Apricot, Almond and Mascarpone Tarts
Ingredients
1 roll of store-bought puff pastry, thawed
7 ripe apricots
8 ounces mascarpone
2 eggs, 1 for egg wash
2 tablespoons granulate sugar
1 tablespoon apricot preserves
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
Demerara sugar, for garnish
Optional: fresh thyme, for garnish
Optional: hot honey, for garnish
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cool time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 individual tarts
Steps
Thaw 1 roll of puff pastry dough on the counter - about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 F degrees.
While dough is thawing & oven is preheating, wash & thinly slice apricots. Set aside.
Next, make the mascarpone filling. In a bowl, combine mascarpone, 1 egg, granulated sugar, apricot preserves & almond extract. Using a hand mixer, stand mixer, or a whisk, mix until combined & texture is nice & smooth. It may be a bit runny - that’s okay.
On a flat surface covered with parchment paper, gently roll out thawed puff pastry length-wise. Be careful here not to roll it out too thin - you want it lengthened enough to get 6 symmetrical rectangle tarts out of the dough.
Transfer dough & parchment paper to a baking sheet. Using a non-serrated knife, cut dough into 6 rectangles & spread evenly apart on the baking sheet.
In a small bowl, whisk the other egg to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of each tart to create about a 1/4-inch border.
Next, spoon about 1.5-2 tablespoons of the mascarpone filling into the middle of each tart. Spread the filling out to touch the borders of the egg wash, making sure no filling overflows into the borders.
Gently layer apricot slices in two rows on top of the mascarpone filling in each tart.
Garnish the borders & apricots with Demerara sugar.
Bake tarts for 20-25 minutes until tarts are lightly browned & puffed up.
Let tarts cool on the counter for about 15 minutes.
Optional: garnish tarts with a drizzle of hot honey & a few sprinkles of fresh thyme. Enjoy!