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