What is it about apricots what makes them real summer fruit for me? It might be their gorgeous yellow-orange colour making them shine like the summer sun, or their sweet smell that brings many lovely memories of hot summer days from my childhood, or all of that together. Maybe the fact that they are not easily available all year round, same as strawberries, raspberries and other summer fruit, makes them so special.
Anyway, when I see or smell apricots, my mind shouts - summer!
I remember that when I was a kid, my older brother and I used to go picking apricots every summer. They were the best and sweetest apricots, and our mum always made the best apricot dumplings served with quark, sugar and melted butter. Sight! I can almost taste it on my tongue when thinking about it. Or she would make a delicious apricot cake with crumble topping. All of those were, however possible only if we didn't eat all the apricots straight away! Yes, that happened quite often. :)
So when I finally got my hands on first apricots last week, I had to try hard not to eat them all. I was contemplating what should I cook or bake with them. First, I wanted to make apricot dumplings that my mum used to make, but then I changed my mind (honestly, it would make too much work) and chose galette. I only made galette once during this winter, filled with strawberries and apples, and I was planning to make it again. It's quite quick and easy to make and the taste is fantastic!
I love the combination of apricots and quark and I wanted to use that for my galette, but I was too lazy to go shopping. Well, next time! :)
Apricot galette
250 g plain flour
2 tbsp golden cane sugar
1/4 tsp salt
115 g cold unsalted butter, diced
3 tbsp cold milk
about 20 fresh apricots, halved and pitted
2 tbsp sliced almonds
30g golden cane sugar
1 egg for egg wash
3 tbsp apricot jam
1. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter and using your hands rub the butter in to the flour until you have pea sized crumbles. Add the cold milk and blend everything together with a fork. Do not knead the dough. Gather the clumps into a ball.
2. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and flatten it a bit. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 200C. Unwrap the dough and press the edges so that there are no cracks. Dust a sheet of parchment paper with flour and roll out the dough into a 25cm circle about 0,3-0.5cm thick. Transfer the dough on the parchment paper to a baking sheet.
4. Arrange the apricots on dough, leaving a 5cm border. Sprinkle with almonds and most of the sugar, reserving 1 tbsp of sugar to sprinkle over the edges. Fold the edges over the apricots. Brush the edges with egg wash and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
5. Bake on the lower half of the oven for about 35-40 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool for 10 minutes and then brush the tart with melted apricot jam.
