Apricot tart with light brioche dough

Pâte levée is one of M-T's specialties.  With the characteristic extensibility built-in, pâte levée is much easier to work with than pâte brisée, no more crumbly crust! Once baked, pâte levée is airy, full of flavor but not overly rich, a perfect foil for stoned fruits or savory hearty fillings.

There are two ways I like to fill my apricot tart, one with creme fraiche and the other with frangipane. Both are delicious. Experiment to find out your favorite filling.

For light brioche (pâte levée) dough:

- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 tsp fast yeast
- 100 ml lukewarm milk
- 1 egg
- 250 g flour (plain, strong or a mix)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 100 g melted butter

For the filling (1):

- 6-9 apricots, stoned and quartered
- 125 ml of creme fraiche
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or almond extract)
- 2 tbsps of sugar
- apricot jam
- demerara sugar
- 1 beaten egg

For the filling (2):

- 6-9 apricots, stoned and quartered
- 50 g melted butter
- 50 g ground almond
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 egg
- demerara sugar

The dough recipe is sufficient for two crusts. Half the recipe if you want. Otherwise, make two tarts, one sweet and one savory!

Mix all dough ingredients to form a dough. Let the dough proof for 2 hours until the size doubles. Cut in halves and roll out one piece for the apricot tart.

Cover the pie dish with the pie crust (as in pictures #1 and #3) and brush on a thin layer of apricot jam. You can go free form as I did in the picture #2.

Choose one of the fillings. For filling #1, mix creme fraiche, vanilla extract, sugar and half of the beaten egg. For filling #2, mix melted butter, ground almond, sugar and the whole egg. Pour the the filling mixture on top of the jam. Lay down the apricot quarters on top of the filling mixture in a decorative manner. Brush more apricot jam on fresh apricot quarters and sprinkle with sugar. Finally brush the pie dough edges with the remaining egg wash from filling #1. Bake at 180C for 40-45 minutes.