French Apricot Tart with Brandied Jam Glaze
No-fuss pie crust topped with caramelized apricots and finished with a brandied jam glaze. Fancy meets stress-free in this slightly tart, perfectly sweet dessert. Like pie, but so much easier.
The story
I’m a little drained, and it’s only Tuesday. It is Tuesday, right? Yesterday I forgot what day it was, which kinda doesn’t matter since I’m a teacher on summer break. But I forgot because my quick house project of replacing the uneven caulking in the shower we built two years ago has turned into resloping the custom shower pan and replacing the tile flooring. So, yeah, that’s been fun. I’ve spent two days chipping out hundreds of 1” mosaic tiles. 900 down, 300 to go.
So, I don’t have a lot to say about the world and my commitment to furthering equality. But I do have two thoughts. One, this meme that I keep seeing and love.
Two, a friendly reminder that name calling people for any of their beliefs or even their political affiliation is the same heart issue that keeps humanity in this vicious cycle. And it’s very un-Christian.
So anyway, dessert! This is a randomly fun dessert that I adapted from Ina Gartin’s French Apple Tart. I used my own all-butter pie crust recipe (which uses a higher fat-to-flour ratio), subbing bread flour for all-purpose (it made a more cake-y crust). I also used apricots (obvs) and threw together a glaze from what I had on hand: raspberry jam and brandy (any number of dark liquors would do but this sounded good).
And bonus: you don’t have to worry about shaping the crust! Just roll it to be somewhat rectangular and you’re good!
How to make this recipe
First, make the dough (which is apparently a pâté brisée). Add flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor or stand mixer with the paddle attachment or bowl with a pastry blender.
Mix for 10-20 seconds until fully combined.
Add butter cubes and freeze for 5 minutes to get everything nice and cold.
Pulse 20-30 times (or mix) until coarse. Some flour will still be dry, some will have large breadcrumb sized bits of butter mixed in.
Add water or vodka (or milk, but that’s not very French 😂). I had no room left in my processor so I did this in a bowl with a spatula. Add it one tablespoon at a time and mix until it just starts to come together. You’ll press it into a ball, so no need for it to become a ball on its own as you mix. It’s best to stop when it’s too dry and add a splash of liquid later if needed. You can’t come back from too-wet dough.
Form into a ball by hand, very gently. Press down into a disc, smoothing the edges so there are no cracks. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Since it’s a free form, open tart you don’t need to chill it the recommended 4 hours to overnight.
While the dough chills, wash, pit, and slice apricots. To halve the apricot, just take the knife and run it circularly around the pit. If you’re struggling to get the apricot open, it’s probably not ripe enough and needs to sit in a paper bag on the counter for 1-3 days.
Slice vertically into 1/4 pieces.
On a floured surface, roll dough to a roughly 10x14 inch rectangle or oval.
Either trim the edges it shape them so there’s no large pieces sticking out.
Transfer to a lined baking sheet by rolling halfway around your rolling pin to make it easier to pick it up.
Layer apricots in any pattern you like, overlapping them slightly and filling in any gaps. I prefer laying them all the way up to the edges, but you can leave a rim if you’d like. Sprinkle with sugar and freeze for 5-10 minutes to keep the crust from shrinking underneath.
Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes, until some of the juices begin to bubble and the edge of the crust is golden. Don’t worry if some juice runs off and burns, it’ll just taste caramelized. You can tent loosely with foil if it’s cooking too quickly.
While it cools, make the brandied jam glaze by heating jam (I used leftover raspberry) and brandy, rum, etc., or water in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth. You can cook it on medium for 8-10 minutes to cook out the alcohol if you’d like.
Strain glaze and brush over the fruit and edges of tart.
Cut and enjoy! This pairs well with ice cream or whipped cream!
Tips for this recipe
You can sub a store bought crust or your favorite pie crust recipe
I’ve been learning lots about pie crust lately, and proper chilling is KEY. Technically, they key to a good pie or tart is double chilling: chill the dough before rolling then chill the shaped crust before baking. Luckily, this crust is forgiving, but sometimes you just don’t want to make your own. It’s okay to use store bought or another recipe you like more.
Use any stone fruit or apples
I bet berries would work, but they are juicier and could create a mess. But you can definitely use any stone fruit (they’re in season right now) or apples.
Use just-ripe fruit
If your fruit is too ripe, it will be juicier and some will run off the sides and burn, like in the photo below. Weirdly, it still tasted fine and not burnt at all. But the best method is to use just-ripened fruit. Or, you could set the sliced fruit over a sieve while the crust chills to drain some. Or, just let it happen and love it anyway.
Fold edges over the fruit to make a galette
This is essentially an open-faced galette. You could make a true galette by rolling it into a circle and leaving a 1-2” rim that you fold over the fruit and brush with milk or egg wash.
Use brown sugar and cinnamon for a fall dessert
We are this on the first day of summer, so I used plain sugar. But using brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon in both the crust and fruit would be quintessentially fall.
French Apricot Tart with Brandied Jam Glaze
- prep time: 20 minutes
- cook time: 40-50 minutes
- total time: 60-70 minutes, plus time to chill crust
Servings: 8-10
Ingredients:
For the Pâté Brisée (all-butter crust):
- 1 ½ cups (250g) bread flour or all-purpose
- 12 tablespoons (168g) cold European style butter, cut into pieces
- ½ teaspoon (3g) sea salt
- 6-8 tablespoons (70g) very cold vodka or water
For the Filling:
- 6-8 just-ripe apricots
- ¼ to ⅓ cup sugar
For the Brandied Jam Glaze:
- ½ cup jam of any kind
- 1-2 tablespoons brandy, rum, or other dark liquor
Instructions:
- Make the pâté brisée dough. Add flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor or stand mixer with the paddle attachment or bowl with a pastry blender. Mix or pulse until blended. Add the butter and put the whole bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes so everything is cold.
- Remove and pulse 20-30 times (or mix) until coarse. Some flour will still be dry, some will have large breadcrumb sized bits of butter mixed in. The larger the butter pieces, the more flaky the crust, so don’t overmix the butter (it’s not detrimental, but it’s best).
- Add vodka or water (can sub very cold milk or buttermilk) one tablespoon at a time and mix it just starts to come together but not into a full ball (it’s best to have not enough water than too much). Remove from food processor well and press very gently into a ball by hand, adding a splash of water if it won’t stick together. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.
- While the dough chills, wash, pit, and slice the apricots vertically into ¼ inch pieces. If they’re really juicy, set in a sieve or colander to drain slightly. Just before you roll out the dough, preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a floured surface, roll pâté brisée dough into a rectangle or oval roughly 10x14 inches or so. Arrange apricot slices in overlapping, diagonal lines (or whatever look you like), going almost to the edges of the dough and filling in all empty spots with the smaller pieces. Sprinkle with sugar and freeze for 5-10 minutes to prevent shrinking.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until some of the juices begin to bubble and the edge of the crust is golden. Don’t worry if some juice runs off and burns, it’ll just taste caramelized. You can tent loosely with foil if it’s cooking too quickly. Let cool completely on pan.
- While it cools, make the brandied ham glaze by heating jam and brandy in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth. You can cook it on medium for 8-10 minutes to cook out the alcohol if you’d like, or just heat through. Brush apricots and exposed crust with warm glaze.
Cut and enjoy! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Leftovers will last 3-5 days.