Jennifer Katzinger's Apricot Cherry Crostata



Ingredients

8 fresh apricots
Butter Almond Dough (recipe follows) for a single-crust pie
2 Tbsp. light spelt flour
¼ cup coconut palm sugar, divided
1 cup (8 oz.) pitted, halved fresh cherries
¼ cup fruit juice-sweetened apricot preserves


Butter Almond Dough
Makes 1 9-inch single-crust pie


1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. light spelt flour, or ½ cup einkorn flour and ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. light spelt flour
¼ cup almond flour
1 tsp. coconut palm sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into ¼-inch thick pieces
3 to 4 Tbsp. ice water



Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set it aside. Cook the apricots in the boiling water until soft, about 1 to 2 minutes. With a slotted spatula, remove apricots to the bowl of ice water. After they have cooled, about 5 minutes, peel, halve, and pit them. Cut each apricot half into 3 wedges.
• Roll the dough out on a well-floured sheet of parchment paper to a 13-inch round. Slide a rimless baking sheet underneath the parchment. Combine the flour with 1 tablespoon of the coconut palm sugar and sprinkle over the dough.
• Arrange the apricot slices, rounded side down, on the dough, leaving a 3-inch space around the edge. Arrange the cherries over and around the apricot slices. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of coconut palm sugar over the fruit.
• Fold 2 inches of the dough over the crostata to create a border around the fruit (the fruit should remain uncovered) and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of coconut palm sugar.
• Bake until the apricots are tender, about 50 minutes.
• In a small heavy saucepan, over low heat, warm the preserves until melted, about 5 minutes. Strain into a small bowl, then brush the strained preserves over the top of the crostata. Serve warm or at room temperature.

For Butter-Almond Dough:

• In a food processor, combine the flours, coconut palm sugar and salt. Pulse a few times to blend. Evenly distribute the butter over the dry ingredients. Pulse (starting and stopping the motor) until the mixture resembles small peas, about 6 or 7 pulses, each lasting 3 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Sprinkle the ice water onto the pastry 1 tablespoon at a time, blending with a fork after each addition. The dough will be crumbly.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and mound it with your hands. Form into a disc roughly 5 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to chill and firm the dough.