Around My French Table (88 page)

Slice each apple in half from top to bottom and remove the core. Cut each half lengthwise into very thin slices, keeping the slices together—you should get about 14 slices per half—then use the palm of your hand to flatten and fan them. Arrange the fanned-out apples on top of the almond cream, placing them in 3 long rows down the length of the tart or in as many short crosswise rows as you can fit. Keep the rows fairly close together, but allow a little almond cream to peek out between them.

Bake the tart for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the apples are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife and the almond cream is set. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack.

Stir the water into the apple jelly or apricot jam and bring it to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat or in a microwave oven. Gently brush the glaze over the entire tart. Using a cookie sheet or two large metal spatulas or pancake turners, transfer the tart to a serving platter or cutting board. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

SERVING
The tart can be cut into rectangles and served warm or at room temperature. If it's at room temperature, you can eat it with your fingers at the dinner table—it will be messy but fun—or have it as a snack. The tart is good with lightly sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche or with ice cream, but it's also delicious plain.

STORING
The almond cream can be made up to 3 days ahead. Although it's really best soon after it's made, the tart can be kept at room temperature for several hours. If you think it's gotten a little soggy—and it might if it's humid—reheat it on a baking sheet in a 350-degree-F oven for about 10 minutes.

BONNE IDÉE
Because nuts are so accommodating, this tart lends itself to being made with many different fruits. You can use pears, and you can also use grapes, plums, apricots, figs, peaches, or nectarines. If you're using juicy fruits, like plums and peaches, cut the fruit in half and place it cut side up on the cream. And as good as almonds are in the topping, they're not your only choice: you can use hazelnuts (skinned), walnuts, pecans, or even a mix of nuts in their place.

ANOTHER BONNE IDÉE
Apple Tartes Fines.
Also crispy and crackly, these small tarts, made on puff pastry bases, were inspired by the wonderful tart at the Paris bistro L'Avant-Gout. To make 4 individual tarts, roll out a sheet of puff pastry (about 8 ounces) until it's about ⅛ inch thick. (If you're using a sheet of Pepperidge Farm dough, roll it into a square that's about 13 inches on a side.) Use a saucer to cut out 4 rounds of dough, 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Transfer the rounds to a lined baking sheet and prick them all over with a fork; chill the rounds while you prepare the apples. Peel and core 3 firm sweet apples, such as Granny Smith or Fuji (you might need a couple more), then cut them into long, thin wedges. Arrange the apples attractively over the pastry rounds, leaving just a narrow border bare. (I usually make slightly overlapping concentric circles.) Beat 1 egg with ½ teaspoon cold water and brush this wash over the apples. Sprinkle the apples with sugar, and, if you'd like, brush the edges of the tarts with a little milk and sprinkle sugar over the edges as well. Bake the tarts in a 400-degree-F oven for about 30 minutes (check a few minutes before), or until the borders of the pastry are puffed and the apples are soft and browned at their edges. If you'd like the apples to be even darker, protect the edges of the pastry with foil and run the tarts under the broiler just to get a little more color. These are meant to be served hot or warm—with olive oil ice cream (
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).

T
HIS TART IS VERY LIKE ONE
that can usually be found in the top row of Gérard Mulot's pâtisserie window, the long side window on the rue Lobineau. It's held that place for years, and if all remains right with the world, it will be there for years more. It's a classic with an unexpected twist. The truly classic part is the lovely
pâte sablée
crust and the almond cream filling. The surprise is that the fruit that's baked into the filling is orange, not a fruit that usually jumps to mind when you think of a tart, particularly one that is baked. It's an inspired idea.

Almond cream, which is not really a cream but is very creamy, is a
pâtissier's
building block for baked fruit tarts. It's easily made, it's very flavorful, and it bakes to a beautiful brown, puffing around whatever fruit you've topped it with. And you can top almond cream with almost any fruit. Perhaps the most classic French almond cream tart is the one made with sliced pears (see Bonne Idée), but you can use apples, cherries, figs (particularly wonderful), peaches (peeled), nectarines, apricots, or plums (I love this tart with plums, especially Italian prune plums, or what the French call
quetsches,
a favorite in Alsace). Or, in keeping with the spirit of M. Mulot's tart, you can use ruby grapefruit or even lemon segments. It's customary to add a splash of dark rum to almond cream, but if you change the fruit, you might also change the alcohol, substituting Cognac, another brandy, or an eau de vie, such as kirsch with cherries or Quetsche (plum) with plums.

BE PREPARED:
To get the most flavor and texture from the fruit, it's important to dry the cut segments for at least 1 hour; several hours is better. It's a fussy step that makes a difference.

