Pie and Pastry Bible (121 page)

For each tartlet, remove 3 tablespoons (1.75 ounces/50 grams) of the dough from the refrigerator, leaving the remaining dough refrigerated. Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap and knead it lightly a few times to make it malleable. Top it with a second sheet of plastic wrap and roll it into a 4-inch circle. Work quickly to keep it from softening, or return it briefly to the refrigerator or freezer. When all the dough has been rolled, freeze the discs until firm.

Preheat the oven as above.

On a lightly floured counter, roll out the puff pastry
inch thick. (You need a scant 3.5 ounces/96 grams of puff pastry for each, so start with at least 1½ pounds of puff pastry.) Cut six 7-inch squares. Place them at least ½ inch apart on the parchment-lined sheets. Using a cardboard template and a sharp knife, cut a 6½-inch round from each square. Brush a ½-inch band of egg white around the edge of each round and turn the dough over itself to make a ½-inch border, pressing firmly on the dough. (This border will hold just until the topping has set and then will open out.) Brush the border with a little of the egg white and dust it lightly with sugar. Place the apples on the tart as above, but omit the butter and sugar.

Peel off the top piece of plastic wrap from each frozen disc of almond dough and invert the almond dough over the apples. Peel off the other piece of plastic wrap.

Bake the galettes for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 375°F. and continue baking for 15 minutes or until the pastry and upper crust are golden and the apples are tender when pierced with a skewer or fork. Let cool briefly and serve as above, without the caramel sauce.

STORE

Unbaked, frozen, up to 3 months; baked, up to 2 days. (These are best eaten warm.)

PARIS RITZ PASTRY CRISPS

I
had known Gregory Usher for many years before he started the famed pastry school at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. He was a man of quiet dignity, who glowed with passion for his profession and warmth for his friends. Every time I made a trip to Paris, I visited him.

I have only stayed at the Ritz once, and it remains the most exquisite hotel I have ever stayed in, rich with beauty, charm, history, and comforts. It was during that stay that Gregory gave me a pastry recipe for this book to represent the hotel and school. I had no idea at the time that it would also be a commemoration to him, as my dear friend Gregory died that year.

The recipe is a sandwich of two discs of crisp, caramelized puff pastry that are especially crunchy because they are sprinkled with crumbled nougatine before baking. After baking, they are filled with satiny-smooth pastry cream, lightened with whipped cream, and fresh juicy berries. They are further enhanced by an intensely tart berry sauce. All the components can be made well ahead and the crisps composed four hours ahead of serving, making this the ideal dessert for your most elegant dinner or holiday party.

EQUIPMENT

Two or more cookie sheets or inverted half-size sheet pans

Make the dough (page 420).

MAKE THE NOUGATINE CRUMBLE

Lightly oil a marble counter or baking sheet and two spatulas or triangular turners.

In a small heavy pan, combine the sugar and corn syrup and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stop stirring and allow the syrup to boil undisturbed until medium golden brown (360°F.). Remove it from the heat, immediately add the butter, and stir in the almonds.

Scrape the mixture onto the lightly oiled marble surface or baking sheet. Using the oiled spatulas or triangular scrapers, turn the nougatine over itself, folding in the corners to ensure even cooling.

As soon as the nougatine is cool enough to handle, use a lightly oiled heavy rolling pin to roll it as thin as possible. Work quickly before the nougatine hardens. (If necessary, it can be softened in a 300°F. oven for a few minutes.) When the nougatine is cool, place it on a cutting board and coarsely chop it. (Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, and low humidity, the nougatine will keep for about 6 weeks.)

MAKE THE CRISPS

On a lightly floured counter, roll the puff pastry into a
-inch-thick rectangle about 8 inches by 18 inches. Starting at an 8-inch side, roll up the pastry, brushing off any excess flour as you go. Brush the very edge with water and press gently so that it will adhere to the pastry. Cover the pastry roll with plastic wrap, place seam side down on a baking sheet, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes or until very firm.

Preheat the oven to 475°F. at least 20 minutes before baking. Set an oven rack at the middle level and place a baking stone or cookie sheet on it before preheating.

With a sharp or serrated knife, cut sixteen ¼-inch-thick rounds from the pastry roll. (You will only need about half the roll. The remainder can be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months.) Sprinkle the counter with powdered sugar, roll each round into a very thin circle, 4 to 4½ inches in diameter and about 1/16 inch thick, and place the rounds about 1 inch apart on the cookie sheets. (You will need to bake the rounds in three to four batches. Chill them covered until ready to bake. Be sure that the cookie or baking sheets are no longer warm before placing the dough on them.) Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon of the nougatine crumble. Place a second cookie sheet directly on top of the pastry to keep the pastry from losing its shape.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops are golden and caramelized, checking carefully a few times after the first 5 minutes of baking by lifting off the top baking
sheet. The pastry discs will shrink to about 3½ inches in diameter and rise to about
inch high. If you would like the discs to be exact in shape, as soon as they come out of the oven, lift them, one at a time so that they remain hot, from the cookie sheet onto a cutting board and use a cutter just slightly smaller than the diameter of the discs to cut them into even rounds. (A rubber mallet to strike the cutter is helpful.) Transfer the pastry rounds to racks to cool completely. (They will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

MAKE THE CREAM FILLING

Chill a small bowl along with the beaters for whipping the cream.

In a medium bowl, whisk the optional kirsch into the cold pastry cream until smooth.

Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form when the beater is lifted. Using a large whisk or rubber spatula, fold it into the pastry cream. Use it at once, or cover and chill it for up to 8 hours.

ASSEMBLE THE PASTRY CRISPS

Place 8 of the crisps, nougatine side up, on individual serving plates. Pipe or spread about ¼ cup of the filling onto each crisp. (It will be about ½ inch thick.) Place an even layer of berries on top (about 2 tablespoons). Top with a second crisp, nougatine side up.

Just before serving, spoon some sauce onto each plate (1½ tablespoons raspberry sauce, or 2 tablespoons strawberry sauce, as it is less intense) and dust the pastry very lightly with powdered sugar, if desired. It is also attractive to place a few whole or sliced and fanned berries on top of the sauce.

STORE

Cool to room temperature, up to 4 hours.

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

If it is necessary to assemble the pastries more than 4 hours ahead, it will be necessary to refrigerate them. In this case, they will stay crisper if you have both the nougatine side of the crisps facing the cream filling. Alternatively, you can add the top crisps just before serving.

UNDERSTANDING

Quick puff pastry is preferable to classic for this recipe because it is far easier to roll as thin as is required.

Nougatine is an opaque caramel with nuts. The opaqueness is created by the controlled crystallization of the sugar. Butter is added to prevent the nuts from crystallizing the sugar prematurely. The mixture is turned and folded to promote the formation of fine, even sugar crystals for the best texture.

CRÈME BRÛLÉE TARTLETS

T
raveling around the country over the last decade, I have sampled so many versions of this tartlet, I cannot guess who originated the concept, but whoever did should be congratulated, because it is an inspired combination of crisp puff pastry, vanilla-infused custard, and a caramel crust. The puff pastry renders the custard impeccably creamy from stem to stern, the way a water bath would.