LILLET-POACHED WHITE PEACHES AND NECTARINES IN LINZER PASTRY

(adapted from Bernard Clayton)
 
makes one 9” tart
 
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch cloves
1 cup finely ground almonds
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter cut into ½” pieces
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Lillet
 
In a small bowl, use a fork to combine the egg yolks and Lillet. Set aside. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, place the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, and zest. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse three or four times just until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Turn the mixture out into a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to add the egg yolks and Lillet to the flour mixture. Toss to combine; gather the mixture together and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a circle about 12” in diameter and ⅛” thick. (If the dough becomes soft or sticky, return it to the fridge for 10 minutes.) Carefully place the dough into the tart pan, smoothing the pastry evenly along the bottom and up the sides. Trim the excess dough leaving a 1” overhang. Turn the overhang back into the edge of the tart pan, pressing it with your fingers to create a border. Place the pan with the pastry into the freezer to firm up. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the cold tart shell with parchment paper and dried beans. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Carefully remove the parchment and beans. Prick the bottom of the tart shell with a fork. Return the tart shell to the oven, baking for an additional 10-12 minutes until the bottom crust is golden and fully baked. (The tart shell will be fragrant and golden, similar to a linzer cookie.) Set aside on a rack to cool.
 
Lillet-poached White Peaches and Nectarines
 
3 medium white peaches, rinsed
3 medium white nectarines, rinsed
1 bottle (750-ml) Lillet Blanc (reserve one tablespoon for the cream filling)
1 cup water
⅓ cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
zest and juice from one small orange
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped with the tip of a small paring knife
 
(Note: I leave the skin on the fruit when poaching because it gives it a lovely rosy color. The skin is easy to peel off just before you assemble the tart.)
 
Place the peaches and nectarines in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the Lillet, water, sugar, honey, orange zest, juice, and vanilla bean seeds. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the peaches with a circle of parchment that fits inside the saucepan, covering the fruit completely. Place a small plate or lid to keep the fruit submerged. Poach the peaches and nectarines just until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes. The poaching time will depend on how ripe the fruit is; don’t overcook them. Remove the fruit using a large slotted spoon and set them in a bowl to cool. Reduce the remaining poaching liquid over low heat until thick and syrupy, about 8 minutes. Let the fruit and the reduced poaching liquid cool completely; cover and refrigerate them separately.
 
Cream filling-
 
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon orange juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon Lillet (reserved from above)
 
½ cup sliced almonds for garnish
½ apricot preserves and 2 tablespoons reduced poaching liquid, heated until combined then cooled
 
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, zest, juice, extracts, and Lillet. Beat until the mixture is the consistency of thickly whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate.
 
Retrieve the cooled, poached fruit from the refrigerator. Carefully peel the fruit, then use a paring knife to halve the fruit and remove the pits. Place a double thickness of paper towels on a baking sheet. Set the halved, pitted fruit on the paper towels to drain a bit. Retrieve the cream filling from the refrigerator. Use an offset spatula to spread the cream filling over the Linzer tart shell. Starting in the center of the tart, place the peach and nectarine halves over the cream filling. Brush a little of the apricot ‘glaze’ over the fruit and garnish the outside edge of the tart with the sliced almonds. Cover the tart loosely with aluminum foil and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Refrigerate any leftovers. (The reserved poaching liquid is stellar  in cocktails.)