APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Slice the apricots 3/4-inch thick, discarding the pits. Place the apricots in the prebaked tart shell in a decorative pattern. Set aside.
• Combine the sugar, egg yolks, and cream in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Stir in the flour and salt. Carefully pour the creamy mixture over the apricots.
• Sprinkle the almonds over the top of the tart. Bake until the custard is almost completely set, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg and cream together. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and butter. Using the paddle attachment on low speed, mix in the butter until it is the size of small peas. With the mixer on low speed, add the egg mixture. Mix the dough just until it is no longer dry looking. It will still be loose and crumbly at this point.
• Place the dough on the work surface. With your hands, combine and form the dough into a single ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm but still malleable.
• Roll out dough and fit it into a 9 1/2-inch tart shell. Prebake the shell in a preheated 325 degree F oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes
• Yield: 1 (9 1/2-inch) tart shell

APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• For crust
• Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter; cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in vanilla and and enough water to form moist clumps. Knead dough briefly on work surface to combine; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer dough to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press dough into pan; trim excess dough. Freeze crust 30 minutes.
• Place tart pan on baking sheet. Bake crust until light golden, piercing with toothpick if crust bubbles, about 25 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool crust on sheet. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar, flour, brandy, yolks and vanilla in processor; blend until smooth. Arrange apricot quarters cut side down in prepared crust. Pour custard over. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake tart on baking sheet until apricots are tender and filling is puffed and set, about 30 minutes. Cool tart on rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• Push pan bottom up to free tart from pan. Cut tart into wedges and serve.

TIETON APRICOT TART WITH BASIL CUSTARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, almond meal, 1 tablespoon sugar, lemon zest, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is in pea-sized crumbles. Stir in buttermilk until dough comes together.
• Press dough evenly over the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 12x16-inch tart pan or sheet pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Place pan on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Whisk egg yolks, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch together in a heavy-bottomed pot. Whisk in milk. Add whole basil sprigs.
• Cook milk mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to steam, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Remove basil sprigs with tongs and discard. Whisk vigorously until custard thickens, about 1 minute.
• Set a wire mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour custard into the strainer; use a rubber spatula to press it through the strainer into the bowl. Whisk vanilla extract into the custard. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours.
• Pour cooled custard over crust; spread evenly to edges of crust with a rubber spatula. Arrange apricot slices on top.
• Scoop apricot jam into a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave on high until melted, about 1 minute. Brush jam over apricot slices.

APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Make the pastry in the usual way.
• Roll pastry out and line an 11" shallow, fluted flan tin (with a removable base).
• Line with either foil or greaseproof paper, and baking beans or rice.
• Bake'blind' for 25 minutes@ 400'F (Gas mark 6)-to dry the base of the flan case.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
• TO MAKE THE CUSTARD: blend together the eggs, sugar and flour.
• Boil the milk and pour onto the egg mixture.
• Stir well, and return to to the pan bringing to the boil and simmering for 2-3 minutes until thick.
• Remove from the heat and stir frequently to avoid a skin forming.
• Add the vanilla extract.
• Allow the custard to cool then spread it onto the base of the flan case.
• Drain the fruit and arrange on top of the custard.
• Put the arrowroot in a pan, blend in the fruit juice and simmer until thick.
• Stir in the apricot brandy.
• Spoon or brush the arrowroot glaze over the fruit and leave until set.

APRICOT HAZELNUT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• FOR THE PASTRY CRUST: Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. In a large bowl, combine flours, ground hazelnuts and salt. Grate frozen butter into flour mixture. Add cold water tablespoon by tablespoon, stirring with a fork after each addition, until dough forms (stop adding water before all of the flour mixture sticks to the ball of dough that has formed). Knead lightly until all flour is combined - you should still see lighter spots of butter though (when the dough bakes, these spots of butter will melt and create flaky layers of pastry). Roll out the dough to ½ cm thickness. Cover bottom of tart pan (with removable bottom) and blind bake the tart crust at 375°F / 190°C for 10 minutes, removing the weights after 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while preparing the filling. FOR THE FILLING: Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. In a medium-sized bowl, combine sugar, flour and ½ cup ground hazelnuts. Beat in with a whisk eggs, whipping cream, vanilla and butter. Sprinkle 3 tbsp of ground hazelnuts on the pre-baked tart crust. Place quartered apricots on the ground hazelnuts. Pour custard over apricots, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Bake for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and custard is firm.

APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• For crust blend flour sugar and salt in processor 5 seconds.
• Add butter, cutting in using on/off turns until mixture resembled coarse meal.
• Mix in vanilla and enough water to form moist clumps.
• Knead dough briefly on work surface to combine and flatten into disk.
• Cover with plastic and chill until firm --at least two hours or 1/2 hour in freezer.
• Preheat oven to 375 .
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round.
• Transfer to 11-inch diameter tart pan with removable bottom.
• Gently press dough into pan, trimming excess dough.
• Freeze 30 minutes.
• Place pan on baking sheet and bake until light golden about 25 minutes.
• If crust bubbles, prick with tooth pick.
• Cool crust. For filling: Combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar, flour, brandy, yolk and vanilla in processor and blend until smooth.
• Arrange apricot pieces cut side down in cooled crust. Pour custard over fruit. Sprinkle with remaining 3 Tbsp of sugar.
• Bake tart on baking sheet until apricots are tender and filling is puffed and set --anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.
• Test with tooth pick.
• Cool to room temper- ature. Brush pan bottom up to free tart and serve.

APRICOT CUSTARD TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325-degrees F.
• Place baked tart shell on baking sheet. Set aside.
• Cut apricots into wedges and arrange in tart shell.
• In a bowl whisk together sugar, yolks and cream.
• Stir in flour and salt. Stir to combine.
• Pour cream/yolk mixture over apricots.
• Sprinkle almonds over all.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes or until custard is set.