Gateaux at Hirsinger, ArboisDecember in France is a celebration of food and drink, and in particular there is a focus on the traditional patisseries and chocolatiers which produce decadent cakes and chocolates. Having stayed a few nights in Arbois, in the Jura region, I had the opportunity to see the displays of gateaux, marrons glacees and chocolates at Hirsinger, one of the finest chocolatiers and patisseries in France. Entering the shop you become intoxicated with the heady scent of rich chocolate which lures you towards their counters, and a purchase.
Returning home after Christmas through Paris with Corinne meant I could indulge myself with a brief excursion to gaze at the fashionable creations on display at Laduree and Fauchon. Time did not allow a visit to the Le Notre boutique patisserie, which was a shame because Mr. Le Notre, a legend and creator of the revolutionary "Opera" gateau, had just died at the grand old age of 88.
An iced cake with macaroons at Laduree, ParisIn the busy run up to Christmas in France, the media focus their attention on the patisseries of Laduree and Le Notre, flagships of their art, as they produced their own elegant and exclusive examples of the traditional buche de noel. The interviews gave a brief tantalising glimpse into the kitchens or cuisines of these establishments. The cameras panning around allowed us to see the chefs at Laduree attentively finishing the buches, encrusting the rich butter icing with a variety of macaroons using the skill and care of an instrument grade jeweller.
When I passed Laduree there was a reverent queue outside which was casually organised and watched over by a rather gruesome undignified looking security guard. Why? It appears that no recession on the planet can reduce the demand for the dainty colourful macaroons that are the trademark of Laduree. Fauchon was more sedate and modern displaying its culinary creations with a confident bravado in its wraparound windows.
Carre frambroise from Fauchon, ParisInstalled back in my humble small open plan kitchen dining & living area, I felt inspired by the modern alchemy I had witnessed in the gateaux cares (square cakes) and mignardises (a fancy french word for small cakes), but obviously less so by the English language which rarely does justice to these delicacies. I wanted to make a cake or tart, but gradually realised my limitations in setting out to use the ingredients that were easily available. In my local supermarket I was able to purchase pears from Portugal and apricots from South Africa. It almost felt as disappointing, wasteful and decadent as standing in line at Laduree, but it appears very little locally produced fruit is sold by Irish shops and supermarkets.
The night before baking, I poached 10 apricots in a white wine and vanilla syrup; 250mils of water, 50gs of sugar, glass of white wine and a vanilla pod.
Making pastry is far from difficult. However, some rules apply because if the pastry is poor the tart might be edible but will certainly be miserable. Pastry requires good baking flour and chilled butter, mixed and rubbed together in a 2:1 ratio. If you feel tempted to use something other than butter try to remember the words "edible" and "miserable" and you might be inclined to change your mind. Anthony Bourdain in his book "Kitchen Confidential" chose more caustic remarks to reinforce his viewpoint on this topic.
It is a distinct advantage in making a good shortcrust pastry to have a pair of cold hands. During Winter this is rarely a problem for me, but I ritually runs my hands under cold water during the warmer months. Having rubbed the flour and butter together to a breadcrumb consistency, add two or three tablespoons of cold water and mix until all the ingredients combine (if using 200gs of flour and 100gs of butter). If the mixture remains dry add more water, and if it becomes too moist add some more flour. Then place your pastry in the fridge for half an hour or more.
While the pastry is resting in the fridge you can make the frangipane. For my 8 inch square baking tin I use the following ingredients: Butter -125gs, Sugar - 125gs, Ground almonds - 125gs, Eggs - 3, Flour - 2 heaped tablespoons.
In a food processor blend the butter and sugar for a few minutes until well combined. Thereafter add the eggs one by one mixing all the time. At this point you can add some vanilla extract if you wish. Thereafter, add the ground almonds and flour and pulse two or three times, as the mixture should not be overworked with these ingredients. If the mixture appears too runny add a little more flour.
