Seasonal Recipe – Apricot Croustade

Apricot Croustade

Makes 8

Recipes:     Pistachio and kirsch frangipane

Other Ingredients:

24x sheets Filo Pastry, Cherry Jam, Melted Butter, Caster Sugar, Icing Sugar for dusting, 10 – 12 Apricots, Cherries, Chopped Pistachio, Apricot Nappage

You will also need: 8x 70mm pomponette moulds

Pistachio & Kirsch Frangipane

Crème Patisserie

250ml milk

½ vanilla pod split lengthways

60g egg yolks (about 3 eggs)

50g caster sugar

25g plain flour sifted

Almond Cream

125g unsalted butter softened

125g caster sugar

125g whole eggs (about 2-3 eggs) beaten

125g ground almonds

25g plain flour sifted

Ingredients

50g Pistachio Paste

40g Kirsch

First, make the Crème Patisserie:

1. Put the milk in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla pod into the milk and drop in the split pod too. Bring to the boil.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Continue whisking until the mixture slightly thickens and turns light in colour, 2–3 minutes. Add the sifted flour and whisk again until smooth.
3. Pour half the infused milk into the mixing bowl and whisk again until there are no lumps.
4. Pass this mixture through a fine sieve and return the mixture back to the remaining milk in the pan.
5. Continuously whisk the mixture until it comes to the boil.
6. Reduce the temperature to a simmer and continue to stir and cook for 5–6 minutes.
7. Take the pan off the heat and pour the creme patissiere into a shallow dish or tray. Cover with cling film.

Next, make the almond cream:

1. Put the butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
2. Gradually beat in the eggs and mix until combined.
3. Fold in the ground almonds and the flour and mix until smooth.

Combine to make the Frangipane:

1. Beat the Creme Patissiere with the pistachio paste in a mixing bowl until smooth.
2. Fold this into the prepared almond cream and stir through the kirsch.

To Assemble

1. Prepare the Pate a Filo and leave to rest. Prepare the clarified butter and lightly grease the tart tins with a little of it.
2. Line the table with a table cloth and lightly dust with flour. Put the rested filo dough in the centre of the table cloth. Place your hands under the filo dough and gently begin to pull it out from underneath, going around the dough and pulling from every corner. Allow the dough to rest at intervals to let it relax, this will make it easier to pull. Continue to pull until it has reached a square measuring about 1m.
3. Trim the thick edges and leave the dough to dry slightly for 5-10 minutes (how long will depend on the temperature and humidity in the room). Brush the melted clarified butter over the pastry, then sprinkle with the vanilla sugar. Cut into 7cm squares and line each tart case with 3 layers in each. Leave the pastry cases to dry for 2-3 hours or ideally overnight.
4. Prepare the cherry jam and pistachio frangipan.
5. When the tart cases are fully dried, stone the apricots and cherries and carefully cut in quarters.
6. Preheat the oven to 180’C.
7. Spoon the pistachio frangipan into a piping bag fitted with a 10mm nossle, pipe a bulb about 2/3rds full into each tart case. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of cherry jam onto the top of each tart. Place 5-6 apricot quarters onto the top of each tart and 5-6 quarters of cherry.
8. Brush the fruit with clarified butter and sprinkle with vanilla sugar and bake 20-25 minutes.
9. Allow to cool before demoulding. Brush with apricot nappage and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Best served the same day