apricot kuchen
This apricot kuchen was going to be an apricot crumble cake but at the last minute, I changed my mind. I used Claudia Roden's swetschkuchen or plum kuchen recipe but instead of plums I used apricots.
The kuchen recipe is both simple and really delicious. I'd planned to add some grated lemon rind to the apricots but couldn't find my frozen stash so skipped that step. It was fine without but I think a little bit of lemon rind would have made this taste even better if that were possible.
I was worried the filling might be over sweet but in the end it was just perfect. Here's the recipe for you which makes a 9 inch round or an oblong tart. The number of apricots used will be determined by the size of the apricots but you do want the tart to be packed full of fruit.
For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.
Claudia Roden Apricot Kuchen
Ingredients
125g (4½ oz) caster sugar
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour (or plain flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder)
Ingredients
125g (4½ oz) caster sugar
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour (or plain flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder)
1 tbs fine semolina
Pinch salt
85g (3 oz) cold unsalted butter
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1 tbs rum or lemon juice
6-8 apricots, pitted and cut into quarters
Pinch salt
85g (3 oz) cold unsalted butter
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1 tbs rum or lemon juice
6-8 apricots, pitted and cut into quarters
To serve
Icing sugar
Cream or ice cream
Method
Mix half the sugar with the flour, semolina and salt. Cut the cold butter into pieces and rub into the flour and sugar mix. Mix in the beaten egg (you may not need to use all the egg) and the rum or juice and work very briefly with your hand - just enough to mix it together - adding a little flour if it's too sticky. You can also make the pastry in a food processor. Take lumps of pastry and press into a greased oblong pan or 9 inch round tin with a removable base.
Method
Mix half the sugar with the flour, semolina and salt. Cut the cold butter into pieces and rub into the flour and sugar mix. Mix in the beaten egg (you may not need to use all the egg) and the rum or juice and work very briefly with your hand - just enough to mix it together - adding a little flour if it's too sticky. You can also make the pastry in a food processor. Take lumps of pastry and press into a greased oblong pan or 9 inch round tin with a removable base.
Arrange the fruit, tightly packed, cut side up on top of the pastry and sprinkle the remaining sugar on the apricots. Bake in a preheated 375°F/190°C oven for 50 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the apricots are very soft. The sugar draws out the apricot juices, which run into the pastry and makes it rise up between the apricots so that these are embedded in the light pastry.
Serve hot or cold with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop. Both are equally delicious.
See you again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.
Bye for now,
Jillian
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am keen to try the Claudia Roden Plum Kuchen, and had a look at your previous post with individual little plum pastries. I am a great lover of plums in baking, and they are beautiful here in Brisbane at the moment.
I noted you used a a tablespoon of semolina, is that to help soak up juices so the pastry isn't soggy?
I also have to make the kuchen gluten-free so do you think the pastry will work with GF flour?
Lastly, how long does the kutchen keep for after the day of baking?
Thanks again for your wonderful recipes and all your advice.
Regards,
Angela
I use GF plain flour quite often and it should be fine in this recipe. I usually use 1/4 cup almond meal, 3/4 cup of well sifted GF flour with 1-2 tbs of tapioca starch to help everything stick together. The kuchen is best eaten the day it's made as it gets a bit soggy the second day. The addition of semolina comes from an Adeena Sussman apricot kuchen recipe. It sounded like a good idea to me so I added it to the pastry. If you're using the tapioca starch Id leave it out. Good luck.
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