My pear and apricot frangipane tart before it went into the oven
Take the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface until the pastry is about 4mm thick. Grease your tin with butter, dust with flour and lay in the pastry. Trim the pastry and neaten the edges. After straining the apricots and reserving the syrup, tear away the fleshy fruit of the apricots from the stones, and place on the pastry in the baking tin. With a spatula spread the frangipane mix evenly over the apricots. Having pealed, cored and cut in half three or four pears, place them neatly on the frangipane mixture. The pears can be fanned by carefully slicing the base of the fruit, which among other things gives a nice effect when glazed. Without further ado, place the tart in a preheated oven at 180C and cook for about 45 minutes. The frangipane is cooked when it has risen and is well browned. You can also dip a knife into the tart and if it comes out clean the tart is cooked.
Once taken from the oven, leave the tart to cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, place two tablespoons of apricot jam into a small saucepan with two tablespoons of the reserved apricot syrup and bring to the boil. Thereafter, liberally brush the glaze onto the tart and leave to stand and cool. The vanilla enriched apricots provide a wonderful luxurious edge to the standard pear and almond tart and if you are prepared to use just about every piece of kitchen equipment you own I am sure you will not be disappointed with this tart.
Making pastry is far from difficult. However, some rules apply because if the pastry is poor the tart might be edible but will certainly be miserable. Pastry requires good baking flour and chilled butter, mixed and rubbed together in a 2:1 ratio. If you feel tempted to use something other than butter try to remember the words "edible" and "miserable" and you might be inclined to change your mind. Anthony Bourdain in his book "Kitchen Confidential" chose more caustic remarks to reinforce his viewpoint on this topic.
It is a distinct advantage in making a good shortcrust pastry to have a pair of cold hands. During Winter this is rarely a problem for me, but I ritually runs my hands under cold water during the warmer months. Having rubbed the flour and butter together to a breadcrumb consistency, add two or three tablespoons of cold water and mix until all the ingredients combine (if using 200gs of flour and 100gs of butter). If the mixture remains dry add more water, and if it becomes too moist add some more flour. Then place your pastry in the fridge for half an hour or more.
While the pastry is resting in the fridge you can make the frangipane. For my 8 inch square baking tin I use the following ingredients: Butter -125gs, Sugar - 125gs, Ground almonds - 125gs, Eggs - 3, Flour - 2 heaped tablespoons.
In a food processor blend the butter and sugar for a few minutes until well combined. Thereafter add the eggs one by one mixing all the time. At this point you can add some vanilla extract if you wish. Thereafter, add the ground almonds and flour and pulse two or three times, as the mixture should not be overworked with these ingredients. If the mixture appears too runny add a little more flour.
My pear and apricot frangipane tart before it went into the ovenTake the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface until the pastry is about 4mm thick. Grease your tin with butter, dust with flour and lay in the pastry. Trim the pastry and neaten the edges. After straining the apricots and reserving the syrup, tear away the fleshy fruit of the apricots from the stones, and place on the pastry in the baking tin. With a spatula spread the frangipane mix evenly over the apricots. Having pealed, cored and cut in half three or four pears, place them neatly on the frangipane mixture. The pears can be fanned by carefully slicing the base of the fruit, which among other things gives a nice effect when glazed. Without further ado, place the tart in a preheated oven at 180C and cook for about 45 minutes. The frangipane is cooked when it has risen and is well browned. You can also dip a knife into the tart and if it comes out clean the tart is cooked.
Once taken from the oven, leave the tart to cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, place two tablespoons of apricot jam into a small saucepan with two tablespoons of the reserved apricot syrup and bring to the boil. Thereafter, liberally brush the glaze onto the tart and leave to stand and cool. The vanilla enriched apricots provide a wonderful luxurious edge to the standard pear and almond tart and if you are prepared to use just about every piece of kitchen equipment you own I am sure you will not be disappointed with this tart.
The glazed apricot and pear frangipane tartAs a postscript I have to admit that I always make a little too much pastry. This can be put down to a deliberate attempt at gluttony, but it does allow me to experiment a little. I have uploaded a photograph of a few apple and apricot glazed tarts which I made with the pastry cuttings and left overs. The remnants of the apricot glaze also came in handy to decorate these little fruit tarts.
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