Finally...in synch with the elements

I felt better after my croissant catastrophe once I had my dose of spaghetti and parmesan with olive oil (my ultimate comfort food) and a viewing of Pride & Prejudice. I was ready to get over it and face the tropical elements once again. This time, I blasted my air conditioning, armed myself with valor and positivism, and set out to make a classic French apple tart. A tarte aux pommes.


A tarte aux pommes consists of a sweet pastry dough crust, apple filling, and apple slices for decoration. I'll cut to the chase. It was a success! Even though this recipe involves butter, and mixing it at just the right temperature and in just the right way, the elements seemed to cut me some slack, and bingo! This was the result:

yesterday's french apple tart

Here's the recipe. Try it for your Christmas meal, and let me know how it goes.

French apple tart (adapted from a Le Cordon Bleu Paris recipe)

Sweet short pastry

200g flour

100g butter (cold)

4g salt

20g sugar

1 tsp water

1 egg

vanilla

Apple filling

3 apples (Golden Delicious work best)

30g butter

30g sugar

30ml water

vanilla 

cinnamon

Decoration/topping

3 apples (Golden Delicious) for decoration/top of tart 

butter

brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 degrees fahrenheit). Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and butter a circular tart mold.

In a bowl, add flour, salt, butter (cold), water, egg, vanilla, and sugar. Make the movement with your fingers as if you were counting bills to mix the ingredients together. Once mixed, top your workspace with a bit of flour, dump the mixture on the surface, and use the heal of your hand to press and push the dough in order to mix the ingredients further. Be careful not to mix too much, or else the butter will start to ooze. If you feel that your dough is too warm, put it in the fridge for a few minutes before rolling out the dough.

Working quickly, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is about 3mm thick. Make sure your dough is at least 1-2 cm larger than the circumference of the tart mold. Then use your rolling pin to place your flattened dough on it, and carefully roll it onto the tart mold. With your thumb and index finger, press the rim of the tart mold to ensure that the dough is properly attached to the mold. Leave a bit of dough on top of the tart mold, and use your rolling pin to roll over the lined tart mold to trim the excess dough. Place the lined tart mold into the fridge (or freezer if you're in the tropics)!

You'll need at least 2 1/2 - 3 apples for the tart filling. Roughly chop these apples and saute them in a pan with butter, sugar, water, vanilla, and cinnamon. Saute until golden brown. 

Place your filling into the tart base, creating a mound in the center. 

Slice your decoration apples in moon shapes and create a design to top your tart. The photo above shows a circular pattern, but placing the apple slices in diagonal lines also works well.

Top the tart with bits of butter and brown sugar, and place in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

May the elements work with you on this one!

Le Cordon Bleu Week 2: Two tarts

My second week at Le Cordon Bleu Paris began with a bang - or make that two: an onion tart and an apple tart. Check these out:

onion tart

tarte aux pommes

The onion tart (with anchovies, black olives, capers, garlic, thyme, and blanched tomatoes) is typical of Southern France, and the tarte aux pommes is a classic French pastry. I need to practice rolling my dough and perfect my cutting abilities in order to make the presentation more precise. Otherwise, these were fun to make and will make lovely additions to my meal repertoire.


As we enjoyed these creations, my in-laws and I commented on how much more real the food is in France. The idea of going to the market to buy fresh products is deeply engrained in everyday life. Of course processed foods are also readily available, but I feel healthier eating "back to basics". For example, I used flour, sugar, butter, an egg, cinnamon, vanilla, apples, and oh yes Calvados to make this tarte aux pommes. The recipe calls for very little sugar, actually, and so I didn't think twice about giving some to my son for dessert. They are real, clean, man-of-the-earth ingredients. I think this is why the French are generally not over weight - because the patisseries also use these same ingredients. No high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. I'm willing to bet that Parisians would rather be caught dead than purchase a frozen tarte aux pommes when there are pastry shops at every corner. In fact, I don't think I've seen frozen tarte aux pommes in my neighborhood supermarkets.


Return to the real stuff, and you'll loose weight, I say. Also walk a few miles a day, and this will do the trick. I don't miss driving a car and I don't crave food from a box. I feel healthier in Paris even though I'm eating enough to kill a small horse.