Lord Alvanley's Apricot Tart

In several of my Regencies, particularly my short stories, William Arden, 2nd Baron Alvanley (“Lord Alvanley”) is a character.  He was an officer in the Coldstream Guards, attaining the rank of  Captain in the service of the 50th Regiment of Foot in 1809. He later  transferred to the 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot. Lord Alvanley  was also a Regency buck and member of White’s men’s club. One of the  Prince Regent's friends, Lord Alvanley was also friends with Beau  Brummell, the well known dandy, and supported him even when he was  living in exile in France.

Among the things for which Lord  Alvanley was famous, was his love of apricot tarts. Hence, this is the  featured dessert when he appears in my Valentine's Day story The Shamrock & The Rose and The Twelfth Night Wager.

Should you want to taste it yourself, here's the recipe:

Ingredients for pastry

   8 tablespoons (4 ounces; 12 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
 1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (180 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
 2 tablespoons finely ground unblanched almonds

Ingredients for filling

1/2 cup (25 cl) crème fraîche or heavy (whipping) cream
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons full-flavored honey, such as lavender
1 tablespoon superfine flour

About 1 1/2 pounds (750 g) fresh apricots, pitted and halved (do not peel)
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside.

Make the pastry:

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and the sugar, and using a  wooden spoon, stir to blend. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to  form a soft, cookie-like dough. Transfer the dough to the center of the  buttered pan. Using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry  along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. The pastry will be quite  thin.

Place the  pan in the center of the oven and bake until the dough is slightly puffy  and set, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom  of the crust. (This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.)

Meanwhile make the filling:

In a medium-size bowl, combine the crème fraîche, egg, extracts and honey and whisk to blend. Whisk in the flour.
Pour the filling evenly over the pastry.

Starting just inside the edge of the pan, neatly overlap the halved  apricots, cut side up, at an angle. Arrange in two or three concentric  circles, working toward the center. Fill in the center with the  remaining apricots.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the  center of the oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a  deep golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. The apricots will shrivel  slightly.

Remove from the oven and  immediately sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Place the tart on a rack  to cool. Sprinkle again with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Recipe from Patricia Wells, author of The Food Lover's Guide to Paris.