Apricot Tart Recipe (Pasta Flora)

two pieces of pasta flora on round plates sprinkled with icing sugar.

5 from 4 votes

Apricot Tart Recipe (Pasta Flora)

Pasta flora is a Greek apricot jam tart made with a delicious koulourakia cookie crust filled with sweet apricot jam.

Prep Time1 10

Cook Time40

Additional Time30

Total Time2 10

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: apricot, apricot tart, spring desserts

Servings: slices

Calories: 336kcal

Author: Ria Mavrikos

Equipment

1 electric mixer with the paddle attachment
1 9"x13" baking pan
1 Pastry brush
1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1 cup white granulated sugar
4 eggs room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 oz. Metaxa brandy or cognac
Orange zest from one orange
4 cups all purpose flour sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder level
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
500-600 grams Apricot jam *you can add more jam if you'd like
1 egg yolk for the egg wash
1-2 teaspoons milk for the egg wash

Instructions

Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add 1/2 a cup of unsalted butter to a mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on medium speed (#4 on a KitchenAid mixer) with the paddle attachment and beat the butter for one minute. The butter should become fluffy at this point. If it doesn't, then your butter may be too cold, or the speed of the mixer may be too low. Slowly add 1 cup of granulated sugar and continue to beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula.
Add in the eggs:
Add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixture with the mixer on medium-high speed. Allow each egg to fully incorporate into the mixture before adding in the next egg (about 30-45 seconds). After adding all four eggs, add the pure vanilla extract and brandy. Mix together and then turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
Sift the flour and whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, orange zest, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Form a ball with the dough and transfer the dough to a large clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place the dough in fridge for 20-25 minutes.
Prepare your rolling surface and preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 350°F on bake. Clean and lightly flour a surface like your kitchen counter or table. Grease the 9"x13" baking dish with butter. It's a good idea to have a little bit of flour on hand as you work with the dough.
Soften the apricot jam: Heat up the apricot jam in a small saucepan on low heat. You don't want it to boil, but use just enough heat so that the jam is easier to spread on top of the pie crust. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside.
Roll the dough and shape the tart:
Once the dough has chilled for at least 20 minutes, remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball on your clean surface. Cut approximately 1/3 of the dough off from the ball (this will be used for the top of the pasta flora). With the remaining 2/3 of the dough, lightly roll the dough into a circle. Use your hands to lightly press the dough into the baking pan and along the sides of the pan so that the dough is evenly spread out. Cut away any excess dough from the sides and combine it with the smaller-sized dough ball. The dough doesn't need to go up all the way on the sides since it will expand as it bakes. It only needs to go about 1/4 inch to 1/2 way up the sides of the baking pan.
Create the top pieces:
The creativity here is up to you! But you can create a lattice design, cut shapes out using a cookie cutter, or roll the dough into long strips. You'll do this with the 1/3 dough that was set aside earlier. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin if you need to make it easier.
Add the apricot filling: Use a spoon to spread the apricot filling out on top of the tart crust.
Design the tart:
Brush the top pieces with egg wash (this is optional but will produce a more golden brown colour) and place the cut-out pie crust pieces or strips on top of the apricot filling. Press them slightly into the filling and attach them to the sides of the crust.
Bake the apricot tart:
Place the pasta flora in the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the tart to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing so the jam can settle. Sprinkle with icing sugar, and enjoy!

Notes

The butter needs to be at room temperature so that it can get nice and fluffy. If you beat the butter and it doesn't get fluffy after a couple of minutes, stop the mixer and let it warm up gradually. Repeat mixing again.
Allow the dough to cool in the fridge for at least 20-25 minutes. This will allow time for the butter to cool and make the dough easier to shape and hold in the baking pan. While you press the dough in the pie tart, you can refrigerate the remaining 1/3 of the dough (this is the amount you'll use for the top of the pie tart). Then, once the base is ready, cover it well with saran wrap and place it in the fridge to cool while you make the designs for the top of the jam tart.
I use a fluted pastry wheel to cut the dough into long strips to make a lattice top, but you can roll the dough into strips or create any design that you'd like!
The cookie dough will expand as it bakes, so you only need a thin layer on the bottom. The sides of the dough only need to come up 1/2 on the side of the baking pan. Remove the excess dough and combine it with the other 1/3 of the dough to make the top pieces.
You can add more jam if you like, but the koulourakia cookie dough is sweet. While it doesn't look like a lot of jam when you first spread it out in the pan, the cookie crust will expand.
Baking pasta flora in a glass pan is possible, but it will retain heat longer, so the pasta flora will need longer to cool before slicing.

Nutrition