Apricots à la Bourdaloue

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •20 cm (8-inch) loose-bottomed fluted tart tin
• •Medium heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Parchment and ceramic baking weights
• •Small offset spatula
• •Aluminum foil for shielding the rim
• •Domestic broiler

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the flawn paste

   Mix the flour, superfine sugar, and salt, then rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few thin flakes remaining. Work the pâte à foncer, the lining paste, by adding the egg and gathering everything with a fork just until a dough forms. If dry flour remains, add the ice water a teaspoon at a time; if the dough feels sticky, don't bury it in more flour. Ça se rattrape: flatten it into a disc and chill it for 45 minutes, and the butter will firm enough to make rolling orderly. Never knead this pastry.

2. 2

   Poach the apricots

   Bring the water, sugar, vanilla seeds, and vanilla pod to a gentle simmer, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Slip in the apricot halves and poach them at the barest tremble for 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until a small knife enters with slight resistance. They must remain whole because they cook no further inside the tart. If the flesh begins to soften or fray, lift the fruit out immediately and cool it on a tray; imperfect halves can sit beneath the cream without disgrace. Drain the apricots cut-side down, reserve 2 tablespoons of syrup, and let everything cool completely.

3. 3

   Cook the frangipane

   Warm the milk until small bubbles gather at the edge. Whisk the yolks with the sugar until smooth, then whisk in the flour. Pour in half the warm milk gradually, whisking without pause, return everything to the saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat until the cream bubbles thickly. Keep it bubbling gently for one full minute so the flour cooks. If lumps appear, remove the pan from the heat and push the cream through a fine sieve before continuing. Ça se rattrape. Whisk in the ground almonds and softened butter, spread the frangipane in a shallow bowl, cover its surface directly, and chill until cold.

4. 4

   Bake the shell pale

   Heat the oven to 165°C (325°F). Roll the pastry to about 3 mm thick and line a 20 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the corners without stretching. Trim the rim and chill the lined tin for 15 minutes. Line it with parchment, fill it to the top with baking weights, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights, then bake for another 8 to 12 minutes, only until the base feels dry and the shell remains ivory rather than golden. Colour in the crust is a fault here. If the rim begins to darken before the base dries, shield it with foil and lower the heat to 150°C (300°F). Cool the shell in its tin.

5. 5

   Layer the tart

   Fold the finely crushed two-thirds of the almond macaroons into the cold frangipane. If the cream has tightened beyond spreading, loosen it with reserved apricot syrup one teaspoon at a time; it should hold a soft ridge, not flow. Spread one-third of the cream in a thin, even layer over the pale shell. Arrange the drained apricot halves closely over it, cut-side down, then cover them completely with the remaining frangipane. Smooth the surface gently so the fruit stays in place.

6. 6

   Set the filling

   Chill the assembled tart for 20 minutes. The cold firms the frangipane and protects the pale shell while the surface faces fierce heat. Meanwhile, melt the finishing butter and heat the broiler fully, with a rack about 15 cm beneath it. Make a loose foil collar around the pastry rim before the tart goes under.

7. 7

   Make the rapid gratin

   Sprinkle the coarsely crushed macaroons evenly over the frangipane and drizzle them with the melted butter. Apply Gratins (No. 268) in its rapid glazing form under the broiler, watching without looking away, until the crumbs turn mottled amber and the butter gleams between them, usually 30 to 90 seconds. The crust beneath must remain pale. If one patch blackens, remove the tart immediately and lift away only that scorched patch with the tip of a spoon; the properly bronzed remainder needs no second broiling. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Keep the usual form

   The flawn-crust tart is the usual form and is complete. The source also permits a shallow timbale and a rice or semolina border, each holding the fruit between two cream layers and receiving a separate application of Gratins (No. 268). Its third service form reaches for a finished Pâte à Génoise Fine (No. 2376) combined with apricots as the border. These are alternate service structures, not extra work required for this tart, and their referenced preparations remain whole.

9. 9

   Rest and serve

   Let the tart rest for 20 minutes so the buttered gratin settles and the layers hold when cut. Release the tin and transfer the Bourdaloue to a flat serving plate. Serve cool or at room temperature, when each slice shows pale crust, almond cream, and a full orange apricot half beneath the bronzed macaroon top. It needs no ornamental flourish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Macaroons here mean dry almond biscuits without filling, not coconut macaroons and not soft sandwich macarons. Their dry crumb absorbs the cream, while the sugar and almond on top take the quick gratin properly.
• •Apricots must be ripe enough to smell of themselves but firm enough to survive poaching. Out of season, use 12 good canned apricot halves in light syrup, warm some of their syrup with the vanilla bean, cool it, and soak the drained fruit for 10 minutes. An honest preserved apricot is better than a fresh one with the texture of wool.
• •The pale shell is deliberate. Bake it until dry, not until golden, then protect its rim with foil during the gratin. The bronzed top supplies all the colour this tart needs.
• •Watch the broiler continuously. Buttered macaroon crumbs travel from pale to amber very quickly, and another half-minute can turn their almond sweetness bitter.
• •The tart keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator, loosely covered once completely cold. Bring it toward room temperature before serving so the frangipane softens and the apricot flavour opens.

Advance Preparation

• •The flawn paste can be mixed and chilled a day ahead. Let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes before rolling if it has become very firm.
• •Poach the apricots and cook the frangipane up to a day ahead, keeping them separately covered and cold. Drain the fruit again before assembling.
• •The shell can be blind-baked up to 6 hours ahead and kept at room temperature. Assemble and gratin the tart within 2 hours of serving so the crust stays crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)