These coconut apricot tartelettes with hazelnut praline paste will amaze you. I paired cinnamon shortcrust shell or cinnamon pâte sucrée, a delicious hazelnut praline paste, a coconut sponge, apricot puree and a coconut mousse and created a lovely and gorgeous dessert.
What a lovely tartelette! So there is cinnamon, hazelnut, apricot and coconut flavour. Do you like it? I think it’s quite an amazing combination. All the flavours come really great together: the nuttiness from roasted hazelnuts, fruitiness from apricots, exoticness from coconut and a light hint of cinnamon. Lovely.
Making these coconut apricot tartelettes might look complicated, but it actually isn’t. There are quite a lot of single elements that you have to prepare to complete this dessert, but with a good plan, anyone can make it. Simply write down a to-do list and make one component at a time.
Also, I recommend putting the tartelette together only when all of its components are ready.
Shortcrust pastry is one of the most common things in pastry. I know you all have made it before. For instance, these are two of my favourite shortcrust recipes: apple-rose tart and marzipan liqueur apricot tart. To make tart shells, you’ll need to bake rings (either perforated or simple ones).
There are two things to be careful about. Firstly, when using the simple ring, you’ll need baking weights, as well. Secondly, if using perforated rings, avoid pressing the dough extremely into the rings. Also, make sure you prick the bottom before baking.
Tart shells are also great to make in advance. In fact, they freeze wonderfully. Simply bake, cool them completely and then store them in the freezer for up to a month.
Hazelnut praline paste
A praline paste is a spread made of roasted hazelnuts and caramel, which is then pulsed into a creamy paste. It’s incredibly delicious with a rich hazelnut flavour. Of course, you can use almonds, too. More, you can use it in plenty of different ways: such as to fill cupcakes, tartelettes and cakes. It makes a lovely addition to your breakfast bowl, ice cream, buttercream and overnight oats. It’s a great spread for pancakes as well, just like this hazelnut-chocolate spread, I’ve made some time ago.
To achieve a perfect hazelnut praline use raw skin-free hazelnuts (this will also spare you from making a mess by peeling off the skin) and toast them at home. Also, make sure to add them to the caramel when still warm. Like that the cooking process of caramel won’t be stopped, you won’t have large lumps and the caramel will stay soft.
After you transform it into a paste (using a food processor), you can store it in a glass jar in a dry and cool place for a month. But it won’t last that long. I can bet on that. Wink.
Coconut and apricots
Besides hazelnut and cinnamon, I used coconut and apricots, too. Two fruits that pair well with each other and make these coconut apricot tartelettes perfect. Yes, summer is the time of delicious fruits. My mom is making apricot jam since I can remember. Oh, apricots are delicious, with an almost meaty and tangy sweet flesh. It is like a cross between peach and plum. Wink. And I noticed that I didn’t include apricots in my recipes that much before.
Making this apricot puree couldn’t be easier. Cook the apricots with some sugar, water and vanilla. Puree them, add the gelatine and let it chill off. You can store it in a glass up for some weeks.
And then, there was coconut. I simply love coconut. The sponge is a simple sponge flavoured with coconut syrup and some coconut flakes for the extra texture. Also, the coconut mousse is flavoured with the same ingredients. When making the mousse, make sure it has the right consistency when piping it on the tartelette. It shouldn’t be runny but it also shouldn’t be stiff as jelly. Wink.
I can imagine pairing this chocolate mousse with coconut apricot tartelettes as well. And you might like this fruity raspberry mousse too.
Ingredients for 6 coconut apricot tartelettes with hazelnut praline paste (7 cm Ø):
Ingredients for hazelnut praline paste:
- 150 g raw hazelnuts
- 100 g sugar
Ingredients for apricot puree:
- 200 g fresh apricots
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 10 ml lemon juice
- 20 ml water
- 4 leaves gelatine
Ingredients for 6 pâte sucrée shells:
- 100 g butter (room temperature)
- a pinch of salt
- 72 g icing sugar
- 20 g almond powder
- 30 g corn starch
- 36 g egg (room temperature)
- 170 g flour
Ingredients for a sponge:
- 3 egg yolks
- 15 g brown sugar
- 1 tsp coconut syrup (Monin)
- 3 egg whites
- 50 g sugar
- 70 g flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flakes (lightly toasted)
Ingredients for the coconut mousse:
- 250 g coconut milk (canned)
- 20 g caster sugar
- 20 ml coconut syrup (Monin)
- 5 leaves gelatine
- 200 ml whipping cream (soft peaks)
- 1-2 Tbsp of coconut flakes (lightly toasted; optional)
To begin, prepare the hazelnut praline paste. Preheat the oven to 160° C. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and put in the oven for 12 minutes (give it a shake after six minutes).
