Apricot and Prune Shortbread Pie

Crumbly, flaky, rich — just fireworks of taste! Pie with dried apricots and prunes is a famous pastry of Tatar cuisine. It uses a fairly rare shortbread yeast dough that rises well, but remains crumbly and tender.
cook time: 2h 40 min
Ethan Rowley
Apricot and Prune Shortbread Pie

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

289
Calories
12g
Fat
41g
Carbs
5g
Protein

Ingredients (8 portions)

Shortbread yeast dough:

Salt 0.5 tsp
Sugar 2 tbsp
Wheat flour 350 g
Butter 150 g
Milk 120 ml
Dry yeast 5 g

Lemon filling:

Sugar 100 g
Corn starch 1 tbsp
Walnuts 50 g
Lemons 2 pc

Filling with dried apricots:

Sugar 1 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Water 50 ml
Dried apricots 200 g

Filling with prunes:

Sugar 1 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Water 50 ml
Prunes 200 g

For the streusel:

Sugar 40 g
Wheat flour 40 g
Butter 30 g
Walnuts 20 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to bake a pie with dried apricots and prunes in the oven? Prepare all the necessary products. The dough will be shortbread, but yeasty. Therefore, remove the butter from the refrigerator in advance, it should be soft. Wash the lemons well and wipe dry. Soak dried fruits in warm water for 10 minutes, then rinse under running water. Place them between napkins to remove excess moisture. Also wash and dry the peeled nuts.

Step 2

Step 2
How to make the dough? Heat the milk so that your finger is warm, but not hot, this is 38-40C. Pour warm milk into a spacious cup, add sugar and dry yeast. Stir and leave in a warm, draft-free place to activate for 15-20 minutes. If no foam appears, the yeast is not active and should be replaced. Pour the finished dough into a bowl for kneading dough. Add flour sifted with salt in parts, mix the dough with a strong spatula.

Step 3

Step 3
At the end of kneading, add soft butter and quickly mix into the flour. I do this with cold, dry hands, first in a cup, then on the table. You may need a little less or more flour depending on its properties.

Step 4

Step 4
The result is an elastic, almost homogeneous dough that does not stick to your hands. Roll it into a ball, place it in a clean cup, cover with a towel and leave to proof for 45 minutes — 1.5 hours (as appropriate). Place in a warm place! I leave it in the oven turned off, preheated to 40C, on the lower level.

Step 5

Step 5
How to make lemon filling for dried apricots, prunes, lemon pie? Remove the zest from the lemons, avoiding the white layer. Then remove all the white layer, this is what gives the bitterness! Remove the seeds from the lemons. Puree the sliced lemon in a blender, adding sugar. The mass turns out to be quite liquid, transfer it to a saucepan with a thick bottom. Pour a few tablespoons of juice into the starch, stir it in a separate cup so that there are no lumps and return it to the saucepan.

Step 6

Step 6
Heat the lemon mixture over low heat, without letting it boil. Stirring constantly, cook until thickened, this is quite fast. The lemon filling is ready when a groove is left in it by running a spatula. Remove from heat and cool, stirring occasionally. Be sure to taste and adjust the amount of sugar if necessary. The cream should not be bitter. Cover it with film.

Step 7

Step 7
How to make a dried fruit filling for a pie with prunes and dried apricots? Grind prunes and dried apricots into separate cups. Then add 1 tbsp to each cup. lemon juice or a little less concentrate. Pour in a little water, enough to make a non-liquid puree. Add and adjust sugar to taste, stir until smooth. You should initially like the taste of the filling; it will not change in baking.

Step 8

Step 8
Prepare ingredients for streusel. The butter should also be soft. Prepare the streusel (this is the topping that looks like flour crumbs). To do this, grind the walnuts very finely in a blender.

Step 9

Step 9
Sift flour into a bowl, add sugar and chopped walnuts. Add soft butter and rub everything with your hands.

Step 10

Step 10
You should end up with flour crumbs like this. It shouldn’t be uniform, it’s good when there are lumps of different sizes, it will look beautiful on the pie.

Step 11

Step 11
By this time the dough had risen and it had almost doubled in size. This is how my dough rose after 1 hour.

Step 12

Step 12
Place the dough for a three-layer pie on the table, it does not stick, do not add flour. Knead to form a loaf. Divide the dough into 4 parts, one larger and 3 approximately equal.

Step 13

Step 13
Grease a mold (I have a diameter of 20 cm) with soft butter, dust with flour, shake off excess. From most of the dough, form a bottom with a side of about 5 cm. The dough can be rolled out or easily stretched with your hands, forming a circle. Try to make the thickness uniform, about 0.7 cm. Apply prune filling to the bottom, distribute evenly with a spoon.

Step 14

Step 14
Cover the prunes with the second circle of dough. Spread a layer of dried apricots onto the dough.

Step 15

Step 15
Cover the dried apricots with the third part of the dough. Spread lemon curd and generously sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.

Step 16

Step 16
Place the last, fourth circle of dough on top and, pressing lightly, expel any trapped air. Pinch the edges and poke holes with a fork to allow steam to escape to prevent them from puffing up during baking. Let the cake rest while the oven preheats. First bake at 80C for 30 minutes. Then increase to 190C, remove the cake, apply streusel evenly over the entire surface.

Step 17

Step 17
And bake until done, about 45 minutes. The times are approximate, be guided by the operating characteristics of your oven. The top will brown quickly, so be sure to cover it with foil. Remove it 10 minutes before the end. It took me almost an hour to bake. Check doneness with a dry skewer. Cool the cake in the pan, then remove. It is advisable to cut the pie when it has cooled. Bon appetit!

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