Another Summer treat ! Apricot and Almond Tart...

I was in Heaven the other day! My local grocery store (Henry's in North Park for San Diegans) had apricots for sale. Not the hard as a rock kind. No, no, they were soft and ripe, as they should be. And placed in such a tiny display, one would hardly notice. But my eyes are trained ! You see, I grew up in Apricot country, with an apricot jam factory next door. My summer diet consisted of cherries in June & July, apricots in July & August, right off the trees. August & September we could smell the apricot jam in the making. Sweet sweet smell to fall asleep to...Aaaah the memories...

I've been enjoying Henry's apricots for several weeks now. Sweet, soft, sometimes juicy, they are a great snack. Of course, my brain turned into "tarte mode" :) One thing one has to worry about with baking with apricots is the bitterness of the fruit, especially if they are not ripe. One way to remedy that problem is to use leftover apricots that have been sitting so long nobody wants them. You are going to cook them, so who cares ?!! Another way is to pair them with a sweet concoction. Personally I like to marry apricots with almonds, especially almond paste which is very sweet with an underlying bitterness.

Below is my recipe for an apricot/almond tart that I made this week. Interestingly, it tasted more like apricot after a day in the fridge, as if the apricot juices diffused. You won't taste much of the almond unless you add almond flavoring to the selfmade almond paste.

Ingredients:

• Dough: 8 oz flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 4 oz butter, 1 egg, pinch of salt


• Almond paste: 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 oz butter, 1 yolk, vanilla flavor


• Cream: 1/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 2 tablespon marsala, 3/4 cup half and half


• 6-7 apricots

Directions:

1. Prepare the dough as instructed in my second post (with extra almond flour) and place it in the tart pan


2. To make the almond paste, mix the sugar, the almond flour, melted butter, yolk and a little bit of vanilla flavor until it is homogeneous. It should be a bit hard to mix so use a wooden spoon to apply a mashing motion. Place the paste in a thin layer at the bottom of the uncooked crust. Don't be afraid to use your fingers!


3. Place the apricot halves on top, the outside facing up.


4. To prepare the cream, mix the eggs, the sugar, and the marsala, then add the half and half. Mix well and pour on top of the apricots.


5. Bake everything at 370F for 1.5 hour.

Enjoy !