today, I am making an apricot tart with almond frangipane
for the pie crust I mix sugar
with sunflower oil
water
mix the wet ingredients with a spatula or a wooden spoon
stir for a minute, till some of the sugar has melted in the liquid
then, add all-purpose flour through a sieve
together with baking powder
and sift flour and baking powder
sifting baking powder helps it distribute well into the dough
mix with a spatula for a few seconds till the flour absorbs al the liquids
no nead for it to be perfectly mixed, since we start kneading in a sec
then transfer the dough on a worktop and knead for just about a short minute,
bringing all the pieces together into a dough ball
TIP: do not over-knead at this stage. Over-kneading will make your crust tough and less crunchy
your final dough ball should look nice and even
to make the next step as easy as possible, you can roll the dough on a piece of parchment paper
add extra flour to prevent the rolling pin from sticking to the dough
keep flattening the dough until it is large enough to cover your pie dish
prepare your pie dish, oil the bottom and the side, then dust it with flour
this will prevent the pie crust from sticking
if you have rolled the pie crust on a baking sheet, then you can transfer it from the paper to the pie dish
or, if you prefer to work with a rolling pin instead, transfer the dough by rolling the pin over your pie dish
adjust the dough into the pie dish to make it fit snuggly, then trim excess dough
use surplus dough from the trimmed edges to "repair" holes in the pie
press the dough lightly against the edges so it sticks even while baking
and make many holes on the base of the pie with a fork
put the tray in the refrigerator while you prep the almond frangipane
for the almond frangipane, I use an immersion blender.
you can use any blender that you have at home as long as it can blend nuts
in the blender, add almonds, sugar
almond milk
vegan butter
TIP for the almonds: note that you can use either peeled almonds, or almonds with the skin on
you can also choose roasted almonds or raw almonds. I prefer roasted almonds
BLEND till you reach an almond paste consistency. It should take a couple of minutes
it should look something like this
take the pie tray out of the fridge
and preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C)
then, with the back of a spoon, spread the frangipane into the pie crust, on the bottom and sides
make a layer that is as even as possible
take your time, and enjoy the process :-)
now add the apricots on top of the frangipane. There are many ways to put the apricots
I like to split them in half, remove the stone, and simply push them into the frangipane
you can put them facing up, facing down, or some facing up and some facing down
just make sure to squeeze them close to each other, slightly overlapping, as they lose water and shrink a bit while cooking
I used 16 apricots for this cake, but you can easily fit more if you tilt the apricots
sprinkle some sugar on top of the apricots
I tested with just 2 tbsp of sugar, and it was not enough (for my taste)
so I recommend 4 tbsp for a sweeter tart
bake for 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the oven
let it cool on a cooling rack
and remove the pie dish once it is cooled down and you don't burn yourself when touching
now it is up to you how you prefer your apricot tart
you can eat it as is or...
sprinkle with some powder sugar if you like.
it gives a beautiful finish before serving
it is also delicious with a scoop of plant-based vanilla ice cream
Buon appetito
Apricot tart with frangipane
I'm just gonna give it a try...
"UHMMM...It's good"
"I think I am gonna make another one..."