Hazelnut Frangipane Tart with Caramelized Apricots and Nectarines

Hazelnut Frangipane Tart with Caramelized Apricots and Nectarines
 
Recipe from In The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley

Notes: During our recent mini-vacation to San Francisco, I got a chance to visit the Berkeley Bowl, an independent grocer similar to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I was absolutely floored by the selection of produce: three kinds of blood oranges! Etrog in April! Several varieties of sweet potatoes and yams (actual distinction between the two!). Instead of souvenir trinkets, we brought back dried white nectarines from the Bowl, as I had never seen this before.

The tart consists of three components. I didn't have to make the pâte sucrée crust, as I already had a disc of Hermé's Sweet Tart Dough in the freezer, which I thawed, pressed into a 10" tart pan and blind baked. The frangipane was also a snap: toast hazelnuts to remove their skins, then blitz everything in the food processor. For the fruit component, I used the last bag of Enduring Sun apricots (the Natasha variety this time) plus some of the dried, white nectarines. These were reconstituted in boiling water, and left to soak in a covered bowl. The white nectarines REALLY plumped up: they were about an inch thick!

The next evening, it was time to assemble. After spreading the frangipane in the cooked base, I blotted the dried fruit and arranged it over the tart in a circular pattern. After the minimum time in the oven, the filling was cooked, but the fruit hadn't really browned. A mini blowtorch made quick work of caramelizing some of the edges. At this point, the recipe calls for making a syrup from the soaking liquid by adding sugar to it and reducing. I decided there was already enough sweetness in the recipe, and just reduced it, and brushed a few tablespoons over top.

This is absolutely delicious. I love frangipane, whether it's made with pistachios or almond or hazelnuts. And the flavour and texture contrast with the stone fruit works quite well.

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