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How to make a French tart
If you have every wanted to learn how to make a French apricot tart, you are in the right place. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make an apricot French tart including how to make tart dough. You CAN make this! This recipe is easy, simple and authentic.
If you have extra apricots because, um, you have an apricot tree, this recipe is a great way to use apricots.
French Tart Dough Recipe – Step by Step Pictures
This tart dough is easy to make in a food processor. A special kneading method called fraisage is used to blend the flour and butter together with out making the dough tough. The dough is worked cold and rolled out just like a pie crust. You CAN do this!
Why I love French tarts.
Have you ever heard of the Imposter Phenomenon? It’s the concept describing high-achieving individuals who have trouble internalizing their accomplishments and believe they will be exposed as a fraud. It’s not a mental disorder or a personality trait but rather a response to a situation. It’s really interesting and continues to be studied.
Why do I bring this up? Because in the kitchen, especially with baking, super especially with French pastries, I feel like a fraud. Learning to cook is a life long process which includes at the basic level learning to chop, dice, sauté, wash dishes etc.
With pastries, there is so much more to it. Baking includes complex chemical reactions that need a narrow window of ingredients to make the reactions happen properly.
Too much flour or liquid in the dough and you pretty much have to start over. I have always thought of baking as needing an advanced set of skills, sometimes convincing myself that only cooking school graduates should attempt to master, especially with French pastries!
Well, you do need more advanced skills- but the secret that the imaginary angry French Chef from Le Cordon Bleu – that lives in my head- never told me is that each pastry recipe learned builds those skills one-by-one, easily.
French tart dough is a great start to building those skills and that is why I love French tarts! I even succeeded on the first try!
about Richard Grausman & C-CAP
This apricot dessert recipe is adapted from my latest favorite French cookbook and guide, French Classics Made Easy by Richard Grausman. Although there are many types of fruits that are great in a tart, I used apricots because my apricot tree is very generous.
When I first received my French Classics Made Easy book in the mail, I read it like a novel. It really captured my attention because of how approachable French Cooking was through this well written book.
I was inspired and excited but never thought about the author behind the book, until he reached out to me.
Mr. Grausman is not only a cookbook author but has dedicated his career to helping American cooks succeed in the kitchen and inner-city high school kids develop an outlet for their creativity and transform their own lives.
In 1990 Mr. Grausman piloted a culinary arts program in twelve New York City schools. His Careers in the Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) has provided a valuable platform for underserved high school students to reach goals, develop a marketable skill and enter culinary college programs that would otherwise be unreachable. Through his leadership, the program has flourished with the help of industry support.
Mr. Grausman has generously offered to help you with your culinary questions including with this tart recipe. He looks forward to helping you on your culinary journey by sharing his expertise and his passion for teaching.
If you are interested in helping support this amazing organization, please consider donating or fundraising for this vital community asset.
The fabulous serving pieces were made by my husband, Mr. Craftiness.
For 15 recipes to cook and eat on Bastille Day, click here!
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Bon Appetit!
French Apricot Tart Recipe
A French Tarte aux Abricot recipe with step-by-step instructions. This apricot dessert is a great way to use up apricots if you are lucky enough to an apricot tree.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (190g)
- 1 Tbs sugar
- 8 Tbs cold, unsalted butter (115g)
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 Tbs cold water
- 3 Tbs corn starch
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 cups of fresh apricot haves, may use frozen (thawed)
- 1/2 cup apricot jam mixed with 3 Tbs water
- OPTIONAL
OPTIONAL
- 1/2 cup of sugar to mix with the apricots to increase sweetness.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475F.
- Place flour and sugar in food processor and pulse a few times. While processing, add butter, one tablespoon at a time until well incorporated.
- In a small bowl, add egg and water and mix well. While processing, add egg mixture in a slow stream and continue to process until dough comes together in a ball, take dough out.
- On a floured surface, dust the dough with flour and fraisage* the dough four or five times until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick to the surface. Form dough into a round shape, refrigerate 15 minutes.
