Croûte aux Abricots au Marasquin

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Six 8 to 9 cm tartlet moulds, about 3 cm deep
• •Stand mixer with paddle, or a sturdy bowl and wooden spoon
• •Small serrated knife and teaspoon
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small saucepan
• •Sheet pan and wire rack
• •Piping bag with a plain tip, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the apricots

   Cut each apricot along its seam only far enough to remove the stone, keeping the two halves attached, then close the fruit again. Bring the water and granulated sugar to a simmer in a snug saucepan, stirring until clear. Add 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of the maraschino and lower the apricots into the syrup. Hold them at the barest tremble for 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until a fine skewer enters with slight resistance. Lift them into a shallow dish, add another 2 tablespoons (30 ml) maraschino, and pour over enough syrup to cover. Reserve at least 1/3 cup (80 ml) syrup for the sauce. If an apricot splits, place its halves together in the syrup and later set it seam-side down; it will still sit beautifully.

2. 2

   Beat the Savarin paste

   Combine the flour, yeast, superfine sugar, and salt in the mixer bowl. Add the lukewarm milk and eggs, then beat with the paddle at medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, scraping once or twice, until the pâte à savarin, a soft yeast paste, turns glossy and pulls into elastic strands. Beat in the very soft butter a spoonful at a time, waiting until each addition disappears before adding the next. The paste should remain sticky and too soft to knead. If it looks greasy after the butter goes in, stop adding butter and continue beating until the paste gathers again; if the bowl has grown warm, chill it for 5 minutes and resume. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.

   Don't correct this soft paste with extra flour. Its moisture gives the baked tartlets their tender, open crumb, while beating supplies the strength that ordinary kneading cannot.
3. 3

   Mould and bake

   Butter six 8 to 9 cm tartlet moulds generously and set them on a sheet pan. Stir the risen paste just enough to deflate it, divide it evenly among the moulds, and smooth it with lightly buttered fingers; each mould should begin no more than half full. Cover loosely and let rise until the paste reaches about three-quarters of the way up the sides, 25 to 35 minutes. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 15 to 18 minutes, until evenly butter-gold, springy at the centre, and pulling slightly from the sides. Unmould at once and cool completely on a rack.

4. 4

   Cook the frangipane

   Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it quivers at the edge. Whisk the yolks with the superfine sugar and cornstarch until smooth, then pour in half the warm milk while whisking. Return everything to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the cream bubbles thickly; continue for 1 minute so the starch cooks through. Remove from the heat and whisk in the ground almonds and butter. If the cream catches or forms lumps, take it off the heat, whisk hard, and press it through a fine sieve before adding the almonds. Ça se rattrape. Press parchment directly against the surface and cool completely.

5. 5

   Hollow and line

   Lower the oven to 160°C (325°F). With a small serrated knife, cut a circle from the top of each cooled tartlet, keeping the cut nearly 1 cm inside the outer edge. Lift away the lid and tease out enough crumb with a teaspoon to form a cavity, leaving a base and border at least 1 cm thick. This border is the architecture of the dish, so resist one more scrape. If you pierce a base, press a little removed crumb into the hole with a dab of prepared spreadable Pralin (No. 2352); the drying step will seal it. Coat the cavities evenly with the remaining spreadable Pralin (No. 2352), then bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until the lining feels dry rather than sticky but has not darkened. Cool on the rack.

6. 6

   Fill the croûtes

   Fold the finely ground filbert Pralin (No. 2352) through the cooled frangipane until no streaks remain. The cream should hold a soft mound; if it has loosened while standing, chill it for 15 minutes rather than adding more starch. Spoon or pipe it into the dried shells, filling each cavity generously but leaving the thick Savarin rim clearly visible. Drain the apricots well and set one upright on each mound of cream, seam-side down.

7. 7

   Finish the sauce

   Combine the apricot preserves with 1/3 cup (80 ml) reserved poaching syrup in a small saucepan. Simmer gently for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking, until the sauce is smooth and lightly coats a spoon. Press it through a fine sieve, then stir in the remaining maraschino away from the heat. If the sauce tightens too far, loosen it with another spoonful of poaching syrup; if it runs like juice, return it to the pan for another minute. Pour it into a small sauce boat and serve it separately, as the original directs.

8. 8

   Set the garnish

   Arrange four candied cherry halves and four angelica lozenges in an alternating ring around each apricot, pressing them lightly into the frangipane so they stay upright. Bring the croûtes to the table soon after assembling, while the Pralin-lined shells still hold their distinction from the cream, and pass the apricot sauce for each guest to spoon alongside. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Pralin (No. 2352) appears in two forms here. The spreadable almond preparation seals the hollowed shell, while the finely ground nougat preparation, made with filberts for this dish, perfumes the frangipane without making it wet. One cannot do the other's work.
• •Use clear maraschino liqueur, not the red syrup from cocktail cherries. Its dry almond-cherry perfume keeps the apricot bright; a sweet red syrup would stain the fruit and flatten the whole dessert.
• •This dish truly wants small, firm-ripe fresh apricots because one whole fruit must stand on each tartlet. Outside their season, use two well-drained canned apricot halves per tartlet and steep them briefly in maraschino syrup, knowing the result will sit lower and taste more preserved.
• •Smooth apricot preserves are the honest home equivalent to a pastry section's bowl of strained apricot pulp. They supply fruit, pectin, and sheen without requiring another tray of apricots solely for six spoonfuls of sauce.
• •Assemble within an hour of serving. The baked Pralin lining delays moisture, but no shell filled with custard improves by spending the night that way.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare both required forms of Pralin (No. 2352) in advance according to their own formula. Keep the spreadable preparation protected from drying and the ground filbert preparation tightly sealed in a dry place.
• •The Savarin tartlets may be baked, hollowed, lined, and dried one day ahead. Once completely cool, keep them airtight at room temperature so the thick rims remain tender rather than stale.
• •The frangipane, poached apricots, and apricot sauce may each be prepared one day ahead and chilled separately. Bring the frangipane near room temperature before filling, and drain the apricots thoroughly.
• •Do not fill the shells until shortly before the guests sit down. The brigade assembled these from waiting components for good reason: separation preserves the contrast between tender shell, dry Pralin lining, and soft cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)