This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Servings
8
servingsPrep time
20
minutesCooking time
35
minutesTotal time
1
hour10
minutesThis recipe, Apricot Brioche Tart, is simple to make but looks impressive and is a good standby one for the Christmas period as you can freeze a brioche and have some tins of apricot halves in your store cupboard. I often have mascarpone in my fridge as I make many sauces using it or I use it in some canapés.
Ingredients
Butter for greasing
1 egg
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 x 250g tub mascarpone cheese
about 225g brioche, sliced about 1cm thick from a loaf
2 x 400g cans apricot halves, drained
about 4 tablespoons demerara sugar
icing sugar for dusting
Directions
- Well butter an ovenproof, shallow-sided dish, about 28cm in diameter. Preheat the oven to 180℃/Fan 160℃/Gas 4
- Lightly whisk the egg and caster sugar together in a bowl. Add the mascarpone and whisk again until smooth and there are no lumps.
- Arrange the brioche slices as neatly as possible in a single layer on the greased dish to completely cover it. Trim the brioche slices as necessary to fit. Spread the mascarpone mixture over the brioche slices to about 1 cm away from the edge. (You don’t have to be accurate about this.)
- Arrange the apricot halves neatly in circles over the mascarpone right to the edge of the brioche, cut-side down. Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the apricots.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes until the custard is set and golden. Dust with icing sugar, and serve immediately with crème fraîche
Notes
- As you use only half a brioche loaf then freeze the other half for another occasion.
- Stage 2 can be made and kept in the fridge up to 12 hours before. The brioche can be arranged in the dish, covered tightly for up to 12 hours ahead. The apricots can be drained. Assemble up to 2 hours before serving. Or bake the day before, and reheat in the oven preheated to 190℃ for about 10 minutes. (It is best cooked just before serving though.)
- For an AGA: Bake on the floor of the roasting oven for about 8 minutes then slide on to the top set of runners in the roasting oven for a further 12 minutes until the custard is just set and golden.