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Mini Apricot Tart on a beautiful Japanese plate with a bowl of coconut whipped topping on the background.
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5 from 4 votes

Mini Apricot Tarts

Mini Apricot Tarts are made with layers of light crispy filo(phyllo) pastry dough, fresh apricots and our honey sweetened apricot freezer jam recipe.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 12 tarts
Calories: 109kcal
Author: HWC Magazine

Equipment

  • cupcake pan

Ingredients

  • 12 sheets phyllo pastry dough (filo) thawed
  • 8 tablespoon butter or olive oil
  • cup granulated sugar or sugar alternative of choice
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon ground (1 teaspoon for apricot filling and 1 teaspoon for the cinnamon sugar sprinkles)
  • ½ cup apple sauce unsweetened
  • ½ cup apricot freezer jam recipe (or store bought apricot jam)
  • 2 apricots fresh, pit removed and sliced thin or chopped (leave the skin on)
  • Homemade Coconut Whipped Cream optional garnish or vanilla ice cream or creme fresh.

Instructions

  • Thaw phyllo pastry dough. You can either remove the filo dough from the box and thaw overnight in the refrigerator or thaw it for about 3 hours at room temperature.
    Thawed Phyllo dough getting unrolled from the plastic packaging.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or 190 degrees C
  • Microwave butter to melt it. Mix ⅓ cup granulated sugar and 1teaspoon of ground cinnamon and set aside.
    All the ingredients laid out on a cutting board with a pastry brush.
  • Use a little of the butter with a brush to lightly coat/grease the cupcake pan in each of the 12 sections to prevent sticking. You can also use a little oil spray if desired.
    Brushing the cupcake pan with butter.
  • Mix together ½ cup apple sauce, ½ cup apricot freezer jam and 1teaspoon ground cinnamon and mix together. Set aside.
    Apricot jam, applesauce and cinnamon mixed together.
  • Open up phyllo (filo) pastry dough package and unfold the thin layers. Cover with a lightly damp tea towel. We found it is super helpful to prevent drying out to fold over the filo dough in the plastic it came in first and then cover with the damp tea towel.
    Phyllo dough covered with a damp tea towel.
  • Remove one of the very thin phyllo dough sheets from the package and place flat on a clean dry surface. Brush the super thin phyllo pastry sheet lightly with the melted butter all over. Be very gentle. Then, sprinkle on a little bit of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. After that, add a new thin phyllo dough sheet right on top of the buttered and cinnamon sugared phyllo dough sheet. Brush this second phyllo sheet with butter and sprinkle on with a little cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat this process 6 times for a total of 6 layers. Due to the sizing of our phyllo dough sheets, we continued the process for another6 layers with another batch so that we could make 12 mini apricot tarts. Remember:Cover the remaining phyllo pastry dough that you are not using with a damp tea towel to prevent drying out of the phyllo pastry sheets. If the phyllo dough sheets slightly tear, do not sweat it. Just butter it up and put a new layer on top. This is a rustic tart, and no one will ever know.
    Step by step how to prepare filo pastry dough.
  • Get a very sharp knife and cut the prepared layered phyllo pastries that have been brushed with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar between layers once lengthwise. Then cut the pastry in 3 slices horizontally so you have a total of 6 squares in each of the two prepared phyllo sheets for a total of 12 squares.
     
    Phyllo dough getting cut into sections to fit onto the cupcake pan.
  • Then gently place each of the squares into the prepared cupcake trays and press down lightly to make room for the apricots and apricot jam mixture
    Phyllo dough layers getting pressed into the cupcake pan.
  • Place about 1.5 tablespoons of the prepared apricot jam, applesauce and cinnamon mixture in each of the 12 filo pastry shells. Then place on 2 slices of fresh apricots or about 2 tablespoons or chopped apricots on each. No need to peel the apricots
    Apricot jam filling getting placed into the prepared phyllo pastry dough cups.
  • Bake Mini Apricot tarts for about 13-15 minutes or until the phyllo dough is bronzed and the pastry dough is nice and crispy.
     
    Mini Apricot Tarts in the cupcake pan ready to bake.
  • Mini Apricot Tarts can be served hot out of the oven or at room temperature. Garnish with a little homemade coconut whipped topping or ice cream as desired. Enjoy!
    Mini Apricot Tarts fresh out of the oven in the cupcake pan.
  • Leftover mini apricot tarts can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the oven for just about 5-10 minutes at 325 degrees F (162degrees C) just to crisp back up. You can also store the prepared tarts in the freezer for up to one month. However, do not thaw the frozen mini apricot tarts at room temperature or they will get soggy. Instead, take them directly from the freezer to the oven to reheat to keep them crisp.
    Apricot tarts just out of the oven cooling.

Video

Notes

Our Athens Phyllo pastry dough came in a 16 oz (1 pound) 454 g box which has about 40 sheets. We used only 12 sheets. Each brand will come with a different amount in it and different sized sheets. So, you will need to assess your brand and size of sheets. 
1) How do you thaw out filo dough?
You can either remove the filo dough from the box and thaw overnight in the refrigerator or thaw it for about 3 hours at room temperature.
2) How do you keep filo dough from cracking and drying out?
When you are not using the filo dough or in between steps, be sure to keep it covered with a damp tea cloth. We have found the best way is to fold it back over and use the plastic covering it came in on top of it and then the damp tea cloth over that. Works great.
3) How many sheets of filo (phyllo) dough should you use in a recipe?
At least 5, but if you add more it adds some structure and make the layers crispier. We used 6 layers in our recipe.
4) How long does it take to cook phyllo pastry dough?
It takes between 13 to 15 minutes to make the pastry dough bronzed and crispy
5) Can I use olive oil instead of butter on phyllo dough?
Yes
6) How long can you keep phyllo dough in the refrigerator?
Sealed phyllo dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
7) What should you do if the phyllo dough rips or tears?
No worries, as this tart is rustic. Just layer up another sheet on top after you apply a little butter and cinnamon and sugar mixture, and no one will ever know. Sometimes, even in the best situations your filo dough can rip. It did for us too once and you could not even tell. 
8) Can you use canned apricots for this recipe? 
Yes, you can but you need to drain the canned apricots well and pat them dry with a paper towel so that they don't make the phyllo dough soggy. 
9) Can you use store bought apricot jam for this recipe?
You sure can! However, once you try our Apricot Freezer Jam recipe with honey, you will never go back to store bought again. 
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 346IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg