There were six beautiful apricots on my little apricot tree this year – this is my biggest harvest to date and I am proud of it. I wanted to make the most of them (with a few extras from the big crate Tim bought this week, to make up the numbers) and an apricot tart seemed fitting. This was a bit of an experiment because I wasn’t sure if the pastry cream would hold up as the tart baked, or whether it would ooze out before the puff pastry started to rise. Happily, it worked out and I was left with a buttery flaky tart with a creamy vanilla custard and sweet sharp apricots.
I used my friend Molly’s recipe for the pastry cream/crème pâtissière – I’ve mentioned Molly before but in case you don’t know, Molly trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and has a brilliant online pastry school. She is a great teacher and breaks things down so simply. You can find out more about her here – her book – French Pastry Made Simple – is great too and I use it all the time.
Serve 8
For the crème pâtissière
3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
15g plain flour
10g cornflour
300ml whole milk
15g butter – room temperature
10g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the tart
1 package ready-roll all-butter puff pastry
1 egg – for glazing
12 apricots
Icing sugar
2 tbsp apricot jam
A splash of amaretto (optional)
To make the pastry cream whisk together the egg yolks and 50g of caster sugar for 30 seconds until it turns pale yellow in colour (you can do this by hand). Then whisk in the plain flour and cornflour and slowly pour in 60ml of milk whisking all the time. The milk loosens the mixture a little making it easier to whisk in the warm milk later on.
In a medium saucepan mix the remaining 240ml milk, 15g butter, 10g of sugar and the vanilla. Heat over a medium heat until it starts to simmer. Stir once or twice as you wait just to let the sugar dissolve – this little bit of sugar stops the milk from catching.
When the milk comes to a simmer, turn off the heat and pour it slowly into the egg yolk mix, whisking all the time. Pour everything back into the saucepan. Cook over a medium high heat, whisking constantly for several minutes – you’ll feel the custard slowly thicken as it comes to the boil. When it boils continue to whisk for 30 seconds to ensure its smooth and that it will set. Pour into a clean bowl and cover the top of the pastry cream with cling film to stop a skin forming. You can make this a few days in advance – see note.
To make the tart
Pre-heat the oven to 200c/400f.
Unroll the puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Gently score a line about 2cm in from the edge of the pastry to make an edge to your tart and brush with beaten egg. Spread the pastry cream over the pastry base, easing it up to your scored line.
Cut the apricots in half and remove the stones. Arrange them neatly around the tart on top of the pastry cream. Sprinkle generously with icing sugar (if your apricots are quite tart you might want to be really generous with the icing sugar).
Bake the tart for 30 minutes at 200c/400f – you want the pastry to be a deep golden brown and crisp and for some of the sugar on the apricots to char a little.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly on a cooling rack while you make the glaze. Warm the apricot jam and a splash of amaretto or water in a small pan until smooth and runny. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze, generously, over the apricots to give them an extra shine. Leave to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.
Note
You can make the pastry cream a good three days in advance. Cover it with cling film as above and allow to cool before storing in the fridge. It will be quite solid and jelly like once chilled, but give it a good whisk to loosen it up and smooth out the texture, then use as directed.
