Ingredients:

For the frangipane:
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup slivered almonds, slightly toasted
6 tablespoons butter (did you know that you can make butter at home too?)
1 eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
6 fresh or canned apricot halves, pits removed
1/4 cup whole almonds, skin on
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Cooking Recipe:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
To make the frangipane, place the almonds and the sugar in a food processor and grind until sandy. Add the butter and continue mixing then add the egg, vanilla, and the flour and mix until smooth.
To make the tart, on a floured work surface pass your rolling pin over the pastry just to flatten any ridges.
Place it on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and cut out a 9-inch disk. Spread the almond frangipane in the center of the tart leaving a 1-inch border. Firmly place the apricot halves into the frangipane spacing them evenly around the tart. Dot the spaces between the apricots with the whole almonds.
Bake until golden brown on the top and puffy, about 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cooking Recipe:

In a large saucepan, combine the milk and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside. In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the brown sugar, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, to caramelize the mixture. You'll smell a characteristic nutty-caramel odor when the butter browns, signaling that the mixture is ready.
Whisking constantly, gradually add the butter/brown sugar mixture to the hot milk/cream mixture. If the mixture isn't smooth, blend for 20 seconds with a hand blender or pour through a fine sieve. Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl. whisk (beat lightly over the top with a whisking utensil, or a fork) in about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture. whisk (means to beat lightly with a whisking utensil) in the cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Whisk the cornstarch mixture back into the hot milk mixture in the saucepan. Whisking constantly, cook over medium-high heat until thick and just boiling. When the mixture thickens, the whisk will leave trail marks on the bottom of the pot and the mixture will have a few large bubbles boiling up to the top. Turn off the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Pour into 6 to 8 custard cups, ramekins, or mugs and chill, uncovered, at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve chilled.