PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: Like it's French name suggests, my version of it is a "heavenly" treat that is easily produced at home.

BATEAUX CELESTINS:

 

 

 

1 quantity of short-short sweet pastry--see posted basic recipe:

                                  

filling--the "Madeleine" batter:

    1 cup self-raising flour                               

    4 eggs

    ½ cup each sugar & ground almonds                                                          

    ½ cup butter, melted                                   

    ¼ tsp. vanilla extract

    pinch of salt

 

apricot jam

 

 

. .   

 

Roll pastry out, between 2 large pieces of wax paper, to roughly ¼-inch thickness to fit a 9-inch flan case. Fit in well and evenly, cutting off excess pastry by rolling a rolling pin over the edges of the flan case. Spread a thin layer of jam on the pastry.

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using an electric hand-held beater, beat together eggs and sugar until thick and pale in colour. Sift flour and salt together; then re-sift mixture directly over egg mixture and fold in gently. Gently fold in ground almonds, melted butter and vanilla extract.  Pour batter into prepared crust.

 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until puffed and golden.  Cool slightly, brush top with warm apricot jam.

 

Dust pie with icing sugar to serve.

PASTRIES & VARIATION: This is a tart that has never failed to please. It takes a bit of practise to get it right, but you will be delighted with the efforts it takes to produce it..

PEAR AND ALMOND CREAM TART:

 

 

 

 

1 quantity of short-short sweet pastry--see posted basic recipe

filling:

    ¾ cup-packed ground almond                                

    6 tbsp. sugar

    5 oz butter, chilled                                      

    1 ½ egg yolk + 3 egg whites

    few drops of almond extract                                   

    3 firm pears

    lemon juice to brush pears

glaze:              

    1 tbsp brandy or cold water            

    3 tbsp peach jam, strained  

 

 

 

Roll pastry out, between 2 pieces of waxed paper, to roughly ¼-inch thickness. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to rest and firm up the dough slightly. Peel off the top piece of wax paper & flip the dough onto a 9-inch flan case with removable bottom. Peel off the other piece of wax paper. Fix & adjust the dough to cover the bottom & all around the flan case, with small amount of excess pastry dangling over the edges. Check edges to make sure the dough is of even thickness all around the circumference. Roll the rolling pin across the top of the flan case to cut off excess pastry. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before filling.                    

 

Peel pears, half and core them and brush them with lemon juice. If pears are too firm, place them in a microwavable container and microwave for 2 minutes on high power. Place each pear half, cut-side down, on the cutting board. Use a small paring knife, and starting from the narrow top end of one pear, slice thinly & evenly crossways all the way along the length of the pear to the bottom end. Repeat the cutting process with the other five pieces of pear-halves. Set aside.

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In food processor with steel blade attached, process ground almonds and sugar together for a few seconds. Add butter and process until creamy; then add egg yolks and egg white and almond extract. Pulse on/ off a few times to mix well. Pour the filling into the pastry case and spread it out evenly.

 

Slide a large flat pastry cutter under one pear half; and with the pear sitting securely on the cutter, press down gently to separate the cut pieces slightly while making sure that the  original pear shape is not disturbed. Make a mark in the filling to divide the tart into 6 equal portions. Carefully transfer each pear half to the filling to cover the marked lines, with the narrow top end facing the middle, and the larger bottom end next to the edge of the circle, therefore creating the pattern of "spokes in a wheel". 

 

Transfer tart carefully to hot oven. Bake tart for 50 to 55 minutes or until the filling is set & the pastry is well browned. Transfer tart to a wire rack.  Warm the brandy or water with the jam & mix well, straining off large bits. Brush mixture over the pears & filling to glaze while tart is hot. Serve warm.

 

 

 

 

VARIATION:  ALMOND CREAM TART:  Prepare as before but omit the pears.

PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: This is a much simplier and more everyday type of apple tart made without a sweet pastry dough. It is delicious even though without the bells and whistles of a more polished French style tart.

APPLE PIE WITH SINGLE CRUST:

 

 

 

1/2 quantity of short crust pastry, see basic recipe,

filling:

    3 ½ lbs tart or cooking apples                                 

    ¼ cup sugar

    2 tsp. cinnamon                                          

    grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

    2 tbsp. butter, diced                                    

    3 tbsp. honey, to glaze

 

 

 

Roll out pastry to roughly ¼-inch thickness to line a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes..

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel, core and slice apples. Toss them with sugar, cinnamon, lemon rind and juice.  Pile them into pie crust and dotted them with diced butter.

 

Bake pie for 45 minutes or until apples are golden and tender. Remove from oven.   Melt honey in a saucepan and brush over the apples to glaze.

PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: With this recipe of French style apple tart, almond filling is used instead of custard and apple puree. It is equally good and worth trying.

