Apple Tart With Almonds And Apricot Jam Recipes

SUPER APPLE AND ALMOND TART FROM BRENDAN LYNCH

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Mix flour, salt, and caster sugar together in a medium-sized bowl.
• Rub butter into flour to resemble fine breadcrumbs.
• Add egg and just enough milk to form soft/firm dough.
• Knead for a minute, shape into ball and put on plate and cover with Clingfilm and let rest for 20 minutes in fridge.
• Grease a 9-inch fluted or un-fluted tart tin.
• Roll out pastry to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Transfer to tin and press the pastry into sides with a small ball of dough. Leave about a 1 inch overhang of pastry and cut the rest away with a scissors.
• Line pastry with non-stick parchment paper so that it projects beyond the pastry. Fill to near top with rice or beans ensuring that the sides are supported by the dry material. Let stand for 20 minutes in fridge. This recovery period will reduce pastry shrinkage during baking.
• Preheat oven to 355F or 180 C for 15 minutes. Have an egg white that is lightly beaten ready to seal pastry before second bake.
• Transfer to preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes.
• Remove from oven and using the parchment to help you, lift the dry contents away from the pastry shell. Prick the base all over with a fork to reduce puffing up. Brush the pastry shell with the egg white.
• Return to oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. You are partially baking the shell which will complete its baking with the almond cream and apples.
• Remove from oven and let cool on rack.
• Peel and quarter the apples and remove core with seeds. Slice the quarters thinly.
• Put the butter and sugar in a bowl, and using a hand-held whisk or a food processor, combine until the mixture is smooth, light and satiny.
• Add the ground almonds and continue to process until well blended.
• Add the flour and cornflour, whisk again, and then add the egg. Whisk for about 15 seconds more, or until the almond cream is homogeneous.
• Add the rum or vanilla and whisk just to blend.
• Spread mixture over pastry case base and smooth with a small spatula. Or use French custard - crème pâtissière .
• Starting with the outside circle, place overlapping slices of apple all the way round the shell covering the almond cream beneath.
• Do the same with the second inner circle.
• The final inner circle can be completed in this way. Or alternatively, stand each apple slice at a 35 degree angle to form a 'flower-type' pattern in the middle.
• Sprinkle the slices with 85 grams caster sugar.
• Bake in preheated as before for 20 to 25 minutes till apples are soft.
• Make the apricot glaze by gently heating the apricot preserve and water until dissolved.
• Then push through sieve to remove fruit pieces.
• Remove from oven and brush apples slices with the warm glaze.
• Allow to cool and set.

FRESH APPLE TARTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour but not more than 1 day.
• While the dough is chilling, prepare the apple filling.
• In a medium bowl, toss diced apples with sugar and cinnamon. Mix in walnuts.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 16 3-inch tart pans. Remove tart dough from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out.
• Knead dough briefly on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6-inch circle, and carefully fit one circle into each tart pan.
• Spoon an equal amount of apple mixture into each tart pan. Fold pastry over filling. Place filled tarts on a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Melt apricot jam and brush over finished tarts, if desired.

APPLE TART

Steps:

• In a 10-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, heat 3/4 cup sugar, stirring constantly until it is liquefied and golden brown. Remove from the heat. , In a small bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon and remaining sugar. Arrange half the apples in a single layer in skillet. Sprinkle with half the sugar mixture. Arrange half the remaining apples in circular pattern over sugar; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Place remaining apples over all, keeping the top as level as possible. Dot with butter. , Roll out dough to 11-in. circle; place over apples, pressing gently to completely cover. Do not flute. Bake at 400° until apples are tender and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

ALMOND-APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Place apricots and whisky in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and set aside. Turn apricots in warm whisky from time to time while continuing with preparation.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, 1/4 cup ground almonds, salt and granulated sugar in a bowl or food processor. Whisk to combine. By hand or machine, add butter, pulsing or using a pastry blender to make a crumbly mixture. Beat egg yolk with 4 tablespoons cold water and add, mixing or pulsing until ingredients come together to form a dough. Add a little more water as needed.
• Shape pastry into a flattened disk on a floured surface and roll to fit a 9-inch straight-sided tart pan. Prick the bottom. Line with foil and pastry weights and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 10 minutes more, until lightly golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Drain apricots, reserving any whisky. Tightly line pastry shell with apricots. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup ground almonds and confectioners' sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk mascarpone until smooth. Beat 2 remaining eggs and add to mascarpone along with reserved whisky and almond extract. Mix into combined almonds and confectioners' sugar. Pour over apricots in pastry shell.
• Place tart in oven and bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle sliced almonds around the outside edge of the tart filling to form a border about an inch wide. Return to oven and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling is puffed and lightly browned. Remove from oven, place on a rack and let cool to room temperature before serving.