Plum and apricot brioche tart with crème fraîche custard
- Published: 13 Jul 23
- Updated: 25 Mar 24
This extra special brioche tart makes the most of the summer’s fruit. A crème fraîche custard captures the delicious fruit juices and provides a silky foil for the sweet plums and apricots.
Leave plenty of time to make our homemade brioche dough before starting the rest of the tart. It’s worth having a batch in the freezer ready for when stone fruits are at their peak.
Recipe by Anna Higham, pastry chef, baker and author of The Last Bite (DK £22).
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for greasing
- ½ quantity brioche dough, chilled
- Plain flour to dust
- 8-10 stone fruit (we used plums and apricots)
- 50g caster sugar
- Finely grated zest and juice ½ lemon
- Whole milk to brush
- Demerara sugar to sprinkle
For the custard
- 25g caster sugar
- 300g crème fraîche
- 1 medium free-range egg
- 1 tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp mahlab (see Know How)
Method
- Lightly oil a shallow oven tray, at least 35cm x 25cm in size, and line with baking paper. Take the chilled brioche dough from the fridge and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, trying to keep it in its rectangular shape. Roll the dough out into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle. Using a sharp knife, mark a line 5cm in from the edge, all the way around the dough.
- Transfer the dough to the lined tray, then use scissors to make inward cuts all the way around the edge of the dough with a 2-3cm gap between each. Cut to the marked line so the dough looks like a fringed rug. Twist and press each of these fringes into the central part of the dough, slightly overlapping each other to create a braided effect around the edge. Loosely cover the dough and put somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour.
- When the dough is almost risen, heat the oven to 190°C fan/gas 6.5. Whisk together all the ingredients for the crème fraîche custard and set aside. Cut each stone fruit into 8 wedges, then toss with the sugar and the lemon zest and juice.
- Unwrap the risen dough and use your fingers to make lots of dimples in the central rectangle (like you would with a focaccia), then spread the custard evenly on top. Tumble the macerated fruit on top of the custard, along with any juices in the bowl. Brush the edges of the tart with a little milk and sprinkle generously with demerara sugar.
- Bake for about 35 minutes until the dough is deeply golden and the custard has risen and has a pleasingly jelly-like wobble. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before lifting from the roasting dish. You can enjoy the tart warm or allow it to cool completely and eat it cold.
- Recipe from August 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 390kcals
- Fat
- 24g (14.8g saturated)
- Protein
- 5.5g
- Carbohydrates
- 36g (17.2g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.8g
- Salt
- 0.4g
delicious. tips
Easy swaps: Greengages, blackcurrants, raspberries and peaches will all be delicious here.
Mahlab is a spice made from the ground stones of the St Lucy cherry. You can buy it online or leave it out if you like – although it does lend a wonderfully fragrant almond-like flavour.
Buy ingredients online
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