How to Bake Apricot-Cherry Pandowdy
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 45 mins
Ingredients needed to make Apricot-Cherry Pandowdy:
- 1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbp unsalted butter, diced
- 3 oz slivered almonds, blanched
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 4 tbsp ice water
- ¼ tsp fine salt
For the filling:
- 3 cups apricots, pitted and halved
- 3 cups cherries, pitted
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated
- 1/8 tsp fine salt
Cooking instructions for Apricot-Cherry Pandowdy:
- Dunk the almonds and sugar into a food processor and grind them into a fine powder.
- Place the flour in a bowl and stir in the almond mixture as well as a dash of salt until well mixed.
- Toss the butter cubes into a dry mixture and work them together with your hands for about 3 minutes, while crumbling the butter with your hands, until they form pea-sized bits.
- Add a splash of ice water, followed by almond extract and stir them all together until they clump together to form dough; don’t over-mix the dough to prevent it from becoming tough.
- Mold it into a disc and cover with a plastic sheet to leave in the fridge for half an hour.
- Meanwhile to make the filling, place all its ingredients except butter, in a bowl and toss them all together until the fruits are coated properly.
- Tip it into a 2 quart, shallow baking dish and scatter the butter cubes on top.
- Place a rack midway within the oven and warm it up to 400 degrees F.
- Peel off the plastic sheet from the dough and roll it out onto a lightly-floured working surface into a ¼’’ thick rectangle which is a little larger than the baking dish.
- Place the sheet of dough on top and tuck in the overhanging sides into the dish.
- Place the dish within the hot oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the surface browns lightly and crisp up.
- Take it out of the oven and lower the temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Carve out 2’’ squares on the crust and drizzle the fruit juice over it.
- Press the squares down slightly with a spoon and bake further for another 25 minutes or until the fruits are cooked through and the crust browns along the sides.
- Set aside for half an hour to cool slightly and serve.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