TO PREPARE THE ORANGES:
Using a sharp knife (I use a chef's knife), cut a thin slice off the top and bottom of each orange so that it can stand upright. Working from top to bottom and following the curve of the fruit, use the knife to remove the peel in wide bands, cutting down to the fruit. You want to expose the juicy fruit, so take the thinnest little bit of fruit away with each strip of peel.
Carefully run the knife down the connective membranes to release the orange segments one by one. Place the segments between triple layers of paper towels and let them dry for at least I hour, or for several hours, or even overnight. If you have the chance and the towels seem saturated, change them.

TO MAKE THE ALMOND CREAM:
Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth and satiny. Add the almond flour and process until well blended. Add the all-purpose flour and cornstarch, and process, then add the egg. Process for about 15 seconds more, or until the almond cream is homogeneous. Add the rum or vanilla and process just to blend. (If you prefer, you can make the cream in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a bowl with a rubber spatula. In either case, add the ingredients in the same order.) You can use the almond cream immediately or scrape it into a container and refrigerate it until firm, about 2 hours. It's better if you can allow the cream to chill, but it's not imperative.
(The cream can be refrigerated, tightly covered,for up to 3 days.)

When you're ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and put the tart shell on it.

Stir the almond cream, then turn it into the crust, smoothing the top. Arrange the orange slices in a decorative pattern over the top. M. Mulot arranges them in a spiral, working from the center out, but they can be arranged in concentric circles. Whatever you do, don't cover every bit of the cream—it will bubble and rise as it bakes, and it's nice to leave space for it to come up around the fruit.

Bake the tart for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the cream has risen and turned golden brown. If you slip a knife into the cream, it should come out clean. Transfer the tart to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.

Right before serving, dust the tart with confectioners' sugar. Or, if you prefer, prepare a glaze by bringing the apple jelly and water to a boil (you can do this in a microwave oven or saucepan). Brush the glaze over the surface of the tart.

Remove the sides of the pan, slide the tart off the bottom of the pan (if you can't do this easily, don't bother with this step), and slice.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

SERVING
Tarts like this are usually served with nothing else on the plate, but lightly whipped cream is never unwelcome.

STORING
While the crust, oranges, and almond cream can all be prepared ahead, the tart should be served the day it is made.

BONNE IDÉE
Poached Pear and Almond Tart.
To my mind, this is the most classic of the French almond cream tarts. You can make the tart with 6 canned pear halves, or you can poach the pears yourself: Make a poaching syrup by bringing 4 cups water, 1¼ cups sugar, and the juice of 1 lemon to a boil in a medium saucepan. Peel 3 firm but ripe pears and drop them into the syrup. Lower the heat and gently poach the pears until you can easily pierce them with the tip of a knife, about 15 minutes; cool the pears in the syrup. Pat the pears dry, cut them in half from top to bottom, and remove the cores. Thinly slice each pear half crosswise, keeping the slices together. One by one, slide a spatula under each pear half, press down on the pear to fan the slices slightly, and place over the almond cream, wider ends toward the edges of the crust so that the fruit forms spokes.

ANOTHER BONNE IDÉE
Sugar Baby Plum Tart.
One of my favorite almond cream tarts is topped with a fruit we don't find in America: mirabelles. Mirabelles are tiny, very sweet yellow-pink plums that are about the size of plump cherries. They're beloved in their native region, Alsace, where, in addition to being used in this tart, they are made into mirabelle eau de vie. In the United States, I use Methany plums or Sugar Plums to make the tart. (You can use any small, sweet plums that are in your market.) Cut the plums in half, pit them, and dot the top of the almond cream with them. If you have Mirabelle eau de vie, add a teaspoon to the almond cream instead of the rum.

B
RITTANY, THE NORTHWESTERN REGION OF FRANCE,
is known for its oysters, envied for its fleur de sel, beloved for its crepes and its caramels, and unusual for its use of salted butter. It is the only part of France where salted butter is the norm. It's salted butter with breakfast, salted butter on dark bread with oysters, salted butter on crepes, salted butter in those famous caramels, and salted butter in the region's renowned butter cookie,
le sablé Breton.

The sablé is a sweet shortbread that's buttery and noticeably salty. Because we don't get butter that's as salty as Breton butter, when I'm in the United States, I make the cookie with unsalted butter and add fleur de sel (or fine sea salt) so that I can get the salt level just right. In this version of the sablé, the dough is purposely very soft (it's too soft to roll and cut for cookies) so that it can be patted and pressed into a tart pan, baked, and used as the base of a really beautiful berry dessert.

I like to spread the galette with lemon curd and top it with sliced strawberries or whole raspberries, but it is equally good with whipped cream or ice cream in place of the curd. In fact, it's good on its own—just cut it into wedges and nibble. If you're not serving a group, leave the galette plain, and when you need a slice or three of tart, cut the galette and top it on the spot.

If you'd like to make
sablé Breton
cookies, see Bonne Idée.

BE PREPARED:
The dough needs to chill for at least 3 hours.