- Roll dough out on a floured surface into the size and shape that will fit your 9 to 11 inch tart pan. Roll dough up onto rolling pin and transfer to tart pan. Push the dough into the pan at the edges. Using a rolling pin, roll along the top to cut the excess dough off, see pictures above. Poke holes in tart with a fork several times.
- Sprinkle tart with corn starch and sugar, add apricots.
- Bake tart on lowest rack for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 425F and continue baking for approximately 30 minutes or until tart is gently boiling and rim of crust is dark brown.
- Take the tart out and *unmold immediately to put on a cooling rack. When the tart has cooled, brush top with apricot and water mixture gently.
Notes
- Fraisage is a technique of kneading where you take the palm of your hand and push outward, repeating until the dough is flattened. The goal is to push the butter and flour together in a tighter bind.
- To unmold a tart pan, slide part of the pan over the edge of counter, wrap your hand and forearm with a kitchen towel to protect from burns, push up the bottom of the pan to unhinge the ring, letting the ring dangle on your wrist, carry tart to cooling rack, slide off the tart.
- Apricots have lower sugar than many other fruits. If your sweetness preference is on the higher side, you may want to add an additional 1/2 cup white sugar to the apricots to counter the tartness of the fruit. This is a tip from one of the readers, thanks Charity!
Recommended Products
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- Webake 11 inch Tart Pan Heavy Duty Quiche Pan Removable Bottom Nonstick Round Pie Pan
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 288Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 16mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 2gSugar: 29gProtein: 3g
More French Recipes:
Pâte á Choux
French Mushroom Soup
Beurre Blanc, a French White Sauce
French Sardine Pate
Christine says
I have made this twice now as it is apricot season in Australia, it is divine, I made my pastry vegan.
Tina says
What a great idea Christine! I should mention that you can do that. Did you use margarine? Thanks for trying this, I’ve had great results so far:)
Richard Grausman says
Thanks for using and crediting my recipe. If you or your readers ever have questions or a problem with any of the recipes in my book, French Classics Made Easy, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at my email address below.
Tina says
Thank you Mr. Grausman for you generosity. You are a natural teacher and it really comes through in your writing. Your book has really given me confidence to try French pastries in my own kitchen. Your explanations are clear and helpful in understanding the techniques and what to look for. Your book seems to be popular with readers, I refer to it frequently. Again THANK you!
Ellie says
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!! My sister loves apricots and I’ll make sure to try this recipe! I have a question that I’ve always wanted to know the answer to: I don’t have a food processor but I do have a blender. Is it possible to get the same result by using a blender instead?
Tina says
I am so glad you asked. You can’t do this in a blender. But you can do it the old-school way and add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and start kneading by hand. I used to do this before I had a food processor. If the thought of committing to a food processor makes you cringe, try the second hand stores. Almost all of my kitchen is from second hand stores, estate sales or hand-me-downs. The food processor makes cooking so much easier. I have an old small one. I think it’s 20 years old. I want a bigger one but I have such a small kitchen I don’t know where I would put it. Let me know what you decide to do! I would love to hear all about it:)
Bonnie says
To make vanilla sugar, put 1 slit open vanilla bean in a jar of sugar (about a cup) for at least a week.
Or, mix 1 c sugar with 1/2 tsp vanilla; mix well and keep covered in a mason jar with lid,
Alternative
Tina says
Sweet! I was wondering if that was something you bought. I will try this, thank you for the vanilla sugar tips:)
Bonnie says
Wonderful, easy crust! Here’s how I did it. Blind bake the crust for 15 minutes, filled with dried rice or beans on parchment paper; remove and bake 5 more minutes until light golden brown. (450 degrees). Lower oven to 350. Mix 1/4 c apricot jam with 3 T cornstarch, spread in bottom of pan. Cut apricots into sixths or eights depending upon size, fan into a pretty circular pattern. Sprinkle with 2 tsp. Vanilla sugar. Bake 20 min or until bubbly and apricots are tender. Cover edges with foil if needed. Delicious and so easy!
Tina says
Bonnie, that’s GREAT!! Thanks for the blind baking tips:). So glad this worked out for you! Love the addition of vanilla sugar, I need to find me some. My brother-in-law loves apricot desserts and sometimes make a special request. I LOVE this recipe.
