Apricot & tahini pistachio frangipane tart – a crisp press-in pastry and a nutty, complex tahini frangipane studded with summer stonefruit. Jump to Recipe

We went to listen to Nigella speak for an hour last week – she happened to be in Auckland, and is one of those fascinating people for whom thousands will come just to hear them converse on stage. Like a concert but without the performing, in some ways. One thing she said particularly resonated. When asked what advice she would handout, in retrospect, to a 20 year old version of herself, she stated the (maybe cliched) “take risks”. Because, she went on to describe, everything in life is on a spectrum between complete and utter boredom at one end, and being absolutely terrified at the other. Both extremes would result in waking up each day in dread of the hours to come – monotony vs fear – so it is a fine balance to tread a path somewhere in the middle of the two. To keep it exciting. The issue is that no one can predict where that point in the middle lies, so it is a case of continuing to take risks, and try new things, and follow opportunities, until you find it. Not settling, however challenging that may be.

Maybe it resonated because I’m 21, though her advice applies to any age. I think it’s more likely because I’ve been sitting happily in my comfort zone with this blog over the past year or two – sticking with the basics of what I know how to do in terms of photography, design and social media. Though medical school is certainly a strictly-prescribed trajectory, the constant assessment, learning and exams keep the pressure on, and new patient interactions and challenges push me outside that comfortable space regularly.

The upshot is that I’m planning on changing a few things around here in order to step outside that. Getting more adventurous with photography is a big one – I’ve been wanting to try stop-motion video for over a year now, and have finally given it a crack! I was very inspired by my friend Betty Liu, a food blogger (and wedding photographer and medical student, I should add) from Boston who makes gorgeous food videos regularly. Her guides on Patreon have been massively helpful. I’m also working with a creative friend on developing a logo for The Brick Kitchen, and would like to work on improving my subscriber email. I’ve written these goals here partially in an effort to keep myself accountable, but also because I’d love for you to let me know if there is anything in particularly you’d like to see included or changed, or even just feedback on things you might want to see more or less of! Please do comment on the post below or send me an email or an instagram message – I’d love to hear from you.

Anyway: this apricot & tahini pistachio frangipane tart. It’s a tart to showcase summer stonefruit – here I’ve used cherries and apricots, but you could use any combination of stonefruit and berries. Rather than my usual almond frangipane, I’ve substituted in some tahini and ground pistachios for a more nutty and complex flavour, though you could change up the pistachios for any other nut you have on hand. The pastry is a press in pastry from The Fearless Baker – more like a shortbread cookie dough than a pie crust, and is satisfyingly crisp when combined with the soft frangipane and tender fruit. Because the frangipane takes a while to cook, the crust doesn’t have to be blind baked – just pop it in the freezer to harden while you make the filling.  You could also easily change up the tins – use mini round tart tins, or a round pie tin – just make sure the total area is roughly the same.

Enjoy!
Claudia

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Apricot pistachio squares – a buttery shortbread base, nutty pistachio frangipane and juicy late summer apricots. Easy and gorgeous afternoon tea slice! Jump to Recipe 

The countdown is officially on. In five days time I head back to Melbourne, ready (hopefully) to start the first semester of my second year of medical school. I am hugely excited to get back into it – to see people who I haven’t seen for going on three months now, meet more new people, to learn more, to visit more cafes – you name it! I must admit that I am also slightly apprehensive about both the increased second workload and facing hall food again, but these small qualms are far outweighed by the former.

One thing that I will miss is being able to make things like these apricot pistachio squares. The effort, time, and money required for me to do baking of any significance at college does prevent it happening very often (not counting my frequent batches of one pot raspberry brownie!).

These squares are a recipe by Deb from Smitten Kitchen, which I was actually initially slightly uncertain about making. Although her photos looked beautiful and I really wanted to use up a bag of apricots, I am a little ambivalent on the subject of pistachios -sometimes okay with them, sometimes really not. I eventually went ahead with the reasoning that it would be devoured by the rest of my family, even if I wasn’t so sure.

I was proved wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. This slice was heaven. Buttery, crisp pastry base was covered in a slightly salty, not overpowering pistachio frangipane and topped with sweet and juicy apricots. My self-control was severely tested in not wolfing down the whole lot at once. In fact, just writing this is making me sure that I will need to do a repeat in the next 5 days: the first batch disappeared within 24 hours of coming out of the oven – thanks boys!

All I can say is please do not make my mistake of wasting time trying to decide whether you will like this slice. Unless you are allergic to pistachios or have a deep rooted dislike of apricots, you will love it, I promise.

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I love summer. Not only for the beach weather and holiday time, but the New Zealand produce it brings. In winter, the only stone fruit or berries available are either frozen or eye-wateringly expensive and unripe imports, so the arrival of fresh apricots, nectarines, peaches, and strawberries on the shelves is always celebrated. This cake is one of my favourite summer cakes: a simple vanilla batter bursting with juicy sweet apricots, blueberries, and raspberries – the focus is definitely on the fruit. I must admit that I did use frozen berries in this instance however… with raspberries costing $7 a punnet (100g), I would rather eat them fresh than bake them!

The end of summer always heralds the return of school and homework, the arrival of cooler temperatures and greyer days, and the end of this particular cake. It always seems far away at the time of making it, but I now have just two weeks left of my three month summer before I head back to Melbourne – something I both can’t wait for and want to be slightly further away! I will be making the most of my time in Auckland over the next two weeks, trying to cook as much as possible to get me through the kitchen-deprivation of college and give myself material to continue posting here (although a warning to friends with houses – I may invade!).

The perfect dessert to bring along to your next barbecue, this summer fruit cake takes less than half an hour to whip up and is always enjoyed. I tend to arrange the two layers of fruit in concentric circles, dotting the berries wherever they fit, but it is completely up to you how you decorate! Any stonefruit or berry combination you have on hand could easily be used. It is adapted from Julie Le Clerc’s Favourite Cakes cookbook.

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