Little Golden Fruits

Two apricot trees grew beside the house I grew up in. They were not very big, but every summer they yielded bowls and bowls of little golden fruits which my mother made into jam, platz, and upside down cakes. 

This tart is another way to enjoy the flavor-packed globes of summer. I found it on the Epicurious website. It's not very sweet, in fact, some of the reviewers  found it too tart. I adjusted the recipe slightly from the original. My personal reviewer thought it was just perfect! But then, he usually does.

Apricot Tart

Pastry:

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tablespoons finely ground almonds

1 1/2 cups flour

2 additional Tablespoons ground almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the melted butter and the sugar in a medium bowl. Add the extracts, salt, first amount of almonds and the flour. Stir to form a soft, cookie-like dough. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Transfer the dough to the pan. Using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry along the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle the additional 2 Tablespoons of ground almonds over the bottom.

Bake 15 minutes. (I placed the tart pan on a baking sheet before sliding it into the oven.)

Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used 2 %)

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon flour sifted with 1 Tablespoon icing (powdered) sugar

About 1 1/2 pounds fresh apricots, pitted and halved (do not peel)

icing sugar for garnish

Combine the cream, yogurt, egg yolks, extracts and honey in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the flour/icing sugar mixture. Pour gently over the pastry in the pan. Place the apricot halves, cut sides up, in concentric circles around the pan, slightly overlapping them.

Bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with icing sugar. Cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar again just before serving.

Best served warm, although I put a slice in the microwave for 10 seconds and am eating it as I write this. Slightly tart, a crust with a hint of chew, creamy filling! 


("It's wonderful!" she says, smacking her lips.)