Apricot Crostata

by Heather Harris Brady

As promised – a pie (ish) post! No one in my family likes apricots that much, but if I see them fresh this time of year I buy some anyway because I have fond memories of the apricot tree on our farm (previous post, apricot frangipane tart). It was a temperamental tree, some years no fruit, some years it fell while green and but every now and then it would actually do its job and produce bright fruit with a slight blush.

In this crostata I used some beautiful apricots from a farm in Suttons Bay, but this recipe would work with many types of fruit. If you don’t use fruit with a similar water content (like dryer Granny Smith type apples perhaps), make sure to adjust the thickening. This recipe is based on one from Bon Appetit magazine.

Apricot Crostata, Makes one 12″ crostata (about eight slices)

• Pie dough for one crust (see Basics, on upper toolbar)
• 2-1/2 c. sliced apricots
• 1 T. honey or agave syrup
• ¾ c. crushed amaretti or savoiardi biscuits
• 1/3 c. almond flour
• 1 T. butter, melted
• 1 t. cinnamon
• Juice of one fresh lemon
• 1 egg, well beaten and set aside
• Sugar

Preheat the oven to 375.

Toss the apricots with the lemon juice, then the sugar, butter and sweetener. Set them aside.

Roll the crust out to 1/8” thick (the circle should be about 16” wide) and transfer it to a lightly greased cookie sheet. As you will see, I was rushing to get dinner on the table and filled it on the countertop. This is not a good idea. Don’t try to be a hero. However, if you also make the same mistake, slide a well-floured flexible cutting board underneath and carefully slide it off onto your cookie sheet. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

As I was saying, transfer the crust to a light greased cookie sheet. Pile the crumbs and the almond flour in the middle of the dough.

Top them with the apricots.

Then go around the outside edge, folding and pleating the dough up over the edge of the fruit.

Brush the crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle it with sugar.

Not only will this give you a pretty crust, the egg is sort of an extra layer of bondo to help keep everything together.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the fruit starts to bubble and the juices thicken.

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream.

This crostata is best eaten the day it’s made.

One year ago: Thai Lettuce Wraps

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Apricot Frangipane Tart

by Heather Harris-Brady

We had an apricot tree on our farm, at the end of the strawberry bed. My grandpa put it in because he loved apricots but it always seemed finicky. Some years it didn’t have any, and the years it did they usually small or they had little brown freckles on them. However, if you’re lucky enough to be close to fresh apricots then you know how amazing they smell. Plus, the blossoms are gorgeous. Every year when I see them come into the stores I remember my grandpa, so I always buy some.

This time I turned them into a roasted apricot-frangipane tart. Mine were under-ripe, so I stored them for a few days in a brown paper bag. Then I roasted them to amp up the flavor, but you could also poach them.

Apricot-Frangipane Tart, Makes one 9″ tart

One dozen fresh apricots
½ recipe Aunt Linda’s Never Fail Pie Crust

Two cups milk
3 T. cream cheese, softened
½ c. almond flour
1/3 c. regular flour
1/3 c, brown or white sugar
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t.  almond extract

Preheat the oven to 425, wash and halve the apricots, removing the stone. Lay them upside down on a lightly greased cookie sheet and roast for two-three minutes.

Turn them all over and roast for another two-three minutes, or until the edges start to darken slightly and soften. Remove and let cool.

If you have a tart pan with a removable rim now’s the time to use it. If you don’t, just line the shallowest pie dish you have with the crust. Poke the pie shell all over with a fork, weight it and bake for about 10 minutes – or until it is set but not brown. Remove it from the oven and let it cool.

Mix the frangipane: combine the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, vanilla and almond extract and beat until smooth. Combine the almond flour and regular flour, whisk into the egg mixture. Lastly, whisk in the milk.

Sprinkle the pie shell with almond flour, press it in lightly. Pour in the frangipane, stopping about ¼” from the top. (You might have some frangipane leftover, depending on the depth of your dish. If you do, just pour it into lightly greased custard cups or ramekins and bake it separately. Top with a roasted apricot to serve.)

Float the apricots on top, rounded side down.

Reduce the oven to 375 and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set. It will puff up and then fall as it cools. Cool and store leftovers in the refrigerator.

You can sprinkle the top with some extra almond flour if you like.

I’m taking the weekend off to bake more pie since it’s Father’s Day. See you next week!

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Spitzbuben & Bishop’s Hats

These are a nice little time-saver as you get two (or more) recipe variations out of one batch of milanderli dough. My husband loves cookies with jam, so these are his favorites. Plus, I ask you – how can anyone resist something called spitzbuben?

Milanderli Dough

1 c. plus 2 T. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 T. finely grated lemon peel
4 c. flour

Cream the sugar and the butter together, beat in the eggs, lemon peel and vanilla. Mix in the flour. You can chill the dough if you make it ahead, but if I’m in a hurry I use it right away. This dough also makes great cutouts, just bake your cut shapes on a greased cookie sheet at 325 for about 10 minutes.

For the spitzbuben:

Roll out the dough on a floured surface 1/8″ thick. Cut into circles, cutting a smaller inner circle out of half of them. Stack each “ring” on top of a whole cookie on a greased cookie sheet. Drop a 1/2 t. of jam (apricot is traditional) into the middle of the ring. Bake at 325 for about 10 minutes, or until barely colored. Cool the cookies on a rack and drizzle with dark chocolate.

When the chocolate has hardened store them in tins or ziplock bags.

For the bishop’s hats:

Roll out the dough on a floured surface 1/8″ thick. Cut into circles and lay them on a greased cookie sheet. Drop a dab of jam into the center of each circle and pinch the edges up to form a triangle. Bake at 325 for about 10 minutes or until barely colored. Cool on a rack and store in tins or ziplock bags.