Thin Apple Tart - French Apple Pie

A French classic recipe : "Tarte fine aux pommes" = Thin apple tart

The Tarte fine is made with really thin slices of fruit, 

you could make some with pear or apricot but the most famous one is the apple tart.

Being so thin makes it evenly cooked, being golden but not black 

and creates a beautiful pattern on the tart.

You can make one with a Puff dough or a Cookie dough as you prefer.

It can be flavoured with cinnamon and served with whipped cream or a vanilla ice cream.

  Preparation    Slicing the apples takes some time, making a home-made dough too. Beside that if everything is well explained, it's easy and it's really quick to bake.

  Tasting    Amazing, so thin and crusty with the dough, tender and sweet.

  To conclude    It's a classic you are sure everybody will love it. You won't take any risk doing that recipe, it's an universal one !

For a 9inch tart or 4 small individual tarts.

   You will need :   

1 puff dough 

Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla exract in it

- with the water, in the four -

5 or 6 apples

- golden, braeburn, boskop... -

Dark brown sugar, cinammon, vanilla...

For a syrup

I baked mine with a little syrup in the oven

Stir 4tbsp of powdered sugar in 6tbsp of water and 1tsp of vanilla extract

I poured the half during the cooking and the other half at the end.

- my father doesn't like cinammon, so I wanted to add some vanilla :) -

Turn the oven on at 440°F

Prepare the dough

Flatten your dough : 0.1 inch thick (2 to 3 mm)

Cut the extremity in a circular shape with a clean and smooth knife so the dough will rise well.

Using the opposite side of a knife-blade. Draw a circle on the dough at 0.7 inch (2cm) from the edges.

This will show the limit to place the apples and will make the dough rise mostly on the edges.

Set aside in the fridge.

Prepare the apples

Rinse and peel your apples, cut them in halves and remove the seeds with a spoon or a small knife.

To keep a nice shape, cut them in thin slices in the height, not in their width. 

Place them on the dough, without separating them from each other. 

Start by putting them as an outer circle, going one way (let's say clokwise) then, do an inner circle going counterclockwise. Fill your pie with those circles of apples, keeping them pretty tight but flat.

For a small pie : 2 half circle going clockwise, and counterclokwise, meeting in the center.

Use the small pieces of apple to fill the middle or the small holes.

Spread some dark brown sugar on the top and bake 30 to 40 minutes

After 15 minutes, Pour some syrup on it

If the extremity of an apple starts to darken, use a knife to flatten it.

- here, I had to flatten thatpiece of apple -

You can easily let oit bake a few more minutes to be sure your dough is well cooked

When out of the oven, spread some more sugar, cinammon and serve with syrup, 

vanilla ice cream or whipped cream !

This tart has to be eaten the day it's baked OR on the morrow, 

put it back in the oven at 300°F for 5 to 10 minutes.

- Keep cooking my child, what's next  ? -

The Soft Chocolate Tart of Antoine Zestermann

A new Chef Recipe... Let's have some chocolate !

 I had tried his Christmas cake with madarine "Bûche alsacienne aux clémentines confites" ... which was amazing, I wanted to try another recipe from Antoine Westermann

- The chef of our wedding's restaurant -

Antoine Westermann, in his book "La cuisine ménagère d'un grand chef" - Homecooking of a famous chef Antoine gives us a recipe of a soft chocolate tart with a topping made of ganache.... 

Really light of texture, it's almost a mousse. 

You have to keep the tart at room temperature to conserve its softness.

   Preparation    Easy and quick, you won't have a lot of dishes to wash :)

The recipe was well made but I 've missed a line... an important one : Pre-cook the dough !

I've also replace the cocoa buteer by regular butter so the icing-ganache may be a bit different in texture. You will also need a cooking thermometer... but if you don't have any, you can still manage it.

I could do better, but the chocolate cream was awesome !

   Tasting    Surprising taste on the first slice... The cream tastes like a chocolate cake ! Sweet and really soft... The icing is more than welcome, it's a really dark touche of bittersweet chocolate :) 

It was even better a day later The cram was even softer !

   To conclude    A soft, tender, with a "fondante" texture, which has satisfied everyone, dark chocolate lovers a much as milk chocolate lovers....

A real treat with a dark coffee !

For a 9inch pie

   You will need :   

1 cookie dough

- 350gr -

for the chocolate cream

3.4fl oz of milk (10cL)

3.4fl oz of half&half (10c)

2.5 of white sugar (70gr)

2.8 dark chocolate 70% (80gr)

5 egg yolks (2.8oz)

for the icing/ganache

3tbsp of half and half

4tsp of white sugar (20gr)

4 tsp of water

2.8 oz bittersweet chocolate (70gr

2tbsp softened butter

Prepare your cookie dough, flavour it with chocolate, vanilla or keep it natural.

Flatten it on 0.1inch (3mm) and place it in your tart pan, so it holds well on the edges.

Spread some beans or rice on the dough and put in the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Let it cool down in the tart pan at room temperature.

Preheat your oven at 340°F

Prepare the chocolate batter

Coarsely chop the chocolate in a bowl

Put the eggyolks in a smal bowl and take a whisk.

Pour tje cream the milk and the sugar in a small saucepan at medium/high temperature.

Bring to a boil while stirring with your whisk to melt in the sugar.

Whisk in that cream on the chocolate and keep beating until well melted and integrated.

Add in the eggyolks and stir by hand with a spatula so the eggs won't be beaten or foamy.

Pour that chocolate batter in your tart and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes.

On the top, there will be a small crust but the inside will be really soft. Don't overcook !

