Ingredients
| 1kg apricots | |
| 390g salted butter (100g melted for apricot confit, 90g chilled for pastry, 200g at room temperature for curd) | |
| 100ml liquid honey | |
| 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting | |
| 25g almond meal | |
| 60g icing sugar | |
| 6 eggs, size 7 | |
| 1 tablespoon milk | |
| 1 sheet gelatine | |
| 30ml apple cider vinegar or lemon juice | |
| 12 saffron threads | |
| 15g cornflour | |
| 100g caster sugar |
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Instructions
| 1. | To prepare the apricots, rinse them, remove stems and gently pat dry. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. |
| 2. | Divide the apricots evenly between two food- safe sealable plastic bags. |
| 3. | Melt 100g butter with the honey until combined. |
| 4. | Divide this mixture evenly between the bags, remove the air and seal the bags. |
| 5. | Place bags into the boiling water and remove from the heat. |
| 6. | Cover with a lid for 10 minutes then flip the bags and continue to poach for 10 minutes. |
| 7. | Remove the bags from the hot water, dunk in cold water to cool the contents, then put in the fridge. |
| 8. | Put the flour, almond meal and icing sugar in a food processor and blitz for 30 seconds. |
| 9. | Dice 90g chilled butter and add it to the dry ingredients. |
| 10. | Pulse until the butter is evenly distributed. |
| 11. | Whisk 2 eggs in a small bowl, weigh out 70g of the beaten egg and add to the mixture (mix the remaining beaten egg with milk for an egg wash). |
| 12. | Pulse the mixture 9-10 times until it forms a shaggy dough. |
| 13. | Turn it onto a floured surface, knead 5-6 times and roll into a circle about 28cm in diameter and 4mm thick. |
| 14. | Line a 25cm quiche dish with the pastry, ensuring it fits snugly and prick the base with a fork 15-20 times. |
| 15. | Trim away any excess and place it in the freezer for one hour. |
| 16. | While the pastry chills, soak the gelatine leaf in cold water for 5-6 minutes. |
| 17. | Remove the poached apricots from the fridge, remove the skins, cut the fruit in half and discard the stones. |
| 18. | Place 4 apricot halves in a blender with the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and saffron threads. |
| 19. | Blend for 30 seconds to make a purée. Cook the purée in a pot with the cornflour over a low heat until it thickens. |
| 20. | Separate 4 egg yolks (keep the whites for another use) and add to the purée with the caster sugar, whisking continuously over a low heat until it nearly boils. |
| 21. | Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 200g butter. |
| 22. | Remove the gelatine from the water, squeeze well and whisk it into the curd. |
| 23. | Sieve into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. |
| 24. | Remove the tart shell from the freezer and bake in a preheated oven at 165°C for 20 minutes (no blind baking required). |
| 25. | Remove from the oven, brush the interior with egg wash and stand for 5 minutes. |
| 26. | Pour the apricot curd onto the pastry and spread it evenly. Refrigerate for 60 minutes. |
| 27. | Slice the remaining poached apricots into approximately 4mm-thick slices, arrange them on top of the tart and return it to the fridge for another hour. |
Food styling, recipes & photography David Neville