for about 10-15 more minutes. 
3. Let the tart cool for a bit and add a glaze if you wish. Serve warm!

xo, A

Fruit-Filled Hand Pies

 {homemade mixed berry spread}

 {quick photo shoot of Packer while the hand pies baked}

I've never made fruit-filled hand pies before, but I was clearly inspired after making hand pies at my pastry internship at Scratch Baked Goods, in Long Beach, California. I've made a number of pies before, including this strawberry rhubarb pie, and the crust at the bottom is always soggy, and never as flakey and light as the crust. So, some genius created the idea of folding the insides of a pie with the same flakey crust dough to create the same experience, but in a neater and cleaner way. 

You can fill these hand pies with any jam, fruit spread, chopped fruit, pie filling or fruit butter, and the crust will always turn out flakey and light. No more runny insides of a pie that can seriously ruin your day once you slice it (...that has happened to me), but now create smaller, more convenient and equally delicious baked goods for everyone to enjoy. 

Here is the recipe: 

Patee Brisee by Martha Stewart 

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 C) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
• 1/2 C ice water, plus more if needed

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, and salt; pulse to combine. Add butter, and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some larger pieces remaining, about 10 seconds. (To mix by hand, combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry blender.)
2. With the machine running, add ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, just until dough holds together without being wet or sticky. Do not process more than 30 seconds. Test by squeezing a small amount of the dough together; if it is still too crumbly, add a bit more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Turn out dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into flattened rectangles. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Assembling the hand pies:

adapted by Martha Stewart 

• About 2 C of fruit, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (I used thinly sliced Granny Smith apples as well as homemade mixed berry spread)
• 1 tbl granulated sugar (for the apple slices)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (for the apple slices)
• 1 tbl cornstarch mixed with the zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 orange's juice (for the apple   slices)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Once the dough has chilled for at least one hour, roll it out and cut out as many 5-inch circles as you can. 
3. With a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. Working with one circle at a time, place 2 tablespoons of your fruit mixture in the center. Brush two connecting edges with beaten egg and fold on the diagonal over the filling, pressing to seal. Repeat process with remaining squares.
4. Repeat entire process with remaining pate brisee. Place hand pies on prepared baking sheet. Brush pies with remaining egg wash. Using a paring knife, make three cuts in the dough at the top of the hand pie to allow any steam to escape.  
5. Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until crusts are golden brown and filling is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve warm.

xo, A

My Five Favorites

Happy summer everyone! As I am busy with internships at 2 bakeries (posts coming soon about this!), I am starting a new column called 'My Five Favorites', where I will post five pictures from other posts on various food blogs. These five posts will either show a great recipe we should all try, beautiful pictures of food, or something unique or interesting in the food blogging world. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts! What are your favorite posts of the week?

{Cider Caramel Apple Pie from Honey and Jam - just the name of the pie reminds me of my favorite time to bake - in the fall!}

{Mint Chocolate Cookies and Cream Ice Cream from The Homesick Texan - when it was Girl Scout season in the spring, I wish I had made Thin Mint ice cream... this recipe sounds pretty similar!}

{Triple Berry Summer Buttermilk Bundt from Smitten Kitchen - I love anything with mixed berries, the perfect summer treat}

{Cherry Hand Pies from My Baking Addiction - these hand pies look light, crispy and oozing with warm cherry juice!}

{last, but definitely not least, Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls from Love From the Oven - I must try this recipe, since I am a huge sucker for cinnamon rolls in the morning... especially my favorite homemade brioche cinnamon rolls!}

xo, A