Mascarpone and Dried Apricot Tart

Light mascarpone cream with apricot bits and a hint of mint — that’s what you’ll get in every bite of this Mascarpone and Dried Apricot tart.  Refreshingly delicious!

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First off, this is not one of those traditional Italian pastries. It’s something that I came up with after one of our trips to Italy, to Bologna, to be specific.

After a hearty lunch (we were in Bologna after all 🙂 ), we were given a mini cup with a couple of spoonsful of mascarpone cream.  It really was just to cleanse our palate, I guess.  

The serving was NOT enough for me, though — it was deliciously light and creamy that I felt I could eat two more of those servings. 

Once we’re back in Stockholm, I wanted to use that as a base for a dessert that’s also great for a snack.  But I wanted to stick to Emilia-Romagna‘s flavors, hence, adding one of the region’s favorite fruit – apricots. 

So, here it is.  I hope it becomes a regular in your household too!

IF YOU WANT TO TRY TRADITIONAL ITALIAN DESSERTS, THEN YOU WILL LOVE THESE POSTS!

Ingredients

• Pastry dough – if you have a trusted recipe for making pastry dough, go for the Italian pastry dough that I always use, pasta frolla.

• Dried apricots – go for your favorite brand

• Sugar – regular white sugar is all you need for this apricot tart recipe.

• Mascarpone cheese – make sure you drain it if you see any liquid in its container.

• Cream – light cream (half & half) or heavy cream (double cream) would be great, whichever you prefer.

• Vanilla – as you can see, I used vanilla bean in this recipe.

• Mint – use fresh mint leaves, not the dried ones.

Preparation

Start by combining dried apricots with half a cup of water (or marsala wine) and set it aside for thirty minutes (photo 1).

In a separate bowl, combine mascarpone cheese with sugar and seeds of vanilla bean.  Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon to combine.

Add the cream slowly.  Use a whisk to mix and combine thoroughly (photo 2).

Drain the liquid from the dried apricots and add half a cup of the apricots into the cream mixture.

Add two teaspoons of the chopped mint and combine with a spatula (photo 3).

Pour cream mixture into fully baked 8-inch tart crust. Use a metal spatula to even the top (photo 4).

Scatter the remaining drained apricots on top, as well as the remaining one teaspoon of chopped mint leaves.

Refrigerate for at least two hours, then serve.

Helpful tips

• If you already have a go-to pie dough, you can skip the pasta frolla that I used. Just note that you should avoid the buttery ones.

• Do not replace the fresh mint leaves.  They are crucial in providing freshness to this dried apricot tart.

Recipe variation

• Fresh apricots.  If you are using fresh apricots, skip the step of combining them with water (or marsala wine).

• Vanilla extract.  Yes, you can use it as a substitute for the vanilla bean.

Looks delicious, right?  So, give this mascarpone and apricot tart a try and let me know what you think!