Ingredients
425g double cream
250g pure cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
5 thyme sprigs
8 eggyolks
100g caster sugar
8 fresh apricots halves
Extra thyme springs and petals, to serve
Icing sugar, for sprinkling
Quantity of sweet shortcrust pastry for 25cm tart tin
Serves 10-12
Method
Lightly grease a 25cm round tart tin with butter and dust with flour, or give it a light spray with oil. Preheat the oven to 150C. Roll your pastry to fit the tin and blind bake for 10 minutes. Cool.
To make the thyme custard filling, place the creams, vanilla bean and seeds, and thyme in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and allow the cream to sit and infuse for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, whip the egg yolks and sugar together using a hand whisk until pale and fluffy, then return the cream to the boil and pour it over the yolks. Whisk everything together thoroughly, then strain the custard through a fine sieve to remove the aromatics. It is not necessary to return the custard to the stove, as it will finish cooking in the oven. Pour the custard into a jug for pouring into the case.
Preheat the oven to 120C. Place the baked tart shell on a baking tray then manoeuvre it into the oven and pour the custard into the case until it reaches 1cm from the rim of the pastry. (This is best done while the tart is in the oven to avoid any spillages.) Bake for 35 minutes, then open the oven door and place the apricots on the surface of the custard while the tart is still in the oven. It may be necessary to gently slide out the oven rack and dot the apricots into the custard, then slide it back in.
Top the tart with a few extra thyme sprigs and petals and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the custard no longer wobbles. Press the middle of the custard with your finger to check the tart is firm, then remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 2 hours. Remove tart from the tin and slice. Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.
