Apricot tart. A simple summer dessert that, when executed in this fashion, is essentially the French take on fruit crumble. God, we love the French.

David Lebovitz, in his inimitable way, has brought us the food equivalent of Franglais, which refers to words that are half French and half English. His apricot tart recipe results in something that’s suspiciously similar to an apple crumble in appearance yet boasts all the finesse of classic French pastry. Originally published August 7, 2014.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Apricot Tart
Special Equipment: 9- or 10-inch springform pan
Ingredients
- For the pastry crust
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled, plus more for the pan
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 1/4 cups (175 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- For the crumble topping
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) whole almonds
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (60 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- For the apricot tart filling
- 2 pounds (900 grams) ripe, fresh apricots, pitted and quartered
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
- Make the pastry crust
- 1. Place the chilled butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let it sit for 10 minutes so it softens slightly.
- 2. Add the sugar to the butter and beat on medium speed just until no visible lumps of butter remain, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and mix just until combined. Then add the flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together. (You can also make the dough in a bowl using a spatula and a little moxie.)
- 3. Coat the bottom and sides of a 9- or 10-inch springform pan with butter. Use the heel of your hand to press the dough into the bottom of the pan and a little less than halfway up the sides. Try to get the bottom as even as possible, not because anyone will see it, but because it will bake more evenly. Put the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- 4. Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC).
- 5. Line the dough in the pan with aluminum foil and a single layer of pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights or beans and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the tart shell is browned.
- Make the crumble topping
- 6. Pulse the almonds, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until the almonds are broken up into very small pieces. Add the butter and pulse just a few times, until the mixture looks sandy. Continue to pulse just until the pieces of butter start clumping together. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the crumble topping by chopping the almonds finely and mixing the ingredients with a pastry blender or by hand.) Cover and refrigerate the crumble topping.
- Make the apricot tart filling
- 7. In a bowl, mix the apricots with the sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and almond extracts. (Do not make the filling more than just a few minutes in advance, as the apricots may become too juicy.)
- Assemble the apricot tart
- 8. Transfer the apricot filling to the tart shell and spread it out evenly. Then strew the crumble topping evenly over the apricots. Bake the tart for about 50 minutes, until the topping is nicely browned. Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, then run a knife around the outside of the tart to separate it from the pan. Let it rest for 30 minutes more, then remove the sides of the pan and let the tart cool. The edges may look rather dark, but should taste fine, not burned. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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This is a taste of heaven! GOOD STUFF! :)
‘Tis, linda, ’tis.
We couldn’t agree more, Linda.
Do not miss ‘My Paris Kitchen’ by David Lebovitz! I recently bought this cookbook and can’t wait to make more out of it, including this Apricot Tart. I made the quiche on p. 155 exactly as described and it is truly delicious! The crust came out light and flaky (despite my forgetting to add the egg!) and complemented the rich quiche ingredients. Because it is so rich and filling, we froze a portion of it to eat later since it’s just the 2 of us and there’s more than enough for 6 to 8 people if you are serving it with a salad & some wine! Can’t wait to make more of the recipes and the desserts!
We agree completely, Debbie D. It’s a stunning collection of recipes. Kudos to David Lebovitz. And keep an eye out for more of his recipes here in the weeks to come!
I’d think I’d call this creation a “pavette” in Franglais.
A pave’ is a pebbley pavement in French, and the streusel looks like little pebbles to me. And pave’ is also little chips of diamonds that surround a bigger stone, in jewelry.
And doesn’t “Pavette d’Abricots” sound nice? (Or I guess more properly, “Pavette aux Abricots”.) Whichever — it sounds delicious and I’m going to bake it.
Ah, pavette. I’ve not heard that term in ages, but yes, it does sound lovely. We defer to David Lebovitz in terms of what he wishes to call his recipes, but henceforth, in our minds this shall be known as pavette. Merci infiniment.
I made this with the following changes: After parbaking the pastry, I painted the bottom and sides of the pastry with melted white chocolate and let it set. This helps prevent the pastry from being soggy the next day should there be any leftovers. I wanted more crumble, so this is what I made:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 T Indonesian cinnamon (aka Korintje Cinamon) AND YES IT MAKES a DIFFERENCE
1 stick melted butter, cooled a bit
1/2 tsp sea salt
Combine all in a bowl, stir, and set aside for 1 hour. Break up with your fingers. Toast 1 cup almond slivers and work these into the crumble. Spread over the apricots.
I’m just a crumble fanatic. I also like this with creme fraiche instead of ice cream or whipped cream. I made 4 of these with those changes and the creme fraiche for a party and there was not a crumb left!
Hey Diane, that’s what recipes are for—to turn into your own. So glad this lovely tart was able to bring some inspiration to you…
I really wish that I could also make the same recipe as like this at home but I’m still keeping this recipe for the future :)
It’ll be there for you when you’re ready, Cherry!
Apricots are so seasonal – could this be made and frozen for a bite of summer in the winter?
Sandra, the quality of the tart would suffer. I’d suggest making it fresh in the winter using frozen apricots. I think you’d get a better result.