Heather says
Mine didn’t turn out quite so pretty as yours, but for my first time making a tart, I was very pleased! Your directions were fantastic. And I didn’t think it needed the extra sugar even with the super sour apricots I had. It was the perfect amount of sweet!
Tina says
I’m glad the directions helped Heather. I try to add more pictures when it’s something that may be perceived as hard to make. I would say I’m an intermediate cook and I thought this wasn’t hard at all. I bet yours turned out beautiful! I just take really good pictures sometimes. Thanks for your feed back. I’ve made it tart and sweet. I think it’s a matter of taste really. We actually serve ours with vanilla ice cream so tart is fine for us. Bon Appetit!
Dominique Ballada says
Thank you very much for this recipe, but it did not work for me, next time I will pre cook for 8 minutes the dough.
Tina says
Hey Dominique, I am sorry it didn’t work out. Pre-cooking is a good idea if the pastry wasn’t cooked through or if it developed a soggy bottom. Nobody wants a soggy bottom. Does this happen to your other baked goods? If so, your oven temperatures may be on the lower end. Every oven is different and every place in your oven has a different temperature. The back of the oven is much hotter than the front for example. Placing food too low in your oven can burn the bottom while placing food too high will have the opposite effect. I bought an oven thermometer to learn how my oven operates compared to the setting. I hope this helps. Thanks for letting me know your experience and please let me know how pre-cooking the pastry turns out. Cheers!
Debby says
Can you use dried apricots instead of fresh?
Tina says
Hi Debby, great question. You may be able to if you rehydrate them first. I have never tried this but now I’m curious. We have an apricot tree so we dry a lot of apricots. I think I’ll try it. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out. Good luck!
Andrea Metlika says
Just looking at how beautiful this is makes me want to be a better baker. Yum!
Emily says
I see that this recipe calls for fresh or frozen apricots. I’ve heard that frozen tastes pretty much like fresh when they are baked in desserts. Is that true for this tart?
Tina says
I used frozen from my apricot tree and I think it tastes the same.
Cindy Gordon says
What a stunning recipe! I really appreciate your step by step pictures in the post! So helpful to me!
Beth Pierce says
What a decadent dessert, indeed! This will be perfect for my niece’s graduation party this weekend; yum!
Anita @ Daily Cooking Quest says
Last I check, peaches are on big sale where I live. Do you think I can swap the apricot with peaches and make the tart following the recipe?
Tina says
Yes, peaches are a great substitute. Peaches are sweeter than apricots so you won’t need to add the 1/4 cup of additional sugar. Let me know how yours turns out.
Julie Applegate says
Yum!
Tina says
Have you ever made polenta Julie? This was my first try, I’m sold.
JULIE LINDQUIST APPLEGATE says
No, not yet!
K says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My Uncle has requested an apricot pie for Father’s Day. This recipe will be perfect. Could you please provide more guidance with how many apricots I should purchase? Should they be peeled, blanched, sliced, cooked first? Thank you so much!
Tina says
How exciting! I love apricots too, what a great gift for your uncle. The wonderful thing about cooking with apricots is that there is no blanching and peeling. Just cut them in half and remove the pits. You will use 3 1/2 cups or so of apricot halves. Apricots come in different sizes so you may want to bring your measuring cup to the store so you can estimate better. You can also find apricots frozen for your convenience. You can use fresh or frozen in this recipe. They will soften as the tart cooks. You may want to add the additional sugar that is mentioned in the notes for a sweeter tart. Apricots are pretty tart when baked. We don’t personally add the extra sugar because we serve with vanilla ice cream for a nice contrast. Good luck and enjoy!
CC says
I think the apricots should be sliced rather than halved and they definitely need sugar. Next time I think I’ll toss sliced apricots with the sugar and cornstarch. Also, the crust isn’t as delectable as other tart crusts that didn’t use an egg (eg Julia Child’s / Ina Garten’s for free form apple tart). Easy and tasty!
