Cinnamon Apple Almond Tart

Tart Crust

• 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, frozen and cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup Crisco, cold
• 1 2/3 cup Unbleached Flour
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Egg yolk
• 4 tablespoons Water
• 1/3 cup Apricot Jam, pureed in food processor or whisked

1. Mix flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon in the food processor. Add butter and crisco and blend using on/off method. Mix water and egg yolk in a small bowl. Add through feed tube while food processor machine is running. Use on/off method to combine mixture.
2. Form dough into a ball by hand. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of wax paper and fit into a 10" false bottom tart pan. Prick dough and line with buttered aluminum foil. Fill pan with pie weights.
3. Bake tart crust in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes until lightly colored. Cool tart and paint crust with a thick coating of pureed apricot jam

Cinnamon Apple Almond Filling

• 1/2 cup Whole almonds (with skin)
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 4 Egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 tablespoon Salt
• 3 Granny Smith or Pippin Apples, peeled, quartered and rubbed with lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 Lemon (for rubbing apples)

1. Pulverize almonds in the food processor. Add sugar and egg yolks and process until thick and pale yellow. Blend in cinnamon and salt. Remove mixture to a medium bowl.
2. Shred the apples using shred disc in same food processor bowl just used for almond mixture. Combine shredded apples with the almond mixture in the bowl.
3. Pour mixture into the tart pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Carefully stir butter into the filling to incorporate. Raise the oven temperature to 375 degree and bake tart for another 20 minutes.
4. Cool until warm. Reheat, if prepared in advance. Top with vanilla ice cream with a dash of cinnamon or whipped cream flavored with vanilla extract, Calvados (apple flavored) or Amaretto (almond flavored) liquer.