Prepare the chocolate icing

Melt the sugar with the water and the chocolate woarsely chopped in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil at medium fire. At the first boil, add in the butter and the cream. Keep a gentle boil 20secondes. Pour in a bowl, let it cool down and keep refrigerated.

To use, heat it until you reach 100°F and pour it carefully on the chocolate tart.

OR

Instead of refrigerating it, wait 20 minutes or so at room temperature, to reach 100°F  

and the right consistency, then, pour it on the tart.

Keep the tart at room temperature !

Bon appétit...  :)

Breakfast full of vitamines : French citrus crepes - Thin pancakes

Here is my participation to the contest "Breakfast of the World challenge" on Very Good Recipes.

I've decided to make a twist to a french classic breakfast recipe : The french crepes.

After the recent success of a grapefruit cake, I wanted to keep that freshness of citrus fruits in another recipe ! The Chandeleur is coming in France (2nd of february), which is the national Pancake Day.

I've been influenced by a Guy Savoy recipe called "Crêpes aux agrumes". 

From his recipe, I took my own recipe of crepes and added that citrus twist.

The traditionnal recipe of crepes is already really good, but we always add a lot of jam, creams, ice creams or nutella in it... This recipe is just delicious as it is, and with a light syrup made with the fruit juice, they become amazing-crepes !  :)

I strongly recommend it to you, I've rarely liked crepes so much !

  Preparation    I did it randomly but I've been careful to write down everything, it's a really easy recipe... a few grams more or less won't ruin the recipe :) There is some resting time for the dough, count 15 minutes or preparation, and reserve for an hour.

  Tasting    Nothing to say ! Best when just cooked =)  Don't refrigerate :)

  To conclude    For a sweet and full of vitamins breakfast...  these are just perfect !

For 15 crêpes of 8 inch each : 5 people

If you have a smaller pan, serve 4 pancakes per person : one for each quarter of the plate :)

   You will need :   

7oz of flour (200gr)

1.1 oz of white sugar (30gr)

- 3tbsp -

17 fl oz of milk (50cL)

- I use 2% less fat -

3 eggs

3 tbsp of butter (30gr)

2 tsp of arome de fleur d'oranger 

"orange tree flower aroma"

- If you don't have any, replace by "Grand Marnier" or "Cognac" -

1 pinch of salt

\\ I did it for 6 crepes/2 people :  65gr of flour, 1tbsp of white sugar, 15cL of milk, 1 egg, 10gr of butter, 

1tsp of fleur d'oranger aroma, 1 pinch of salt  // Syrup : 1,5tbsp of white sugar, 2tbsp citrus zests //

Citrus fruits

25gr of white sugar (2tbsp)

2 grapefruits (organic)

1 meyer lemon (organic)

1 navel orange (organic)

Prepare the batter

Stir flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center.

Beat the eggs and pour them in the well. Start whisking by hand, add some milk while whisking.

Incorporate the milk at the same time you whisk in the flour.  

Whisk well in the center, do not integrate the flour too fast.

\\ You whisk must always been free of movement, otherwise it lacks milk //

When the batter is homogeneous,

melt 2tbsp of butter in a sauce pan or in the microwave at really low temperature. 

It must be melted but barely warm.

Pour the melted butter in the batter, stir by hand.

Pour that batter in a really thin strainer

Add in the "arome de fleur d'oranger" ! 

Cover the bowl with a plate. Let the batter rest at least 1 hour at room temperature. 

\\ It has to rest at least 1 hour, the more you wait, the better the crepes are ! //

Prepare the citrus fruits

Wash and rinse your fruits. Dry them.

Peel the rind of a half lemon, the orange and the grapefruit using a cheese-grate or a knife.

Chop finely.

You will have 3 to 4 tbsp of finely chopped citrus rind.

Bring some water to boil, put the rinds in for 10 seconds and rinse them with cold water.

Do that twice, it will remove some bitternes of the citrus fruits and the keep the flavour :)

You don't have to do that... But it gets sweeter like that. Reserve.

Optional: 

Peel completely your orange and you grapefruit. Remove the flesh of the fruits, without the white-skins.

Keep those fruits in a bowl.

\\ Do it over a bowl to recolt the juices //

Once peeled, you can also slice them finely if you prefer :)

Reserve for serving.

The syrup

In a small saucepan, pur 3tbsp of lemon juice, 4tbsp of orange juice and 4tbsp of grapefruit juice.

Add in the sugar (2tbsp) and bring it to a gentle boil for 2 minutes. When it has reduced about the half, turn the stove off and keep that syrup in a small cup. Reserve for serving.

Final batter

Once your batter is ready to use, stir in the rinds.

If you've let your batter rest the whole night, add 2 to 3tbsp of milk.

\\ Depending of the temperature in your place, you might have to add more milk, 

the consistency of the batter must look like a heavy whipping cream //

Put a non-stick pan on your stove at high temperature.

Melt 1tbsp of butter in a bowl in the microwave. 

Use an absorbent paper to butter the warm pan with the melted butter. 

Pour a half ladle of batter in your pan, spread it using the bottom of the ladle, 

or by moving in circle the pan.

\\ Do as you prefer, the goal is to have a circular shape ! :) //

Let 1 minute on each side.

Each one is a piece of art, it's impossible to get the same pattern twice ! I just love it...

 \\ The first crepe is always a bit longer to get golden ! //

Pile them in a plate.

Use the absorbent paper after each crepe to spread evenly the butter on the pan.

Serve 3 pancakes per person, fold them in 4 

and display in a plate with some syrup on them and some fresh fruits.

\\ For a beakfast, you have to eat well and healthy ! //

>> http://verygoodrecipes.com/breakfasts-of-the-world-challenge <<