Apricot flognarde

You'll probably be wondering what the h... is "flognarde"... I only learnt it recently. Check this explanation, I wouldn't say it better. I've been preparing cherry clafoutis for a long time, in fact it is one of my favourite tarts/pies, simple and very fruity, light, perfect for summer. Until recently any fruit tart of this type was a clafoutis for me, but according to the link, things are not that simple. You can prepare this kind of creme-caramel-like mixture of eggs, cream, milk and sugar with almost any kind of fruit, straight on the mold or with a pastry base. I personally prefer it with a nice homemade pastry base.


After this brainy introduction intended to raise the intellectual level of the blog... ahem (not sure I'm succeeding), let's get to the point:

Apricot flognarde

Amounts for a 28,5x4 cm mold (fairly big)

Pastry dough:

• 280 g all-purpose flour
  
• 125 g diced butter (not very hard, not very soft)
  
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 or 2 tablespoons sugar if you like it sweet
  
• 100 g cold water
  

This yields dough for two tarts.

If you prepare the dough in a food processor, put all the ingredients in the bowl and mix until they form a ball. I used my Thermomix to make it in a more traditional way: first I mixed the dry ingredients with the diced butter until it resembled crumbs and then I added the cold water and mixed to form a ball. I'm not sure that there is any difference in the final result, all I can say is my dough was delicious! You can also make the dough by hand, mixing the dry ingredients with your fingers until you get the crumbly texture and then adding the water. Then divide the ball in two and put one half aside; you can freeze it if you like.

Once you have a nice ball of dough, roll it to the desired size. Lay it on a buttered and floured mold and trim the edges. Prick it with a fork and put it in the oven, preheated to 180 ºC, for 10 minutes, to seal it and prevent it from absorbing the liquid of the filling.

Filling:

• 1 kg apricots (maybe you won't use them all, it depends on the size of your mold)
• 5 eggs
• 200 ml cream
• 125 ml milk
• 2 tbsp sugar (adjust to your taste, I don't like my filling very sweet)
• 2 tbsp ground almonds (to make the filling a little bit "frangipanic")

Cut the apricots in half and pit them. I cut them further in fourths, I find them easier to pack that way on the base. Lay them on the partially baked base in a nice pattern. Then put the tart in the oven to soften the apricots a bit, for 5-10 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the filling.



Mix all the ingredients. I always have vanilla pods inside my sugar; I'm crazy about vanilla. Mix everything thoroughly and pour the mixture on the apricots. Return the flognarde to the oven and bake it at 180 ºC around 40 minutes. The exact time depends on the fruit size. When the top is nicely browned, check for doneness with a toothpick or any similar thing.

Clafoutis/flognardes/whatever-you-call-them are easy to make and good for showing off. I recommend them if you want to please and impress family and/or friends...