Even though I can't eat any part of this tart, I made it today because I have literally nothing to do with my life and we had a ton of old apricots in the fridge. (...Also I got tired of writing trying to write a not corny, not depressing graduation song, but I'd rather not talk about my completely failed efforts.)
I would describe how this tastes, but I can't do that since I didn't taste it. Shortbread and fruit are pretty self explanatory, but if you have no idea what frangipane is I will try to describe that. Frangipane is basically a baked almond pastry cream that is sort of a cross between marsipan and cake, so its crumbly and light and almond flavored but at the same time soft and moist and sort of creamy. Worst description ever haha.
Anyways, make this! My family devoured 2/3 of the entire pan in like 5 minutes so its really good!
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| please excuse my terrible iPhone picture :) |
Apricot Frangipane Tart with Shortbread Crust
source: my brain (but the frangipane is from the back of the almond meal bag)
Crust:
1/2 cup of melted butter (4 ounces)
1 cup of flour
1 1/2 tbsp of powdered sugar
A pinch of salt
A tiny bit of vanilla extract and a tiny bit of almond extract -- by a tiny bit I mean like two or three drops, really a tiny bit. (You have to be really careful with almond extract especially because it can be pretty strong)
Frangipane
1/4 cup of room temp butter (2 ounces)
1/2 cup of powdered sugar (I put a little less, so minus 2 tsp?)
1 large egg
3/4 cup of almond meal (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
2 tbs of flour
1/8 and a tiny bit more of almond extract
Fruit! Any stone fruit would work I think, or something else like an apple or pear, whatever is in your fridge (thats my philosophy at least).
Just slice it thin (1/8 inch or so) so that it cooks nice and thoroughly in the oven, and try to make the pieces relatively uniform so that your design looks pretty later.
I used like 4 apricots.
Crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients for the crust (flour, sugar and salt) in a bowl and pour the melted butter in the center with the few drops of vanilla and almond extract.
Stir it all up until the dough is formed (should be in a ball)
Press the dough into a pan and create little edges (like a pie crust on the sides of the pan).
Bake until lightly golden on top (about 10-12 minutes).
Let cool a little.
Frangipane:
Raise the heat to 375 degrees.
Cream the butter and powdered sugar, until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.
Mix the egg, flour, almond meal and almond extract into the butter/sugar mixture (again with the electric mixer) until it has a paste-like consistency.
Assembly:
Spread the frangipane evenly over the shortbread crust. Next arrange the fruit in rows or a spiral (anything pretty) but leave little spots for the frangipane underneath the fruit so basically create a thin layer of fruit (don’t pile a ton of fruit on top).
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| I lined up the apricot slices in the three rows like this, with the edges overlapping, so that I could fit as much fruit as possible (because the fruit shrinks when cooked). |
Bake the whole thing for about 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven) until the crust looks golden through the glass, and the little pieces of frangipane that pop up through the fruit are golden brown. Also, the fruit should look cooked, so a little crispy and shriveled around the edges.
Let it cool a little bit and then slice it however your heart desires! You can serve it hot or let it cool for a bit longer and serve it at room temperature -- really whatever floats your boat. (My brother just stuck his in the freezer for a few minutes.)
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
