June 27, 2013
Rob
6

[Daring Bakers] Apricot tart

Last month unfortunately I was not able to participate in the Daring Bakers’ challenge, because I had to focus on preparing my pastry exam.

Now I’m “free”, though, so I found the time to work on the Daring Bakers’ challenge for June: “Life of pie”!

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie! Smile

 

The challenge

We were given four alternatives: an American-style Crack pie, a modern Chocolate and caramel tart, an Italian-style crostata and a grandma-style traditional double-crust fruit pie.

I still had some jam and canned fruits left from my exam rehearsal (I swear I used canned fruits just to be trained for my exam!) so it was very easy to opt for an apricot “crostata”!

For the challenge, crostate were considered as nothing more and nothing less than tarts filled with fruit preserves or pastry cream and fresh fruits. I would say that crostata is just the translation of tart… 🙂

Apricot tart - Step 10

I made my own lemon-flavoured shortbread tart dough by following a recipe by Italian pastry chef Iginio Massari, then I filled it with apricot jam and canned apricots and finally topped it with a lemon marmalade.

Apricot tart - Step 14

What I liked the most about this tart was the way to assemble and decorate it: the tart was actually made of a bottom layer with two rings on top, a technique that leaves quite some space for simple decorations on the border.

Just don’t under-cook it like I did, and enjoy! 🙂

 

Shortbread tart dough

Print recipe

Ingredients

250gPastry flour (sifted)
200gUnsalted butter (cold)
100gPowdered sugar
15gHoney
25gEggs ((1/2 egg, slightly beaten))
1 pinchSalt
Zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoonVanilla seeds

Directions

1
Put the flour and the diced butter in a bowl
2
Mix together the two ingredients quickly (to keep the butter cold) by using the tip of your fingers only. Do not overmix and stop when you obtain a coarse mixture (the so-called "sable"/"sand").
3
Add the remaining ingredients and mix by hand to obtain a homogeneous dough
4
If necessary, to avoid overmixing, you can knead with the palm of your hand once or twice maximum (technique: put the dough in front of you; starting from the farthest end, push a small amount of dough away with the palm of your hand; repeat until all the dough has been "pushed away")
5
Wrap in a plastic film, flatten and store for 12 hours

Note

  • It is very important that the butter be cold when mixed with the flour: the purpose of the "sablage" method is to isolate the flour with particles of fat; if the fat is not cold enough, this action cannot be performed correctly
  • This recipe is very rich in butter, so the dough should definitely rest for hours in the fridge, otherwise it will be too difficult to roll out
  • The unbaked dough can be stored in the fridge for 2 days or in the freezer for 3-4 months. Baked tart doughs can be stored for several days in a dry environment away from light and air.

 

Apricot tart

Print recipe

Ingredients

400-500gShortbread tart dough
As neededApricot jam
As neededLemon jam
6-8Canned apricots (strained)

Directions

1
Roll out the tart dough to about 7mm thick, prick with a fork and cut a round of the same size of your tart ring. This will be the bottom of the tart.
2
Repeat step 1 without pricking the dough and cut a smaller round in the middle (leaving a 2cm border). Place the outer ring on top of the bottom layer from the previous step.
3
Repeat step 2 so that you have a bottom round and two rings on top of it. Ideally the tart shell should be as high as the tart ring
4
You can decorate the tart border with a dough cutter by making simple lines. Let the dough rest at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
5
Fill the tart shell with the apricot jam
6
Place the canned apricots tidily around the border and in the center
7
Glaze the apricots with lemon jam
8
Bake at 180° C for at least 40 minutes (in any case until golden brown)

Note

Working with dough rings is quite tough in warm weather as they will not hold their shape well when you attempt to place them on the other layers. Don't hesitate to store the dough for some time in the fridge whenever it's needed, even when it's already rolled out: it will be much easier then to handle it.

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