Apricot and Pistachio Tart

Ingredients

• Pastry (Pate Sucrée) :
• 130 g soft butter (it really needs to be soft!)
• 85 g confectioners’ sugar
• 25 g almond powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Grains from ½ vanilla bean pod
• Zest from ½ lemon
• 1 medium egg
• 210 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tart pan 24cm (9in), base lined with parchment paper and sides lightly greased with butter.
• Pastry Cream:
• 250 mls whole milk
• Grains from ½ vanilla pod, scraped out vanilla pod reserved
• 3 egg yolks
• 50 g sugar
• 10 g corn flour
• 10 g flour
• Butter to dot surface of cream
• Pistachio Cream :
• 150 g pistachios
• 150 g crème pâtissière
• 100 g softened butter
• 100 g confectioners’ sugar
• 1 large egg
• 15 g corn flour
• 2 tbsp rum
• 1 kg (approximately) ripe apricots, cut in two, pit removed
• Brown sugar

Instructions

1. Instructions
2. Make the Pastry : Place the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until creamy. Add almond powder, salt, vanilla and grated lemon and mix for 30 seconds, then add the egg. Add the flour and continue to mix for 10 to 20 seconds or until the dough comes together. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic film and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 160° C (320 °F) and set the oven rack in the lower-middle position. Take the pastry out of the fridge. Place it on a sheet of parchment paper dusted with flour and roll it out into a circle 5mm (0.2inch) thick. Press the rolled pastry into the bottom and sides of the tart pan, if it tears, press it back together with your fingers. Trim the edges and return to the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15.
4. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, then remove the weights and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes or until the tart shell has an evenly brown and baked through. (If you find the sides of the dough are collapsing during the baking, remove the weights and press the half-baked dough back into place. Return the weights and continue baking.)
5. *Make the pastry cream: *Put the milk, the vanilla pod grains + scraped out pod, in a medium size saucepan and heat just until the point of boiling. While the milk is heating, lightly whisk the egg yolks and the sugar. Add the corn flour and the flour and mix well.
6. Pour 1/3 of the hot milk over the egg mixture and whisk vigorously until smooth and combined. Pour over the rest of the milk and whisk again until smooth. Remove the vanilla bean pod.
7. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk without stopping until the cream thickens – be careful to not to let it catch on the bottom of the pan and burn. Continue cooking and whisking until the cream is smooth, thickened and glossy. Continue cooking for another 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
8. Pour the cream into a wide shallow pan or bowl. Dot the surface with butter to prevent a skin forming while the pastry cream cools. Measure out 150 g for this recipe. Cover the rest with cling film and and reserve in the fridge for another use.
9. Make the pistachio cream : Place the pistachios into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. (Don’t over processes or you will end up with a paste.) Place the chopped pistachios and all the other ingredients for the cream in a large bowl and mix together. Set aside.
10. Finish the tart and bake:
11. Fill the cooked pastry shell with the pistachio cream, about 2 centimeters thick. Place the apricots (in halves or cut into quarters) on top of the cream, cut side up. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and place in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. (keep an eye on the tart, all ovens cook differently!)
12. Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.