Apricot Custard Tart

Today I'm going to show you how to make this Apricot Custard Tart. And boy is it dreamy. It's made using apricot preserves, which are one of my favorite things because they can give you a taste of summer all year round. I'm always looking for new ways to use my stock of preserves and was super happy to use them for this tasty treat.

Tart shell ingredients and filling ingredients.

To get started, you'll need some ingredients!

For Tart Shell (for a 9-10" tart pan):

• 1 1/4 c multi purpose flour (I used Manini's Multiuso gluten free flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 c (1 stick) butter cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1/8 c super cold water

For Tart Filling:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split with seeds scraped out
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 heaping tbs sugar
• 12 oz Apricot preserves (or 1 1/2 half pint jars). I used homemade apricot vanilla bean preserves, but you could use store bought, too. Heck, you could even use preserves made with a different kind of fruit (raspberry would be dreamy!).

You'll want to begin by making the tart shell because it needs to be cool when you add the filling.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and   

   pulse a few times until combined.

3. Add the cubed butter and pulse until it resembles a coarse

   meal.
4. Add the water and pulse until forms clumps and starts to look

   like dough (you can add a tiny bit more water if your dough

   looks dry).

5. Carefully pull the dough out of the food processor, form into

   a ball, then flatten it into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap,

   and refrigerate for 1 hour.

6. After pulling the dough out of the refrigerator, roll out the 

   dough to just slightly larger than the tart pan, then place in

   the tart pan and press up the edges. I'm usually a mess at     

   putting dough into pans so i tend to have to press lots of

   cracks together and push the dough up the sides with my 

   fingers. And that's ok! It doesn't have to be perfect, just

   delicious!

7. Place a piece of parchment over the tart shell and fill with 

   pie weights or dried beans. This will help avoid any bubbling

   of the crust and is called blind baking.
8. Put the shell in the oven for 10 minutes, take out, remove 

   parchment, and cook for 10 more minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

While the crust is cooling, you can begin work on the filling. The preserves are already ready to go, so you'll just need to make the custard. Here's how:

1. If you turned your oven off, now is the time to re-pre-heat it

   to 350°. Then, in a small pot, combine the milk and the  

   vanilla bean and seeds and bring to a boil over medium heat,   

   stirring occasionally.

2. When the milk comes to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and 

   let sit for 30 minutes so the vanilla bean can infuse into the  

   cream.
3. After 30 minutes, strain the mixture and put it back on the   

   stove over very low heat, just to keep it warm.
4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the sugar 

   until they become light and somewhat pale in color.

5. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking as   

   you pour.

6. Return the mixture to the pot and cook over medium-low heat, 

   stirring constantly. Don't let it boil as that can cause it to 

   curdle. Cook it over the stove for 7-10 minutes, until the 

   mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
7. Remove the mixture from the heat immediately and pour it into 

   your tart shell.

8. Bake for 10 minutes, just long enough to slightly bake the 

   custard, then remove from the oven and spoon the preserves 

   over the top. You'll want to add just enough of 

   the preserves to come to just under the edge of the tart 

   shell.
9. Return to the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the 

   preserves begin to bubble and thicken slightly. I used a 

   fairly loose preserve so this took some extra time. The 

   easiest way to tell if the preserves have thickened is to 

   shake the pan. If it's real jiggly, then it will need a little 

   more time. If it has just a touch of jiggle, it'll be perfect!

10. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, cut and  

    serve!

I hope you get a chance to try making this delicious tart soon!

Til next time!

-Becca

Sunday Brunch: Coffee Cake

My friend Elle and I are big fans of breakfast food. For the duration of our friendship we've been meeting up regularly for breakfast and brunch. It's even become a bit of a tradition at this point! The trouble is, we both have some dietary restrictions, so we have to choose our breakfast recipes and restaurants carefully to make sure that we'll both be happy. So when we cook together, it has to be gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian.

So today, we decided to make coffee cake! Look how good it looks!

 

Elle heartily approves this coffee cake!

Since it was such a beautiful morning, we decided to eat outdoors. It ended up being a wonderful morning of baking, chatting, soaking up the sun, and, of course, eating this super tasty coffee cake!

Wanna make it yourself? You should! It was super delicious! Here's how:

Ingredients

Now just as a note, in the past when I was able to bake with wheat flour I would have never dreamed of using a cake mix, but if you've done any amount of gluten free baking, you know that baking from scratch can be a bit of a gamble and it can cost a fair amount of money to gather up all the different flours. That's why when I find something that works well, it becomes a staple in my pantry. My recent revelation has been Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix. Guys, it's cheap, consistent, delicious, and easily customized. Bonus points: my friends who eat gluten think it's great, too!

Ingredients:

For the cake:

- 1 package Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix

- 3 large eggs at room temperature

- 1/2 cup vegetable oil

- 1/2 cup water at room temperature

- 6oz blueberries (optional, but HIGHLY recommended)

For the topping:

- 10 tbs brown sugar

- 4 tbs gluten free flour (use whatever you have on hand)

- 4 tbs Earth Balance (or butter. You do you!)

- 1 tsp cinammon

- Pinch of salt

1. Preheat your over to 325°F and grease a 9x13" non-stick pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs for 30 seconds on medium-low speed.
3. Add the mix, then the oil, then the water and beat on medium-low speed for 60 seconds. Be sure to scrape the bowl with a spatula at least once during the mixing process. If you wanted to add a bit of vanilla extract this would be when to do so.
4. If you are using blueberries (do it, seriously), now is the time to add them! Use your spatula to fold them into the cake batter.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth with a spatula. We made our coffee cake half with blueberries and half without to see which we liked better, so we added them in at this point and mixed them in right in the pan!
6. In a small bowl, measure out the topping ingredients and combine until crumbly. I like to use a fork for this.
7. Sprinkle topping over cake batter and put in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. It will be done when the cake is slightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool until it's not so hot that it will burn your mouth and devour! I heartily recommend serving it with some fresh berries.

I hope you enjoy it!

Til next time!

-Becca