A is for: Apricot & Basil Tart {guest post}

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Hi everyone! I just thought I’d share this unique recipe I came across recently. It was just a regular night in the middle of the week…but I was seriously craving dessert. Ordinary cake or brownies wouldn’t do, I wanted something different. Ultimately, I made this interesting tart after a suggestion from my sister (my usual taste-tester when I try new recipes and a lover of apricots). It also caught my attention because I absolutely LOVE using basil in desserts. Its floral notes and mint-like quality go great with sweets. So, here’s to all of you that are hoping to maybe fancy up your mid-week meals or just want a funky dessert to try: Apricot Basil Tart!

Combine ¾ cup of the milk and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Before adding the basil to the milk, I like to roll and squish the leaves between my palms. Bruising the leaves helps to release more flavor into the milk. Once it all simmers, turn off the burner and let the basil steep for 15 minutes. While that’s going, whisk together the remaining milk, the egg yolks, and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Remove the basil leaves from the pan once the 15 minutes are up and squeeze the excess milk back into the pan. 

Slowly whisk the egg mixture into the warm milk, and then bring it all to a simmer over a medium flame. While the mixture heats, make sure to whisk continuously. Do this for about 2 minutes. As soon as the pastry cream starts to come together (thick enough to coat the back of a spoon), take it off the heat and whisk in the butter. DO NOT overcook the pastry cream. It can be an easy mistake to make because it still looks smooth while you’re whisking, but it’ll become thick and rubbery as it cools. Cover with plastic wrap (directly on the surface of the pastry cream) and cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Next, prepare the shortbread crust. This recipe is very interesting. It uses a hard-boiled egg yolk and potato starch, but the final product reminds me of a Christmas sugar cookie! It’s delicious! As for the potato starch, I found it in the Organic/Natural Foods section of my grocery store, but baking aisles also carry “Potato Starch Flour." However, “Potato Flour” is NOT the same thing, so don’t buy that. First, preheat your oven to 375F. Then, in a separate mixing bowl, beat the hard-boiled egg yolk, butter, and confectioner’s sugar at medium speed for about 2 minutes. The mixture should be smooth. Next, add the flour, potato starch, and salt. Mix at a low speed JUST until combined.

The original instructions specifically called for a rectangular tart pan, but I used a smaller round pan and a muffin tin because I also wanted to make mini tarts. To do this, just split the dough in half, spread one half evenly throughout an 8-inch tart pan, and divide the remaining dough into the muffin tin (about 6-7 mini tart shells). 

Chill the prepared pans for at least 30 minutes. Afterwards, bake the shortbread until golden brown for approximately 20-25 minutes. Then, place the pans on a cooling rack. You want the tart shells to be completely cooled before filling them.

The final component of this tart is the roasted apricot. If you can't find fresh apricots, canned halves will do just fine. Buy them canned in JUICE or LIGHT syrup, but don't confuse them with canned PIE filling. Also, make sure to drain them very well, and maybe even pat them dry with a paper towel. I chose to forgo the sprinkling of sugar in the original recipe because my mom (another one of my usual taste-testers) is diabetic and I didn't want to make the fruit way too sweet. 

I just placed the apricots on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brushed them with 1/2 of the specified jam, then roasted for 15 minutes in a 450F oven. They still turned out yummy, but not cloyingly sweet! (If you do use canned apricots, decrease the cooking time by half. The already tender peels/smaller size may cause them to burn on the baking sheet.) Once they're out of the oven, brush the apricots with the remaining jam. You want these to cool completely before using too.