NORMANDY-STYLE APPLE TART WITH ALMOND FILLING:

 

 

 

1 quantity of Pate Sucre; see basic recipe:

filling:

    3-4 Granny Smith, or other firm textured apples, peeled & cored

    6 oz. unsalted butter                                               

    6 oz. ground almond

    3 eggs                                                                     

    1 ½ tbsp. all purpose flour, sifted

    ½ cup sugar                                                

    1 tbsp. Calvados liqueur

    2 drops almond extract                               

    2 tbsp. melted butter

glaze: 

    3 tbsp. apricot jam                                      

    1 tbsp. warm brandy

 

 

 

Roll out pastry to roughly ¼-inch thickness to fit a 9-inch tart case with removable bottom. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line empty pastry case with wax paper and fill it with rice or baking beans. Bake blind for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven; remove wax paper and baking beans. Cool on rack slightly.

 

To make filling:  Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs, ground almonds, sifted flour, Calvados and almond extract. Mix in well. Fill pastry case to 3/4 full with filling. Slice apples thinly and arrange slices in concentric circles over the filling. Brush apples with melted butter

 

Bake in preheated 400 degrees F oven for 30-40 minutes until apples are golden brown. Remove and cool on rack.

 

Put jam through a sieve and mix it with the brandy. Brush mixture over warm tart to glaze.

PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: This is a good recipe to make a single-crust apple tart using sweet pastry dough. Hope you'll give it a try.

ALSATIAN STYLE APPLE TART WITH APPLES AND CUSTARD FILLING:

 

 

 

1 quantity of Pate Sucre, see basic recipe

filling:

    7 Granny Smith, or other firm-textured apples, peeled, cored

    6-8 tbsp. sugar, or to taste                           

    ¼ cup unsalted butter, divided

    ½ tsp. cinnamon, divided                            

    1 tbsp. melted butter to brush apples

    2 tbsp. Calvados liqueur

custard:

    ½ cup heavy cream                                     

    2 eggs, beaten

    3-4 tbsp. brown sugar                                             

    ½ tsp. vanilla extract

superfine sugar to dust                                    

2-3 tbsp apricot jam + 1 tbsp brandy

 

 

 

 

Roll out pastry to ¼-inch thickness to fit a 9-inch removable-base tart case. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line empty tart case with wax paper and fill it with baking beans or rice. Bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and discard wax paper and baking beans.

 

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Thinly slice 3 of the apples and add to butter in pan together with 3-4 tbsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. cinnamon and the liqueur. Toss well to coat and cook apples for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Gently mash apples with the back of a wooden spoon. Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool.

 

Thinly slice the remaining apples and cook them in butter, rest of sugar and cinnamon for about 5 minutes or until just softened. Drain and cool slightly. Fill empty tart case with the apple puree and arrange apple slices, in concentric circles, over the puree.

 

Mix sugar, cream, eggs and vanilla together. Pour custard over apple tart. Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake 20 minutes more. Remove from oven.

 

Turn oven setting to broil. Brush apples with melted butter and sprinkle with superfine sugar. Place tart in oven, about 4-inches from the source of heat. Broil briefly until apples are browned. Remove and cool on rack.

 

Put apricot jam through a sieve and mix it with warm brandy. Brush jam over warm tart to glaze.

PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: As part of the pastry variations, I am posting again this recipe of pie dough that is used to make savoury "steak & kidney pies", "beef & mushroom pies", etc, as well as the basic apple pie that is a dessert.

BASIC SHORT CRUST PASTRY:

 

 

 

1 lb cold lard cut into cubes                                        

5-5 ½ cups all purpose flour

3 tsp. salt                                                                    

1 egg

1 tbsp. vinegar                                                            

¾+ cup ice water

 

 

 

Beat egg and vinegar into ice water to make up 1 cup liquid. Refrigerate until use.

 

Place flour and salt in work-bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Process on/off to mix.  Add lard into work bowl and process a few seconds until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.  With machine running, add ice water mixture in a steady stream through the feed-tube. Process with on/off pulses a few times, until mixture is just coming together into a ball. Do not over process.

 

Turn dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper. Bring the edges of paper together and pressing through the paper to make dough into a ball.  Knead gently once or twice to distribute the fat evenly. Flatten the ball out to a large flat round. Wrap well and refrigerate 10 minutes before using.

 

Dough may be frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost in fridge before using.

 

This recipe is sufficient for a double-crusted pie. If only a top or bottom pie crust is needed, make dough with half the amount of ingredients. 

PASRIES & VARIATIONS: This is another version of the basic sweet pastry dough used in making sweet flans, tarts and pie. This is my personal favourite because the recipe turns out a flaky and delicious base for dessert pies.

BASIC "SHORT-SHORT" SWEET PASTRY:

 

 

 

1½ cup flour                                       

½ tsp. salt

3 tbsp. sugar                                       

¾ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into cubes

2 tbsp. vinegar--more or less

 

 

 

Using a food processor fitted with steel blade, process the flour, sugar and salt a few seconds. Add the chilled butter and process with on/off pulses until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With machine running, drizzle vinegar through feed tube and process with on/off pulses until mixture just begins to come together. Do not over process.

