Roasted Apricot & Rosemary Tart

Stone fruit season is finally here which means summer desserts are now an essential part of my baking again. Apricots are always the first to come into season, small, bright & mighty, they pair well with so many flavours. Whilst they might be considered a bit of a bland fruit by many, apricots truly come alive when cooked, brining out their beautiful sharp sweetness.

Roasted Apricot & Rosemary Tart

The absolute match made in heaven when it comes to apricots though is when you match them with almonds. One classic French summer dessert that really makes the most of this winning combination is apricot & frangipane tart. A delightful dessert but here in my own version I wanted to up the flavour just a little bit more.

Roasted Apricot & Rosemary Tart

By roasting the apricots in a little amaretto & sugar (two things which will instantly make pretty much anything better), you’ll already have tender, sweet, flavourful apricots to work with. I’ve also added a little garden rosemary into the mix which provided a subtle, perfumed background flavour which again, works wonderfully with the tart, sweet apricots. The whole roasted apricot & rosemary tart is then glazed with a glistening brush or homemade apricot jam & a flourish of flaked almond. A dessert worthy of a patisserie window as much as a garden gathering this summer. Serve with a dollop of thick yogurt or ice cream for a real treat.

Roasted Apricot & Rosemary Tart

ROASTED APRICOT & ROSEMARY TART
(makes one 25cm tart)

Ingredients:

For the roasted apricots:

  • 6 fresh apricots, halved & stoned
  • 3 tbsp amaretto
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp water

For the shortcrust pastry:

  • 250g plain flour
  • 50g icing sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 125g butter, cubed
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 – 2 tbsp cold water

For the filling:

  • 4 tbsp apricot jam
  • 150g butter
  • 165g caster sugar
  • 140g ground almonds
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 5g rosemary, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract

To finish & glaze:

Method:

For the roasted apricots:

  • Begin by placing the halved apricots, cut side up in a roasting dish
  • Drizzle over the amaretto & water before sprinkling over the caster sugar
  • Roast in the oven at 170C for 10-12 minutes, until the apricots are just tender
  • Remove & set aside to cool

For the pastry:

  • To make the pastry begin by combining sifting together the flours & icing sugar into a large bowl
  • Add in the cubed butter to the bowl & using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
  • Add the egg yolk to the bowl & use a spoon to stir through
  • Next add in 1 tbsp of water & stir through, continue to add water sparingly, only adding 1 tbsp at a time, just enough until the mixture starts to clump together
  • Use your hands to finish bringing the mixture together to form a dough
  • Flatten the dough into a shallow disc shape, cover in a beeswax wrap or some cling film & chill in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes (you could even do this the day before)
  • Pre-heat the oven to 180C & roll out the pastry into a large round, to roughly the thickness of a £1 coin, one large enough to fill a 22cm round tart tin
  • Line your tin with the pastry, leaving any excess to hang over the edges of the tin
  • Next, use a fork to prick small holes all over the bottom of your pastry
  • Place a sheet of baking parchment inside the pastry case & fill with baking beans or rice
  • Blind bake the pasty for 10 minutes, remove the beans & parchment & continue to bake for a further 5 minutes until slightly golden in colour
  • Remove the tin from the oven & allow to cool for 10 minutes before trimming off the excess pastry overhanging the sides of the tin

For the filling:

  • To make the filling begin by simply placing all of the ingredient except for the jam into a large bowl & beating together until smooth & spreadable

To assemble the tart:

  • Once the pastry case has cooled, spread the apricot jam evenly over the bottom of the case
  • Then, carefully spread the frangipane filling over the top of the jam, levelling the surface
  • Arrange the roasted apricots on top of the frangipane, pushing them into the mixture slightly
  • Bake the tart in the oven at 180C for 50-60 minutes until golden in colour & the filling has set (a skewer poked in the frangipane should come out cleanly)
  • Remove the tart from the oven & leave to cool in it’s tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack
  • Whilst the tart is cooling, gently heat the apricot jam & use to brush all over the top of the tart
  • Finally, scatter over the flaked almonds

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