This photo pretty much sums up my weekend… beautiful, relaxing, and a tad bit decadent.  Saturday morning I hit the Grand-Lake farmer’s market and loaded up on all kinds of edible treasures I didn’t really need but simply couldn’t resist: cherries, strawberries, apricots, eggs, herbs, green kale, garlic, turnips, lavender honey, and a loaf of mushroom-potato flatbread.  Just as I was wondering what I was going to do with all that food, my friend Yvonne called and asked if  I was free to get together.  Sure! I said.  C’mon over for brunch tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I had the rest of Saturday all to myself with no plans whatsoever.  I finished graduate school five weeks ago and I’m still not quite accustomed to the stillness of my school-free weekends.  But I’m working hard at adjusting: I spent the rest of the day on the couch with a book.  I’m halfway through a riveting piece of historical fiction, The Help, which fills me with utter dismay one moment and unbounded hope the next.  It’s hard to believe that less than fifty years ago folks in Mississippi were building separate bathrooms—outdoors—for their African American housekeepers because they thought it unsanitary to share a toilet.  And yet it’s painfully, painfully true.

Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending a dinner party with some of my Wharton classmates at our friend Prasad’s house in Fremont.  You’ve never seen such a fabulous home!  It must be 5000 square feet and his lovely wife Risha has filled it with some incredible pieces of artwork and sculpture.  But in traditional Indian style, dinner wasn’t served until after 10pm, so it was a late night.  I stumbled into my apartment (which suddenly felt very much like a shoebox) well past midnight.

This morning, by some small miracle, I got myself out of bed for an early run and then put together a pretty fantastic spread with Saturday’s farmer’s market bounty.  Yvonne and I feasted at my breakfast counter and got lost in conversation for a good couple of hours.  But when she left, I realized I had forgotten the apricots: There they were still in a paper bag tucked behind some cookbooks on the counter.

And so I thumbed through the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, and lo and behold… there was a recipe for apricots in all their luscious, golden glory: Almond-Apricot Tart.

I think I’m legal in printing the recipe here because I’ve modified it just a bit.  The original version yielded too much filling, so I pared it down.  I also think whipped cream needs a little sugar and vanilla when it’s paired with uncooked, unsweetened fruit, so I added both.  But you can leave it unsweetened if you prefer.

Still, you should pick up a copy of the magazine, not only for this recipe but because it’s filled with all kinds of other fun things this month: Some lovely photography of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, some great recipes for summertime libations, and a fun piece on collecting antique citrus juicers.  I know we all love to hate Martha, but she really does publish a beautiful magazine.

Make the Crust

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup blanched almonds, toasted*
4 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 large egg yolk
Pinch of salt

Pulse the almonds and flour in a food processor and set aside.  Beat butter and confectioner’s sugar with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Add flour mixture, yolk, and the salt.  Mix until the dough comes together, then turn out into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  Using the heel of your hand or the bottom of a lightly greased drinking glass, press the dough over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.  Refrigerate one hour.

Make the Filling

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Myers rum
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325F.  Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to cool at least 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, beat the yolks, corn syrup, and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Mix in the browned butter, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the browned solids.  Add the rum, cream and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth.

Remove the tart shell from the refrigerator and pour the filling into it.  Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is just barely set in the middle, about 40 minutes.  Allow to cool on a rack.

Prepare the Topping

6 medium firm-ripe apricots, pitted and sliced thinly
2 cups heavy cream, cold
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Arrange the apricots in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge, until the surface of the tart filling is covered.  Beat the cold cream with the sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Serve each wedge of the tart with a dollop of whipped cream.  (Note, the apricots will start to turn brown within 30 minutes, so you’ll want to assemble this tart as close to serving time as possible.  If you must make it a few hours ahead, brush the apricots with melted, strained apricot jelly to “seal” them, then cover with plastic wrap.)

*To toast the almonds, spread them in a single layer over a cookie sheet and toast in a 325F oven for 5-10 minutes, stirring them with a wooden spoon every two minutes.  Alternatively, you can toss them gently in a hot, un-greased cast iron skillet over a medium-high flame.  Be careful not to let them burn.  Allow to cool completely before using.

Make the genoise cake:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
6 large eggs
Pinch salt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 10-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper.  Do not grease the sides.  (Genoise batter needs to “cling” to the ungreased sides of the cake pan in order to rise.)

Melt the butter over low heat and set aside.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch, then set aside.

Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan.  Place the eggs, salt and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, then place the bowl over the simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.  (If it does, use a smaller saucepan.)  Over the simmering water, whisk the mixture for 5 to 7 minutes or until the mixture is hot to the touch, about 120 F.  Remove the bowl and place on the mixer stand.  With the whisk attachment, whisk on medium for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is pale yellow and falls from the whisk in a wide, thick ribbon.

Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and sift one-third of the flour mixture over the egg mixture.  Gently fold the flour into the eggs with a large rubber spatula, folding the batter from the bottom of the bowl to the top, rather than stirring.  Repeat with the remaining flour in two more batches, working quickly and carefully just until the flour is incorporated.

Mix about 1 cup of the batter into the melted butter, then fold the melted butter mixture into the remaining batter.  Continue folding only until the butter is incorporated.  Over-beating at this point will deflate the batter and result in a flat cake.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back to the touch.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack.

Make the Frangelico syrup:

1 cup sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup Frangelico (hazelnut) liqueur

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Stir gently with a fork just until the sugar is dissolved.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring just to a boil.  Remove the syrup from the heat, stir in the Frangelico, and set aside.

Make the Bavarian filling:

2 cups whole milk
¼ teaspoon salt
½ vanilla bean
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1 ½ teaspoons gelatin (½ packet)
1 tablespoon water
2 cups heavy cream, cold

Place the milk and salt in a medium saucepan.  Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and, using the tip of a sharp knife, gently scrape the seeds from the bean and add them to the milk mixture.  Heat the milk mixture over medium heat until simmering, whisking constantly so it does not scald.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar, then whisk in the eggs until combined.  Ladle about 1 cup of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  Pour the hot egg mixture back into the simmering milk, whisking over medium heat until the mixture is thick and pale.  This will take about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and whisk in the butter pieces.  Whisk until thoroughly incorporated.

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water until dissolved.  Whisk the gelatin mixture into the custard, and mix until thoroughly combined.  Set the custard aside to cool to room temperature.

When the custard is cool, begin to beat the cream in the bowl of a stand mixer until it forms medium-stiff peaks.  Immediately and gently fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream with a large rubber spatula.

Assemble the cake:

1 recipe genoise cake
1 recipe Frangelico syrup
1 recipe Bavarian filling
3 pounds whole, ripe apricots

Split the genoise cake into two layers and brush both sides and all edges of each layer generously with the Frangelico syrup, using a pastry brush.  Place a cardboard round into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan, then place the bottom cake layer on top of the cardboard.  Spread about 1/3 of the Bavarian cream over the cake layer.

Slice about one-third of the apricots into halves and remove pits.  Slice each half into halves again horizontally.  (Don’t quarter the fruit; each  apricot should yield four fairly flat slices, as pictured.)  Press the flat slices into the Bavarian cream around the perimeter of the cake, standing on-end with centers facing outward and pressed snugly against the side of the cake pan.  Slice another third of the remaining apricots into halves, then quarter each half and arrange the apricot pieces over the layer of Bavarian filling.

Cover the apricot pieces with the remaining Bavarian filling and tap the pan gently against the work surface to remove any air bubbles.  Place the top cake layer over the Bavarian layer and press down firmly to distribute the Bavarian evenly.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the assembled cake for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make the almond whipped cream topping:

1 cup whipping cream, cold
2 tablespoons almond extract
2 tablespoons sugar

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the cream until thick.  Add the almond extract and sugar, continuing to whisk until soft peaks form.

With an offset spatula, spread the almond cream over the top of the cake in a smooth, even layer.  Slice the remaining apricots and arrange over the almond cream in concentric patterns.  Finish the design with a few fresh raspberries or other fruit in a contrasting color.

Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

This recipe is adapted from Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson’s recipe for Bavarian in their book, “Tartine,” which is chock-full of delectable recipes from their famed bakery (of the same name) in San Francisco’s Mission District.  It’s one of my favorite spots for sweets in all of the Bay Area; definitely put it on your list of places to visit if you’re in town.  (Their éclairs are particularly good.)  If you can’t visit, buy the book.  It’s one of the most comprehensive books available on baking and pastry making.

Wash and dry four apricots, then cut them in half lengthwise. Remove the pits. Place the halves on a 10-by-12-inch piece of tinfoil. Dot each apricot half with a small piece of butter, then sprinkle with a few tablespoons of sugar and some freshly grated nutmeg. Fold the tinfoil over the apricots like an envelope, pressing the edges together.

Transfer the “envelope” to a cookie sheet, then place under the broiler (or directly on the barbecue) for 6-8 minutes, or until the apricots are tender.

Unwrap the apricots carefully, reserving the syrupy juices. Spoon the apricot halves onto slices of pound cake (store-bought is fine), then top with creme fraiche. (If you can’t find creme fraiche, use whipped cream.) Drizzle with the syrup and garnish with fresh berries.

To make your own creme fraiche: Place 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 tablespoon buttermilk in a bowl and leave at room temperature for 12-14 hours. Once thickened, keep refrigerated. Whip gently before using.