Apricot jam tart

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PRESENTATION

Apricot jam tart

What is the classic homemade dessert par excellence? Definitely the pie! With master chef Iginio Massari we discover all the secrets to make apricot jam tart, with its soft and delicate shortcrust pastry, delicious filling and irresistible aroma of good and homemade. The secret to a perfect looking and tasting pie lies in letting the shortcrust rest: take all the time necessary, as the master chef suggests, preparing it the night before, then rolling it out and filling it the next day. Yes, because things (and pies) taste even better when they also look good.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for a 21 cm mold
Type 00 flour 2 ¼ cups (250 g)
Butter ⅔ cup (150 g) - (soft but still pliable)
Powdered sugar ¾ cup (100 g)
Egg yolks 5 (80 g)
Acacia honey 1 tbsp (20 g)
Lemon peel 1
Vanilla bean 1
Fine salt ¼ tsp (1 g)
for the filling
Apricot jam 9 oz (250 g)
Lemon peel 1
Preparation

How to prepare Apricot jam tart

To prepare the apricot jam tart, first you need to make the shortcrust pastry. Pour the soft but still pliable butter into the bowl of a food processor bowl fitted with a spatula. Add the powdered sugar 1, the seeds scraped off a vanilla bean 2 and the grated lemon rind 3.

 

Start the machine at low speed, add the honey 4. In a separate bowl, pour the yolks and salt 5, stir to dissolve it 6.

Add the mixture to the bowl of the food processor 7 and when you have obtained an even mixture, turn off the machine and incorporate the flour sifted twice 8, stirring consistently at low speed. You should knead the dough as little as possible: it should be soft, but not sticky 9.

 

Next, lightly flour the work top and transfer the shortcrust pastry, with the help of a rubber spatula. Add a little more flour 10 and without kneading, give it a brick-like shape. Cover with plastic wrap 11 and place in the refrigerator to become firm, possibly overnight. This will stabilize the dough and make it much easier to knead. You can then move on to make the pie. Pour the jam into a bowl, add the lemon zest 12

and stir with a rubber spatula or a spoon 13. Take the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, remove the plastic wrap and place it on a lightly floured surface. Add a little more flour on top of the shortcrust pastry and roll it out with a rolling pin to a 1/8-inch (3.5 mm) thickness 14. The thickness should be uniform, check the dough for the presence of thicker areas. Now cut the dough using an 8-inch (21 cm) ring 15.

Place the ring with the dough inside on a drip pan lined with baking paper 16 and pierce with a fork 817). Pour the jam on the pastry disk and spread it with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/2-inch (1 cm) edge.

 

Cut strips from the leftover dough. Creating the lozenge lattice is important because it prevents the jam from burning, so the tart will bake perfectly. Add a little more flour on top of the dough and slightly press with a rolling pin, as the strips should be slightly thinner than the disc. To cut them out, use a rolling pin and a plain pastry wheel cutter 19. Place the strips on the tart first in one direction and then in the other, in order to create the lozenges, eliminating any excess dough with your fingers 21.

 

Using the remaining shortcrust pastry, create a 3/4-inch (2 cm) thick stick 22 and place it on the entire edge of the tart 23. Press it lightly with your fingertips. Use the handle of a spoon to make indentions on the entire edge 24.

This way you will join the two parts of dough and at the same time create a pattern 25. Now bake the tart in a static oven at 330°F (165°C) for 45 minutes on the lower shelf. When the pie is a nice golden color, take it out of the oven and let it cool before removing the ring 26. Once completely cooled, you can serve your apricot jam tart 27.

Storage

The tart can be stored for about 2 weeks under a glass cloche at room temperature, alternatively it can be frozen for about 2 months.

The uncooked dough can also be frozen for about 2 months.

 

Tips

If the butter is too cold you can soften it in the microwave in thawing mode for about 30 seconds. Do not allow it to melt. 

When you grate the lemon zest, use the grater with the back upwards, this way it will be easier to collect only the yellow part. 

The honey is used to obtain a more attractive color. The sifted flour, on the other hand, is more easily absorbed into the fat mass, and it increases its volume. 

When rolling out the dough with a rolling pin, be careful to use a small amount of flour: too much flour will stick to the surface of the tart and turn opaque and gray while baking. 

The shortcrust pastry needs to rest in the refrigerator: if you skip this step, you will notice that it is too soft to work with and even if you roll it out between two sheets of baking paper, the result will not be satisfactory. The only way to use it right away is to work it into a sac-a-poche to make shortbread cookies, still delicious. 

Don't leave the shortcrust pastry out of the fridge: when the pastry oozes butter because it separates from the dough, the result is a tough crust, as the dough becomes glutinous. 

The lattice top is more than a decoration, it prevents the jam from burning during cooking. Making the shortcrust strips evenly sized will help your tart bake better.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.