Apricot And Berry Tart Recipes

APRICOT TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese and flour until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. , For filling, in a small saucepan, bring apricots and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain. Add the pecans, sugar, marmalade, cinnamon and cloves; set aside., Shape dough into 24 balls. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. Spoon filling into cups. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For topping, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon a dollop onto each tart. Store in the refrigerator.

BRANDIED APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg yolk. Gradually add milk, tossing with a fork until a ball forms., Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 11-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 350°., In a small saucepan, combine preserves and brandy; cook and stir over low heat until melted. Brush 2 tablespoons over crust. Arrange apricots over crust and brush with preserve mixture. , Bake 18-22 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

APRICOT BLACKBERRY TART

Steps:

• Prepare cookie-crust dough. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake shell until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.
• When tart shell is completely cool, fill with pastry cream, using a small offset spatula to smooth top. Arrange apricot wedges in a ring around outer edge of tart. Fill center with blackberries.
• Place apricot jam and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan over medium heat until warm and thin. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve. Using a pastry brush, coat apricots and blackberries with jam. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

APRICOT AND BERRY TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees, and have ready an ungreased 8-inch tart pan with removable bottom. In a medium bowl, toss together the apricots, berries, and 4 tablespoons sugar. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, butter, egg yolk, and vanilla; pulse until dough begins to come together. Press dough into tart pan; set pan on a baking sheet. Bake until golden and slightly puffy, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Using a spatula, gently flatten bottom of crust.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Arrange fruit in crust. Bake 30 minutes; sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until apricots are juicy and tender, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Remove tart from frame; serve with whipped cream, if desired.

APRICOT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• 1 You will need a 28cm (11in) round, loose-bottomed fluted tart tin, 3-4cm (1¼-1½in) deep. Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/ Gas 5, and slip a heavy baking sheet inside to heat up. 2 First make the pastry, either by mixing the flour and butter in a food processor or by hand - rubbing the flour and butter together with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and mix in briefly, then add the egg and ½-1 tablespoon of water. Mix until the dough just holds together. 3 Roll the pastry out on a floured surface as thinly as possible, 1-2mm (1/16in) thick, and use to line the tin, making a small lip around the top. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork. 4 Next make the frangipane filling. Place the butter and sugar in the food processor (no need to wash this out first) and whizz until creamy, blend in the eggs, then mix in the ground almonds and almond extract. Alternatively, beat together with a wooden spoon if making by hand. 5 Arrange the apricot slices over the base of the pastry and spoon the frangipane mixture on top, spreading it evenly to cover the apricots. 6 Sit the tart tin on the hot baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the tart is golden brown. 7 To finish, make a glacé icing by mixing together the icing sugar and apricot juice, adding enough juice to give a pouring consistency and for the icing to hold its shape. Using a spoon, zigzag the icing over the tart and leave to set. 8 Remove the tart from the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm or cold. TIPS: Sprinkling extra ground almonds on the cooked pastry base before adding the apricots helps to absorb extra moisture. The apricots need to be as dry as possible to prevent the juice soaking into the pastry. Dry each one individually with kitchen paper. An easy way of removing the tart from the tin is to stand the tart tin on one or two tins or jars; the ring around the tart can then be lowered to your work surface, leaving the tart on the base of the tin. Slide the tart off the base on to a serving plate.

VERLET'S APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
• Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23cm) fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside.
• Make the pastry:
• In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and the sugar, and using a wooden spoon, stir to blend. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to form a soft, cookie-like dough. Transfer the dough to the center of the buttered pan. Using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. The pastry will be quite thin.
• Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake unitl the dough is slightly puffy and set, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the crust. (This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.)
• Meanwhile make the filling:
• In a medium-size bowl, combine the crème fraîche, egg, extracts and honey and whisk to blend. Whisk in the flour.
• Pour the filling evenly over the pastry. Starting just inside the edge of the pan, neatly overlap the halved apricots, cut side up, at an angle. Arrange in two or three concentric circles, working toward the center. Fill in the center with the remaining apricots.
• Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. The apricots will shrivel slightly. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Place the tart on a rack to cool. Sprinkle again with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

APRICOT & RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Let the filo come to room temperature for about 10 mins before use. Put a baking tray into the oven and heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• Brush each large sheet of filo with melted butter, layer on top of each other, then fold in half so you have a smaller rectangle 6 layers thick. If using small sheets just stack on top of each other. Fold in the edges of the pastry base to make a 2cm border, then spread the apricot conserve inside the border. Carefully slide the pastry base on to the hot baking tray and bake for 5 mins.
• Remove from oven, arrange apricots over the tart and brush with any leftover melted butter. Bake for another 10 mins, then scatter on raspberries and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for a final 10 mins until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.