Tarte aixoise

When I first started making pies, I made this pie as I was trying to make pies from different parts of France.  While it is called a tarte aixoise, it isn't actually from Aix-en-Provence.  So the name is kind of a mystery.  It is a fantastic tart and I love it.  As I was trying to think of why it took me almost five years to make it again, I remembered that my husband makes apricots and when they are in season, I am either busy making pies for fair competitions or so sick of making pies after the fairs.

Ingredients:
Single pie crust
1 cup of milk
1 vanilla bean or vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of flour
100g of almond flour
60g of butter
6 to 10 apricots, depending on size
Twice as many whole almonds as apricots
Two tablespoons of apricot preserves
Warm water

Directions:
Blind bake your crust at 410oF.  Bring milk and vanilla to a boil.  (Remove the bean, if you used a whole vanilla bean.) Whisk together yolks, sugar, and flour.  Whisk in 1/3 of milk.  Pour egg mixture into remaining milk and continue to cook until it thickens and  becomes shiny.  Add almond flour and butter to the custard and stir until a consistent texture.  Pour into blind baked crust and level with a spatula.  Cut your apricots in half and "harmoniously place" the halves with the hollow facing up.  Then place an almond into each hollow.  Mix the apricot preserves and the warm water to make a glaze.  Brush the glaze over the entire tart.  Bake for 25 minutes at 410oF.  Remove from tart pan while still warm and allow to cool completely and/or chill before serving.

I love this tart.  This time the apricots weren't the best and they tasted a little bitter, so make sure you get "good" apricots. This pie has five different textures that all work together: flaky crust, dense and chewy custard, juicy apricots, lustrous glaze, and crunchy almonds.  It will definitely not be another five years before I make it again...  I hope.

Piece out!
Justin