With the recent homemade vs store-bought debate in French restaurant legislation, puff pastry falls on the side of quality items that restaurants are generally allowed not to produce in-house.
At home? It’s your own call. Puff pastry is time consuming and requires a certain finesse and, personally, I don’t see anything wrong with having some waiting for you in the freezer.
It certainly makes baking this tart much faster. Just roll out the pastry thinly and flour lightly.
I love apricots and this tart is all easy sunshine and sunny indulgences. Bon appétit!
Apricot almond tart
You’ll need:
- one sheet puff pastry
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- 10-12 ripe apricots, depending on size
- 1/4 cup vanilla sugar
- 2 T honey
- 1/3 cup water
- a handful (or more) blanched whole almonds
1. Roll out the pastry thinly, flour lightly, prick lightly with a fork all over, and drape into whatever cake pan or baking dish you’re using. Refrigerate while making the filling.
2. Wash and pit apricots, cut them in half (or smaller, depending on size) and divide up in half – keep half fresh and cook the rest.
3. Heat up a deep pan, place half of the apricots face down in the pan with 1/3 cup water. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and honey.
Cook until the apricots are tender and syrupy, but not falling apart.
4. Preheat oven to 365F. Take the dough out of the fridge. Layer fresh apricots “face” up in the middle of the tart. Place an almond inside each half. Then, place the cooked apricots all around in a single layer. Top with most of the syrup, reserving about a T for glazing later.
5. Crimp the edges of the tart and brush with egg wash. Bake until golden brown and puffy.
Let cool slightly, then glaze with remaining syrup – this will give the tart a nice sheen.
Top with a few more almonds, if desired, and serve on its own or with a lot of fresh whipped cream or a scoop of greek yogurt.
This is so absolutely gorgeous Ksenia! Apricots are one of my favorite summer stone fruit and this dessert is perfect. I adore puff pastry… I too don’t bother making my own. So much fuss. Lol! I do keep some in the freezer for the occasional pastry making whim. Lovely as always!
They are one of my favorites as well! So wonderful baked or fresh.
Lovely tart, Ksenia. Apricots and almonds are a match made in heaven. I usually see similar recipes calling for pâte sablée, but love your use of puff pastry! And like you, I have no problems buying the ready-made sheets, as long as they are labelled “pur beurre”. Once a year I make my own, and it is a very satisfying experience, but most of the time, I can’t be bothered!
Definitely “pur beurre!” I remember the day every class in culinary school was making puff pastry and you just heard rolling pin banging and banging away 🙂
What a beautiful tart, Ksenia. I would be very eager to make it…but I need the prepared puff pastry for sure. I can’t imagine taking the time to make that at home. I don’t think it would add enough to be worth the effort. The color in this tart is just exquisitely appealing. 🙂
Thanks so much, Debra! I don’t think you lose anything significant by not making it yourself. As long as it’s high quality and buttery and flaky, it will just serve to enhance those apricots which is really what this tart is all about!
One of mt favourites..delicious. I’m going to try something similar with white peaches today.
Thank you, Roger! Looking forward to the peaches 🙂
This looks delicious! I have just been invited to my neighbour’s garden to pick all the plums I want and I think a tart is just around the corner – using plums instead of apricots might just work perfectly in this recipe. Maybe hazels instead of almonds, or pecans. Thanks for the recipe!
And concerning the French debate: I hope it reached far out from the borders of France! A friend of mine in Scotland claimed educated chefs there were microwaving more than they were chopping – a sad develoment. (And it’s no better in Norway!)
What a wonderful invitation, and those all sound like delicious combinations, Anne! I like plums with hazelnuts too.
I think it’s generally received more press in France since it is so well-known as a “culinary” nation, but I agree, it should be an important topic everywhere!
Love puff pastry as it makes putting together a dessert so easy. Such pretty photos so I pinned them. Take Care, BAM
Thanks so much! I agree, especially in the summer, it makes coming up with a dessert so wonderfully easy, with less time spent in front of the very hot oven!