Apricot Goat Cheese Tarte- for Tim Clinch Photography Workshop
Buy apricots. Now.
When Tim Clinch and I discussed the first day’s shoot for the Food Photography Workshop this weekend, we both shouted , “Summer!”
These are summer moments, don’t put it off. Peaches, Tomatoes, Apricots. Too soon and these perfectly ripe fruit will be passé and you’ll have to make apricot jam. However, just now, these firm but juicy guys give their tart/sweet sunshine juice willingly yet still stand up to the hot fast baking, holding their shape and cradling their own juices mixed with thyme and drizzled honey.
This ‘variation on a tarte theme’ is my go-to summer/winter fruit dessert. The very good and forgiving French butter pastry is a snap to make. See my recipe for that here.
The fresh goat cheese base- creamy, slightly sweet, and beaten with an egg, is poured into the unbaked pastry and serves as a creamy blank canvas for the fruit. The surface is arranged with the apricots hollow side up to hold the juices and honey, dusted with some fresh thyme and popped in the hot (425′F/220′C) oven to bake for 25 minutes.
eh voila! I do this tarte over and over with peaches, plums, pears, figs…all the fresh stone fruit until the fall and then I switch to thinly sliced apples marinated in armagnac, cooked fruit, thick jam or just cream and honey. More good photographs like this one of the steps to make the tarte were taken by Mardi on the Food Photography Workshop and posted on her site here. Want the step by step recipe? Here it is…
Apricot & Goat Cheese Tarte.
My French version of a ‘cheesecake’ is made with abundant sweet goat cheese from local cheesemaker Marie de Chevre at the Nerac market. IT’s a snap- topped with fresh fruit, a drizzle of good honey and popped in the oven for a dessert that takes 35 minutes top!
- use your own favorite or my recipe here-http://kitchen-at-camont.com/2010/08/08/easy-french-all-butter-pastry/
- Roll out and arrange in tarte pan and let rest. Now make …
- FRESH goat cheese- this is the just made, unsalted faiselle or curds I can get from the market, but any very fresh, soft, and
creamy goat’s cheese can work. It’s the balance of sweet milk and tangy cheese you are looking for. If you can’t find the freshest soft cheese, then use a young goat cheese and soften it with additional sweet cream or creme fraiche. The amount of goat cheese can vary according to what I find. I use about 1 1/2 cups or 375 grams which makes a thin but substantial base. - One egg
- One Tablespoon of sugar
- One splash of vanilla/orange flower/armagnac flavoring
- Tear or cut the apricots in half, remove the stone, and arrange over the goat cheese filling hollow side up.
- Drizzle liquid honey (acacia is best of all) over the surface.
- Scatter some fresh Thyme leaves across the apricots.
- place on a baking tray to make it easier to remove when hot.
- slide into the very hot oven.
- bake for 25 minutes.
From the first well-documented apricots from our latest food photography workshop with Tim Clinch to the last celebrated iPhone bite after a Friday Night Fever Fete, this tarte held up. The pastry crust remains crisp and toothsome and the filling clean and fresh- not too sweet and full of summer. As Monica said when she captured the moment, “This is what we are looking for!”
LOL “Remember to leave a slice each for a midnight post-fete frenzy.”
I am STILL smiling from eat to ear about my weekend. Thank you for this Kate. I will make this tarte, too, over and over again now. And think of the fun we had. Thank you.
Hi, Kate,
This tarte sounds most delicious as I love anything made with goat cheese or just eating plain goat cheese. I’m baking this in two days and will let you know the results. Thanks for the perfect pastry recipe. I cannot wait to try it as my pastry crusts seem to always be “rubbery”. This is going to be my perfect contribution to my friend’s birthday party. And what a story I will tell when they ask where I got the recipe. Electronic communication is a great thing! Stay well and blessings.