Apricot Tarte with Vanilla Custard

I LOVE this Apricot Tarte with Vanilla Custard for 3 reasons: 1) It is one of my two favorite cakes my grandma used to make and takes me right back to my childhood, 2) it is super easy and quick (if you have the pie crust already made) and 3) it is damn delicious. The sweet and sour tartnesss of the apricots and the smooth vanilla filling in combination with a buttery and crunchy pie crust – divine!

Really, you can replace the apricots here with any stone fruit, or even rhubarb. I’d recommend cherries or peaches! I used my standard pie crust recipe, same I always use and the one I used for this Blueberry Apple Pie with Rosemary last summer. Speaking of that, I am planning to post a few more summer pies here the next couple of months.

I am excited to get back to baking and blogging more again. It’s been quite here lately but you know… life happens and if you don’t make a point to make time for your hobbies and passions, they fall by the wayside. With my daughter getting older and me being absent from my blog for a while, I decided I want to get back to doing what I love and what I have been doing for 5 years. Did I just say 5 years? Yes! It has been almost exactly 5 years since April 2012 when I started this blog in my tiny little apartment, on a boring Sunday afternoon. Fast forward 5 years, I was close to giving up. To be honest, I lost all my passion and energy to keep this blog alive. I dreaded all updates that needed to be made to it, and every recipe I did post was a drag. I am not sure what happened, but I know it is a combination of many different little things that helped me get back into shape and super excited about what’s to come here!

I also had a little helper today. She decided she wanted the props arranged differently and kept putting the apricot in the jar. Then she drank almost all the milk and after that, she insisted that her baby doll needs to be in the photo as well. It was too damn cute to get impatient or mad, and I ended up taking more pictures of her being the cutest little assistant than I took of the cake, haha! But I will spare you, instead of this one…

Apricot Tarte with Vanilla Custard

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

The sweet and sour apricots and the smooth vanilla filling in combination with a buttery and crunchy pie crust make this Apricot Vanilla Tarte divine!

Author: Melina Thompson

Serves: 12

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PIE CRUST

• 1¾ cups flour
• 1.5 sticks Challenge Salted European Butter
• 2 tablespoons ice cold water

FOR THE FILLING

• 2lb apricots
• 2 eggs
• ⅔ cup cream or half & half
• 1 teaspoon starch
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE CRUST:

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Add spoons of cold butter and combine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Do not over mix.
3. Add cold water and carefully knead the dough with your fingers. Add only enough water to moisten so dough begins to clump. Do not allow the dough to gather into a single mass.
4. Form into a 4-5 inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling. This will make the dough more elastic and easier to handle. (Dough will keep several days in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer, but will need to be tempered before rolling.)
5. Roll out ¾ of the dough on a lightly floured surface and fit pastry into a 10-inch pie pan. Trim away excess.
6. Bake the pie crust for 15 minutes at 350°F.

MAKE FILLING:

1. Rinse the apricots and cut them in half, remove the pits.
2. Spread the apricots face down on the pie crust and bake at 350°F for about 15 mins.
3. While the pie crust and the apricots are baking, make the filling.
4. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer on high speed.
5. Pour the filling over the apricots and bake for another 30 mins.
6. Let it cool down, but it's best when enjoyed still warm!

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