 

Transfer dough onto a large piece of wax paper. Gather the corners & sides of the paper together and gently press the dough into a ball. Knead with hands a couple of times only to combine the ingredients. Flatten ball of dough out into a large round flat shape & rest it in fridge for 10 minutes.

 

It is now ready to be rolled out to fit a 9-inch tart case. Refrigerate roll-out dough in tart case for at least 30 minutes before putting in fillings.

PASRIES & VARIATIONS: This is basic recipe for a sweet--not savoury--pastry dough that is used to make tarts & pies for dessert.

PATE SUCRE--SWEET SHORTCRUST PASTRY:

 

 

 

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour                                          

1/8- ¼ tsp salt

½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cubed                           

3 tbsp. sugar   

1 egg, slightly beaten + ice water making up to ¼ cup

 

 

 

Place flour, sugar and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade. Swirl ingredients together for 2-3 seconds to mix. Add butter into bowl and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With machine running, add egg and water mixture through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process with on/off pulses until mixture is just coming together to form dough, adding a little more ice water if necessary. Do not over process.

 

Turn dough out onto a large piece of wax paper, bring the edges of paper together and press on the paper to knead the dough a few times to distribute the fat evenly. Flatten dough out into a large round disk. Wrap with wax paper and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.           

 

Pastry is sufficient to fill a 9-inch flan/tart case with removable bottom.

PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: The Napolean cake refers to a cake made with puff pastry dough and fresh cream. Please try out my version of this classic french dessert.

FRESH CREAM NAPOLEON CAKE:

 

 

 

 

1/2 to 2/3 quantity of prepared puff pastry, see basic recipe

1 yellow sponge cake, see basic recipe for sponge cake

fillings:

    2 cups whipping cream                                           

    4 tbsp. icing sugar

    ½ tsp. vanilla extract           

egg wash

 

 

 

Roll out puff pastry into roughly 1/8 to1/4-inch thickness. Use the bottom piece of an 8-inch spring-form cake-pan as a guide to mark out 2 circles on the pastry. Mark out 8 equal triangles on one of the circles and cut the triangles out almost all the way through.  Arrange pastry on a large baking sheet; prick it all over with a fork and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before baking.

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush pastry with egg wash and bake 15-20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Transfer cooled pastry to a work surface. Use a sharp knife to cut out the triangular pieces from one pastry circle as well as the complete pastry circle; then crush the rest of remaining pastry with a rolling pin into crumbs and reserve.

 

Remove 1/8-¼-inch of cake from top and bottom of the sponge cake; and reserve for use as cake crumbs in other recipes.  Slice rest of cake horizontally into 2 layers. Set aside.

 

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add icing sugar and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff. 

 

To assemble cake:  Use the complete piece of puff pastry circle as the base of the cake, spread a layer of whipped cream on top. Layer a piece of sponge cake on it and spread it with whipped cream. Top this with the other piece of sponge cake.

 

Cover the top and sides of cake with whipped cream. Use reserved puff pastry crumbs to cover the sides of the cake. Dust each piece of pastry triangle with icing sugar and arrange them in a “windmill” design over the top layer of whipped cream. Chill well before serving.      

PASTRIES & VARIATIONS: This is an excelleny way to make use of the puff pastry dough--either home-made or store-bought--into a spectacular dessert in the summertime, when peaches are delicious and ripe.

PEACH MILLE FEUILLE:

 

 

 

 

1 quantity of prepared puff pastry, see basic recipe

fillings:

    2/3 cup sugar                                                          

    2 cups water

    4 very ripe peaches                         

    1 ½ tbsp. icing sugar

    1 tbsp. grenadine                            

egg wash                                                                     

icing sugar to dust

 

 

 

Roll out puff pastry to between 1/8 & ¼-inch thickness. Using a 3 ½-inch diameter pastry cutter, cut out four circles and transfer them to a baking sheet. Chill pastries in refrigerator for 30 minutes.  

 

To peel peaches:  Make a cross at the bottom of each peach. Lower peaches into a pot of boiling water. Allow them to blanch for 40 seconds to 1 minute. then remove and transfer to a bowl of cold or ice water and let stand for a minute or so. Drain & pat dry; then start peeling skin off from the bottom where the cross has been made..

 

To make glaze:  Place sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add peaches and poach until tender. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve poaching liquid. Put 3 oz of the poaching liquid and the grenadine in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced by half. Keep warm.

 

To prepare pastries:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush each pastry with egg wash. Lightly press a 2 ¾-inch cutter onto the circle of dough to mark out the lids. With a sharp knife, score a cross on each lid. Transfer pastries to hot oven and bake for 10 minutes; then sprinkle icing sugar over the top and bake for another 3-5 minutes or until the sugar forms an attractive glaze. Remove from oven and transfer pastries to a wire rack. Run the tip of a knife around the marked lids and detach them carefully, lifting them off with the knife.

 

To assemble:  Arrange one pastry case on a serving plate and place a peach into each. Brush peaches with the reduced syrup; then top each filled pastry case with the lid, positioning it at a slant decoratively.  Dust with icing sugar and serve at once.