Alma usually doesn’t like anything sweet. But when I make my apricot jam tart, crostata alla confettura di albiocca, she even takes a second piece! It’s practically fruit, she says, and who am I to argue with her? You can also use fresh apricots, but I always have jam in the house, the other ingredients anyway. This means that I can also bake a cake spontaneously at any time. Instead of apricot jam you can also use orange marmalade, the bitter English one, you know? Or hazelnut cream, ricotta or apples.
IngredientiFor a cake pan of 21 centimeters in diameter you will need:
- 250 g flour type 00
- 150 g butter (take out of the fridge one hour before)
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 20 g acacia honey
- Zest of half an organic lemon
- ½ vanilla pod
- 1 pinch of salt
For the filling you will need:
- 250 g apricot jam
- Zest of half an organic lemon
I make the dough in the food processor. It’s just faster. Put powdered sugar, butter, lemon zest and vanilla bean seeds in the bowl and let it knead at low speed. It’s basically shortbread, so it’s pretty simple. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and salt in a bowl until the mixture is nice and fluffy, then add it to the bowl with the dough. When the dough is kneaded to a uniform mass, you can turn off the food processor and add the flour. Then continue kneading at low speed. The dough should be soft but not sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. There it can harden, ideally overnight. But it usually doesn’t get that much time with me!
The mixture is then very easy to prepare: Just mix the jam and the lemon zest – done! Now take the dough out of the fridge again and roll it out evenly on a floured surface with a rolling pin. The thickness should be 3-4 millimeters in all places. No more and no less. Now cut out a circle of 21 centimeters in diameter that fits into the cake pan. Place this circle in the baking pan, which must be previously either lined with baking paper or buttered. Prick the bottom all over with the tines of a fork. Now put the mixture on top!
Form narrow strips from the remaining dough and place them in a diamond pattern over the filling. The torta must now bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 165 degrees. The jam must not burn, so reduce the temperature a little if necessary. Buon appetito!
PS: For the photos I had taken cherry jam. Also a very tasty alternative! But Alma likes apricot better.
