Sweet apricots with homemade pastry and frangipane are a match made in heaven in this classic dessert
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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Published
A delicate almond-pastry tart filled with delicious frangipane and ripe apricots.
Requires chilling time
Overview
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
1 hr
15 mins
Serves
6
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 170g plain flour
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 35g ground almonds
- 170g butter, cold and diced
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tsp amaretto
For the frangipane
- 35g unsalted butter
- 35g golden caster sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp amaretto
- 35g blanched almonds, freshly ground
- 35g plain flour
For the filling
- 1kg ripe apricots, halved and stoned
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- 35g flaked almonds
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Step
To make the pastry, blitz 170g plain flour, 50g golden caster sugar, 35g ground almonds and a pinch of salt in a processor for a few seconds. Add 170g cold and diced butter and blend until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 1 egg yolk and ½ tsp amaretto. Blend again until the mix forms a ball.
Step
Form this into a salami shape (but don’t overwork it), about 5cm in diameter. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least two hours.
Step
For the frangipane, cream 35g unsalted butter and 35g golden caster sugar until light and creamy. Gradually add 1 large lightly beaten egg, mixing well after each addition. Add ½ tsp amaretto and stir in 35g freshly ground blanched almonds and 35g plain flour.
Step
Almond pastry is difficult to roll out so don’t try. Just cut the chilled log into slices about the thickness of a pound coin. Put these, overlapping, into a loose-bottomed 20cm tart tin, also lining the sides. Press the pastry into shape, making it as even as possible, with the sides a little thicker than the base. Cover with clingfilm and freeze for about 20 minutes.
Step
Spread the frangipane on the base of the tart – it won’t look as if there is much, but it puffs up.
Step
Preheat the oven to 180C/170C fan/Gas 4.
Step
Toss 1kg stoned apricot halves with 4 tbsp caster sugar. Lay them, almost vertically and slightly overlapping, on top of the frangipane. They will shrink during cooking.
Step
Bake for 30 minutes, then take out the tart and turn down the heat to 150C/140C fan/Gas 2. Sprinkle with 35g flaked almonds and dust on some icing sugar, then return to the oven for a further 45 minutes.
Step
Leave in the tin to cool to room temperature, then transfer to a plate. Dust with a little more icing sugar. Serve immediately – this is a tender pastry. Eat the day it is made.
Recipe from How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry (Octopus, £25). Download a copy for £3.99 from books.telegraph.co.uk.