Apricot Almond Oven Tart
- Sweet
- Oven
A buttery shortcrust base spread with a soft almond and egg filling and topped with halved apricots. Baked in the oven until the fruit is tender and the edges are golden, it is a dense, tender tart rather than a light one.
- Total
- 2 h 05
- Prep 30 · Cook 65 · Rest 30
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Hard
You'll practice: Creaming butter · Kneading
Instructions
-
Heat the oven to 180°C. Grind the almonds in a food processor until they resemble coarse crumbs.
~5 min
Grinding almonds to coarse crumbs creates a tender filling; over-processing releases oils and turns them into paste.
-
Cut 80 g of the butter into cubes. Rub it into the flour and salt with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs, then stir in 40 g of the sugar. Add the 2 tbsp water a spoonful at a time and press the dough together into a ball.
~8 min
Rubbing cold butter into flour coats it in fat, which limits gluten development and keeps the pastry short and crumbly.
Kneading Press the dough together just until it forms a ball; overworking develops gluten and makes the pastry tough.
-
Press the dough evenly across the base and up the sides of the tart tin. Chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes so it firms up and holds its shape.
~30 min
Chilling firms the butter so the pastry holds its shape and resists shrinking during baking.
If the pastry cracks while you press it in, patch it with a little warm dough rather than adding water, which would make the base tough.
-
While step 3 waits
While the pastry chills, melt the remaining 40 g butter in a small bowl set in the warm oven for a few minutes. Whisk the eggs with the remaining 50 g sugar until pale, then stir in the ground almonds and melted butter to make a soft filling.
~5 min
Whisking eggs with sugar until pale incorporates air, giving the filling a lighter texture before the almonds weigh it down.
Creaming butter Whisk eggs and sugar until pale and thickened; this incorporates air for a lighter filling. Stop before over-whisking, which can make it grainy.
-
Halve and stone the apricots. Spread the almond filling over the chilled pastry and press the apricot halves in cut side up, spacing them evenly.
~7 min
-
Bake on the middle shelf for 40 to 45 minutes, until the filling is set and lightly golden and the apricots are tender when pierced with a knife.
~45 min
The filling sets when the eggs coagulate; a knife inserted near the centre should come out clean to show it is cooked through.
The filling is set when a knife inserted near the centre comes out clean; a slight wobble is fine because it firms as it cools.
-
Leave the tart to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before lifting it out, so the filling firms up and slices cleanly.
~30 min
Cooling allows the filling to set fully, so it slices cleanly instead of crumbling.
