Apricot Frangipane Tart

I like to bake...I have always baked, I like to eat my baking! It's not normal to have pud more than once a week in our house (not counting yogurt and fruit) but tonight is a little celebration.

Apricots are reasonably priced in the greengrocers at the moment, not quite the same as the mounds you get so fresh and cheaply in the markets in France, but this makes a dozen go a long way! I invested in some Amaretto for just such recipes a long time ago, well worth it. This isn't an original recipe, are any recipes original? It's a mish mash of two or three.

Apricot Frangipane Tart

You will need:

Sweet Pastry
500g plain flour
250g butter
175g icing sugar
1 egg

Frangipane filling
75 g caster sugar
75 g unsalted butter at room temperature
50 g plain flour
150 g ground almonds
2 eggs
1 tsp almond essence (optional)

Apricots
10-12 apricots halved and stoned
275 ml water
200g caster sugar
50 ml amaretto (optional)

Glaze
3 tblspn apricot jam
1 tblspn amaretto (or water)

Method
Pre heat oven to 180 deg C (fan)

For pastry :
Sieve flour and sugar into food processor.
Add cut up butter cut and pulse  in small bursts until fine crumbs then add the egg and briefly pulse until it starts coming together.
Turn out and gently knead together and rest the pastry covered in fridge for 30mins +

Meanwhile poach apricots.  Add sugar to water and amaretto (if using) in a large based pan.
Bring to boil and gently slide in apricots, cut side down, turn heat to low at simmer. Simmer for 4-5 mins, be careful they go mushy quickly!
Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool.

For the frangipane filling: cream butter and caster sugar, and add eggs, almonds and flour and beat together (easier to use the food processor that is already dirty!)

Roll out pastry and line tart dish, carefully line with greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake blind at 180 for 6 minutes, remove beans and paper and bake for another 6 minutes.  It’s better to have a baking sheet if using a ceramic dish. Pastry should be dry but barely coloured.

Fill base with frangipane filling and smooth and carefully arrange apricots in concentric circles on top, cut side down starting at the outside.

Bake for around 40 minutes at 160degC (fan)

For the glaze: heat the jam and amaretto or water in a pan or microwave, then sieve. Carefully drizzle on top of warm tart (or brush delicately with a pastry brush, I tend to slop it on) and allow to cool.
Serve with cream, ice cream, crème fraîche or as is!

Eat...that's an order!