I see apricots, I think frangipane. Wikipedia describes frangipane as a filling made from or flavored with almonds. It’s commonly made from soft butter, sugar, ground almonds, a little flour, maybe an egg and some pure almond extract. There is something about the buttery texture of the apricots that lends itself to the sweet nuttiness of this miraculous tender cake-like substance. I know that almond flavored pastry is kind of controversial. it’s like black licorice (the only kind as far as I’m concerned); you either like it or you don’t.
Ever since I first went to Scandia on Sunset for Sunday brunch as a child and bit into a real Danish pastry filled with a fragrant almond cream I’ve been hooked. My croissants are never filled with chocolate, always almond. The French pastry made simply of two layers of puff pastry dough filled with frangipane, known as the Pithivier is like sex for me. So imagine my joy to find in my possession everything I needed to make one of my favorite tarts/pies. Frozen puff paste, check; almonds to grind, check, apricots, oh yes. So it all came together in this easy to make killer pastry that is perfect for breakfast. If your family is showing signs of a mid-week slump, serving this to them with cafe au lait will make you their hero. Excuse me while I go cut myself another slice.