Apricot Tart

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups milk (lukewarm)
• 1 tablespoon Instant Yeast
• 8 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups flour (plus extra for kneading)
• 2 eggs
• 5 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 1/2 pounds (1 1/2 kg) fresh apricots (pitted)
• 1 1/2 pounds (750g) white sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• egg wash (egg yolk and 1 tablespoon whipping cream)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Making Sweet Yeast Dough ---

2. 2

   Activate Yeast - Pour yeast, ½ of the lukewarm milk and 1 tablespoon sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in ½ cup of flour. Allow to sit for 15 minutes in a warm place until it starts to bubble and foam, to ensure the yeast is activated.

3. 3

   Combine - In a smaller bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 8 tablespoons sugar, 5 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk in remaining milk. Add milky mixture into the bowl of activated yeast.

4. 4

   Knead - Slowly add the remaining flour, mixing until it forms a dough ball. Knead on a floured surface, adding more flour if needed, for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

5. 5

   Rise - Place dough into bowl, cover with cling wrap. Keep in a warm place until it rises, about 1 ½ hours. Punch down dough, gently knead and it's ready to use.

6. 6

   --- Making Apricot Jam in Oven ---

7. 7

   Prepare Apricots - wash and dry apricots. Split and remove the pits.

8. 8

   Mix - in a large bowl, sprinkle sugar over the apricots and mix to combine

9. 9

   Release Juices - leave the sugared apricots on the counter for 3 hours for juice to release. Best results to leave overnight.

10. 10

    Prepare Baking Sheet - line sheet with parchment paper which makes it easier to clean up.

11. 11

    Bake - preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place apricots and liquids on the baking pan and cook for 1 hour. Occasionally mix the apricots and remove foam from the pan.

12. 12

    Separate - using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the whole apricots into a bowl. Set aside the apricot syrup and use it to make apricot juice.

13. 13

    Sweeten to thicken - mix in lemon juice and ¼ cup of sugar (more if needed). Gently break up apricot pieces until desired consistency is reached. Apricots shouldn't be pureed, but best to have some texture for jam pie.

14. 14

    Cool - allow to slightly cool before spreading over your pie.

15. 15

    --- How to Make Jam Pie ---

16. 16

    Preheat - oven to 325°F/160°C (fan forced). Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

17. 17

    Roll the Dough - on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into the shape of the baking tray. Roll it out to about ¼" thick (½ cm) and place on parchment paper. Entire baking sheet should be covered with dough.

18. 18

    Spread the Jam - pour the cooled jam over the rolled yeast dough and spread evenly.

19. 19

    Make Lattice - with any leftover dough, roll it out into long thin strips (about 14-16 strips. Using the knife tip, gently cut the edges of the strips (to resemble a Christmas tree on both sides of the strip). This gives a visual appeal like a leafy lattice pattern when baked.

20. 20

    Spread Lattice - evenly spread the lattice in a diamond pattern, criss crossing over the jam pie. Pinch the ends to the edge of the pie dough.

21. 21

    Egg Wash - whisk 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of whipping cream together. Using a brush, gently coat the lattice and edges of the pie.

22. 22

    Bake - place in oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.