This is a great recipe, really easy and can be knocked up in no time at all if you have unexpected guests. In this recipe we have used tinned apricots in natural juice, but it works just as well with fresh fruit of any kind, apples, pears, berries anything is good. Sometimes life is just too short to make pastry, so we have used shop bought pastry in this instance. If you want to make your pastry, good for you! You don’t need tins, this is a freeform, rustic tart which looks impressive. The only thing you need is some baking parchment or paper, preferably non-stick. The pastry is a lovely, crumbly, biscuit base for the fruit and certainly looks homemade. You can even use ready made cookie dough from your local supermarket.
Serves: 4/5
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
10 oz of ‘all butter’ shortcrust pastry (sweet pastry)
4 heaped tbs of apricot jam (or other jam if you have it)
2 x 8 oz of tinned apricots in natural juice
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
2 oz of slivered almonds
A little extra jam to glaze, if required
Method
Heat your oven to 320 degrees F/160 degrees C. Drain the apricots of most of the juice (this has to be done to stop the dish being too soggy) and put in a bowl. Mix in the cinnamon with the apricots.
Roll out the pastry (on baking paper or cling film as this makes it easier to handle) in a circle approximately 9-10 inches across, and about a quarter of an inch thick. Spread the apricot jam around in a circle, leaving 2 inches or so border for rolling up the edges. Place the apricots inside this circle.
Carefully roll up the edges of the pastry to cover just the outside rim of the apricots.
Place on a baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is a lovely light golden color. Remove from the oven and use the apricot jam to glaze the top. If the jam is too sticky, melt in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and brush over the apricots with a pastry brush.
Serve with double or whipped cream, or a glorious vanilla ice cream.