Once toasted, prepare the caramel. Place the sugar in a saucepan and heat it up. After the sugar melts and turns light golden brown, stir in the toasted hazelnuts (still warm) until evenly coated. At this point, flip them onto a silicone mat and flat them into a single layer. Allow to chill off completely. Afterwards, place the caramel hazelnuts into the food processor and blitz until a paste forms. In between, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Store in a jar.
Apricot puree
For the apricot puree, wash, pit and roughly chop the apricots. In a medium saucepan, combine apricots, brown sugar, lemon juice and water. Cook until soft. In the meantime, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes.
Once the apricots are tender, use an immersion blender to puree them. Cook for one more minute. Then, squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine and stir the leaves into the apricot puree until dissolved. Allow to chill off completely. When cold, place in the fridge.
Shortcrust shells or pâte sucrée
In a bowl, beat the butter lightly. Sift in salt, icing sugar, almond powder and corn starch. Mix until combined. Then, a little at a time, stir in the eggs. Mix to combine. Last but not least, stir in the flour.
After the flour is well incorporated, flip the pastry on some baking paper, cover with another sheet of paper (to prevent sticking) and roll it out to 3 mm thickness. Put into the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.
Next, preheat the oven to 170° C. Then, cut the chilled pastry dough into discs and strips (according to the size of your tart rings). Place the rings onto a baking sheet lined with a baking mat and lay a disc into each ring. Line each ring with a strip.
Prick the bottom with a fork. If using normal rings (like mine), add the baking paper and the pie weights (you can also use rice) into each ring. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the weights and bake for 5-7 more minutes. If using perforated rings put to bake for 15 minutes.
Once baked, remove them from the oven and place them onto a wire rack (without removing the ring) to cool.
Sponge cake
Preheat the oven to 180° C. To prepare the sponge cake, beat the egg yolks, brown sugar and coconut syrup until fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and half of the sugar (25 g). At the soft peaks, add the rest of the sugar and beat a minute longer.
Gently fold flour and egg whites, alternating, into the yolk batter. Line a baking sheet (30x40cm) with baking paper and pour the batter on it. Spread it evenly (about 1cm high), without working on it too long. Sprinkle with coconut flakes and put to bake for 11-12 minutes or until lightly golden.
When baked, remove it from the baking sheet. Place another piece of paper on it and flip the cake over. Peel off the baking paper and leave to cool off. Using one of the rings, cut out six rounds and wrap them into cling film foil (place a small piece of baking paper between each round, to prevent it from sticking).
Coconut mousse
Soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine coconut milk, sugar and coconut syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Then, squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine and stir the gelatine into the coconut milk. Once dissolved, allow to chill to room temperature.
Whip the whipping cream to soft peaks and gently fold it into the coconut cream. Stir in 2 spoons of coconut flakes. Leave almost to set with occasional stirring. You can place it in the fridge, in order to set it quicker. Once the cream has the right consistency (it has to be stable once on the tartelette), transfer it into a piping bag.
Putting the tartelettes together
Place the tartelette shells in front of you. Fill each of them with a layer (ca 1cm) of hazelnut praline. Then, lay a “disc” of sponge cake on top and pipe a layer of apricot puree on it. With a cake palette knife flat it smooth to an even layer.
At this point, cut off 2 cm of the pointy end of the piping bag and pipe the cream on each tartelette. Hold the bag directly above the tartelette. While you pipe the cream keep moving upwards, away from the tartelette until the cream reaches its edges and a nice height. Sprinkle with some extra coconut flakes and place in the fridge to set properly.
Finally, allow the coconut apricot tartelettes with hazelnut praline paste to come to room temperature. Serve them with a cup of coffee, hazelnut latte or apricot juice.
Enjoy.