Tina says
Hi Charity, thanks for the feedback. Sweetness level is definitely a personal preference, even in my own house. My hubby and daughter are on the sweet end of the spectrum and I’m somewhere on the low end. Apricots do not have as much natural sugar as apples so if you are on the sweet end of the spectrum, you can definitely add sugar to the apricots. Thanks for the tip, I will add that in my notes. Julia was an amazing, no fuss chef I used to watch on TV and now on Youtube. She was really inspiring. I haven’t made anything by Ina but my friends have and they rave about her. Good luck and ‘Bon Appetit!’
Jessica Robinson says
We’re lovers of Apricots and this recipe looks delish! So beautiful!
Tina says
Thanks Jessica, I love apricots too! Can you grow an apricot tree where you live?
Carmela says
This looks like an interesting tart recipe, however, looking at the picture of the apricots on the dough covered with the cornstarch and sugar, are those apricots sautéed? They look pre-cooked , not fresh?
Tina says
Hi Carmela, these apricots came from my apricot tree. I cut them in half and freeze them. These were thawed before placing on the dough. If you can find frozen apricots I recommend using those. Fresh work well too. I am lucky to have fruit trees and grape vines. Utah is great for growing fruit.
Jessica @Small Bites by Jessica says
This looks stunning! Love how easy you made it look! 😀
Amy at Cooking1handed.com says
This is so beautiful and elegant. Thank you for breaking down the steps and adding some information on technique. THIS is what makes good cooks great cooks!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
Mmmm. That was a fun read!! I love apricots not only because of the taste, but they remind me of my mother!! I can’t wait to follow your recipe and make your tart!! Delish!
Tina says
Thanks Elaine, I’m glad this brought back fond memories:)
Ali from Home & Plate says
What a pretty tart. I love the idea of using apricots for something special. This looks delicious and perfect served at a dinner party.
Tina says
I love how this looks too! It’a great recipe for anybody with an apricot tree too;)
Shashi @ SavorySpin says
Most times I just use a premixed pastry crust – but yours looks so easy and SOOO AMAZING! And wow – that filling – luscious!
Tina says
It really is easy, I was surprised too!
Pam says
Wow! That looks fabulous and I appreciate your explanations and reassurances. I think I would feel confident to try this. (by the way, your husband’s “craftiness” is pretty awesome too)
Tina says
Aw thanks Pam, I will surely tell him:)
Tihana says
Hi 🙂 If we do not have a food processor, how do you recommend doing the dough? Thank you for the answer!
Tina says
Hi Tihana, great question! I suggest mixing dry ingredients, then add butter and ‘cut’ the flour with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the butter is well incorporated with the flour. The dough will look crumbly. Add the beaten egg and cold water and mix until dough is just smooth. Then fraisage the dough as in the pictures. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions and let us know how it turns out!
Adriana says
this looked like such a lovely recipe! unfortunately mine didn’t quite work out, all the cornstarch and sugar just turned into a paste covering the bottom of the crust and the apricots just sat on top in a watery juice. i sort of mushed it all around after it finished in an attempt to fix it, so it’s not so pretty anymore. the crust is very nice though! any tips for next time?
Tina says
Hi Adriana, I really wished that recipe worked for you. I’ve made this tart using pears and apricots and I get the same result. I’ve used fresh pears and frozen apricots from my backyard apricot tree. I looked up if cornstarch goes bad like baking powder and baking soda. It doesn’t seem to. I can’t figure out why yours ended up a watery mess. I do suggest you reach out to Richard Grausman. He is the author of French Classics Made Easy. He has graciously offered any help my readers may have and you can reach him at RGrausman[at]CCAPINC.org. Good luck on your future culinary adventures and check back here and let me know what happens. I would love to hear from you.
James Schulz says
I presume you mean 1/4 cup sugar
A round tart pan (as shown in your photos) cannot be described as 9 x 11. I presume you mean the diameter of the pan should be 11 inches.
Tina says
Hi James! Yes, 1/4 cup sugar, great catch! The tart dough can fit anywhere from a 9 to 11 inch tart pan. I changed it in the instructions, hopefully it’s more clear. I really appreciate your feedback! If you make this, let me know how it turns out. Take care.