Saturday, July 10, 2010

Apricot almond tart recipe

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The apricots are winding down. The last time I visited my special tree in my friends' front yard, everything within reach was ripe, and I picked it. To celebrate (or perhaps mourn) the end of the season, I made a simple apricot tart with almonds.

Well, not almonds exactly - almond butter. In a flash of inspiration prompted by the realization that I'd used up two pounds of butter in the past week, I decided to make a thin crumble-like topping using just almond butter, sugar, and a bit of flour. I'm told it was a spectacular combination. I didn't eat any myself, as, sadly, I'm currently trying to cut back on sweets and starches - doctor's orders. But I watched the tart disappear in my office. It was gone in less than five minutes, so I'm assuming it was all right.

Note: The crust is borrowed from Amanda Hesser's mother's peach tart, which appears in her wonderful memoir Cooking for Mr. Latte. Don't be put off by the use of olive oil - it makes a very flaky crust with a rich flavor. Also, if you use unsalted almond butter in the topping, add a pinch of salt when mixing it up.



Apricot almond tart
  • 1 1/2 cups plus 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp milk or cream
  • 12-15 apricots, halved and pitted
  • 1/4 cup smooth almond butter (salted)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In an 8-inch square baking pan, stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, the salt, and 1 Tbsp sugar with a fork to combine. In a measuring cup, mix together the olive oil and milk. Pour the liquids into the baking pan and use the fork to mix the dry ingredients with the liquids, stopping when the dough has just come together. With your fingers, press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of the baking pan. Lay the apricots cut-side down in rows over the dough in the pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 3 Tbsp flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and the almond butter with your fingers. Work them together until the mixture looks like wet crumbs. Drop this over the apricots evenly.

Bake the tart about 40 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden and the apricots are juicy and bubbling. Cool to room temperature before slicing.

Apricot on FoodistaApricot

10 comments:

gfe--gluten free easily said...

Very nice tart, Erika! This could easily be made gluten free. And, I use olive oil in baking a lot. It can be great for most recipes, although a little less can be used than say butter. Anyway, thanks for the recipe! I just saw some beautiful apricots at our grocery store. :-)

Shirley

Erika Kerekes said...

Thanks Shirley! I have never done a GF tart shell but someday I might have to, and I know whom to call!

Amy B. said...

Lovely! No wonder it's all gone in an instant, I myself would want to grab a slice right now and reach out the computer, haha :-) Thanks for sharing. Though I don't really bake that much, I would love to give this one a try. Thanks for the recipe. If you don't mind I would like to share your recipe as well to other Foodista readers. If you could just add the foodista widget for apricot at the end of this post and it's all set, thank you :-)

Please keep on posting!

Sarah @ Mum In Bloom said...

This sounds and looks very good. The flavour combination of apricots and almonds - yum! Isn't it great to have friends with fruit trees?

marla {family fresh cooking} said...

I love that you use creamy almond butter in your crumble topping. I think it's genius & I can't wait to give it a try :) xo

Christine said...

Hey Erika,

Thanks for adding the foodista widget in your blog. It looks awesome. I left you a message too in your Foodista profile. Keep adding food widgets to your blog. ;-)

momgateway said...

very lovely dessert I must say...

Erika Kerekes said...

Thanks @momgateway @Sarah and @marla for the compliments! I don't know about genius, but it sure did taste good.

@Christine and @Amy I went a little nuts with the Foodista widgets - I think I added a half-dozen to various posts...will try to get in the habit.

Kim at Rustic Garden Bistro said...

I'm so sad that apricot season is always so short! Everyone on the tree ripens at the same time... then you have a really small window to work with it. Sigh... but this looks delicious. [K]

Christine said...

I add foodista widgets in my blogs too even the semi-food related. a lot of people visit my site when i started using the widgets.
And it's helpful too! I actually found your blog because of the widget. =) looking forward to more of your blogs!

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