Apricot and Cherry Tart
Julia wrote in “The Way to Cook” — “B.T.F.P.—Before the food processor—it was only the
practiced cook who could produce decent pastry dough. And what a to-do it was.” I followed
her instructions. The dough came together just like she said, but it was touch and go for a while.
I had to roll it out into a thin 13” circle after chilling the dough for 2 hours; I wouldn’t have even
tried it without Julia’s advice. Still, it is easier if you don’t have to rest the dough and roll it out.
That is why the following recipe is so great—you can make a very “decent pastry dough” with
no rolling involved and no food processor either. David Lebovitz has this dessert on his website.
He suggests a recipe for making the dough by melting the butter in the oven, and then pouring
the melted butter into the dry ingredients. This works great and you can do it that way if you
have an overproof bowl. Even easier still: melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the dry
ingredients. Next press the dough into the bottom and sides of your tart pan in an even layer
and prebake till golden.
Easy Pease!
Also, the recipe calls for marzipan in the topping. You can substitute almond paste, which you can purchase online or next to the marzipan in the baking section of your grocery store. Marzipan is slightly sweeter than almond paste, which has a grainier texture, but don’t leave it out because it adds a lot of punch. My husband, who is not a fan of marzipan, loves this tart. The slight tartness of the apricots with the sweet cherries is a great combination; later in the summer you could substitute peaches and raspberries. I love this dessert so much that I buy enough fruit for a couple tarts, halve them, pit them, and freeze them for another tart later in the year.
Serves 8 Adapted from David Lebovitz
Ingredients for dough:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 3 equal pieces
1 tablespoon unflavored oil, canola, grapeseed
3 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Put the butter, oil, and water in a medium saucepan over low heat stirring until melted andbubbling—watch that it doesn’t burn. Take the pan off the heat and add the sugar and salt;combine with a wooden spoon. Next, add the flour and mix until the dough is smooth. Spoon out the dough into 9” tart pan with a removeable bottom. Once the dough (just a coupleminutes) is cool enough to handle, spread it out in an even layer, pressing it into the sides andbottom of the pan with your fingers. If you have any excess dough hanging over the edge of the tin (I didn’t), place the rolling pin on the top of the pan and roll it across the entire shell, to even out the edges. Prick all over with a fork and put into the freezer until your oven is preheated.
Preheat Oven to 400°
When the oven is ready, put the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes. Check to see if the shell has puffed up in the pan, if it has, very gently prick another couple of holes in it to let the steam out. Bake another 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Place on a cooling rack.
While the shell is cooling, make the filling.
Filling:
1 lb. apricots washed, halved, and pitted (if larger, like mine, you can quarter them)
¾ cup cherries, washed, halved, and pitted (12-15)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl, toss with the fruit and set aside while making the topping.
Preheat oven to 375°
Topping:
½ cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup scant crumpled marzipan
½ cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cold butter diced
Combine the sugar and the flour, whisking until smooth. Add the crumpled marzipan. Next rubthe butter into the mixture so that you have a crumb topping. Spoon the fruit mixture into the completely cooled tart shell and sprinkle with the topping. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbling. If it starts to get too brown on top, you can loosely place a piece of tin foil over the top. Let the tart rest at least
20 minutes before serving.
Yummmmmmm