You Tart

Often, I cook a dish only once. I have an idea, see a recipe, or find a group of ingredients in the refrigerator, and I make a meal I may never cook again. This isn't to say that I'm not happy with the outcome; some dishes will be repeated with variations, ideas borrowed for other meals. Rather, it is a nice break from cooking at work where I often prepare thirty identical portions of the same dish in one night. I've had a great number of fine meals which will never be repeated.

This post is not about one of those meals. It is, alternately, about one of the dishes I return to over and again, sometimes varying it, usually not. I love it for it's simplicity, that it is a classic, and because it is delicious.

This post also marks a first for OneHungryChef: it's a dessert.

I can't count the number of times I have made Tarte Tatin. At it's simplest, this upside-down, caramel and apple tart contains only four ingredients: apples, butter, sugar, and short crust pastry. It was accidentally created by Stéphanie Tatin at her Hotel Tatin in France in the late 19th century. Depending on the version of the story you believe, it was either an attempt to rescue already overcooked apples by covering them with pastry, or a tart serendipitously placed in the oven upside-down. The delicious mistake quickly became a fixture on her's and a number of other restaurants' menus.

Of course there are now countless variations. Mango Tatin, Banana Tatin, Pear, I've been instructed to make Tomato, Witlof, Eschallot Tatins. Mostly, however, when autumn rolls around and the first crates of new season Fujis show up at the corner fruit market, I stick to the original.

But not this time.



Apple and Black Peppercorn-Poached Quince Tatin with Bay Leaf Ice Cream

Black Peppercorn-Poached Quince

4 quince, peeled, cored and sliced into 1-2 cm thick wedges, peels, seeds, and cores reserved
250g sugar
2 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 fresh bay leaf, bruised

Combine the peels, seeds, and cores of the quince with 500 ml water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 min. Strain, reserving the liquid, squeezing the solids to remove as much moisture as possible. Discard the solids. In a medium pot, dissolve the sugar in the reserved liquid. Add the quince, peppercorns and bay leaf. Simmer 1-2 hours, until the quince is rosy-hued and soft, but not mushy.

You can use these immediately or store them in sealed sterilized jars for months.

Bay Leaf Ice Cream

Ok, I know this one sounds strange, but before the days of cheap and widely available vanilla people often used ingredients like bay to flavour custards and other desserts. The flavour goes so well with the quince, apples, and caramel, and I love that it is both unusual and delicious. If you can't get fresh bay leaves you can substitute dry ones, just add an additional leaf or two.

500ml cream
500ml milk
5 fresh bay leaves
200g sugar
8 egg yolks

Heat the milk, cream, bay, and 50g of the sugar in a small pot until the mixture nearly boils. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. This allows the milk mixture to infuse with bay flavour.

In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until they are pale and fluffy – a sabayon; this will take some effort. If you feel that your arms are about to drop off, you're about half way there. Persist, however. The better your sabayon, the more velvety your ice cream.

While you are whisking, reheat the cream, but do not let it boil. When your sabayon is ready, pour about one cup of the hot cream into the whisked egg yolks, stirring constantly. Add another cup, stirring, and then the rest of the liquid. This process ensures that the egg yolks don't cook instantly upon contact with the hot cream, thus becoming scrambled eggs.

Return the entire mixture to the pot on medium heat. Stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, scrapping the bottom to prevent any sticking, cook the mixture until it reaches 81ºC (178ºF) (get yourself a digital cooking thermometer, great for all kinds of kitchen fun!). Immediately remove from heat, strain through a fine sieve and into a bowl that is resting in an ice bath. Stir for a couple of minuets until the mixture has cooled a bit. Transfer to fridge. When the cream mixture has cooled completely, churn it in your ice cream churn.

If you don't have a churn, you can place the mixture in a bowl in the freezer, whisking it every 15 minuets until it is frozen.

Tatin

The traditional Tarte Tatin is topped with short crust, but I like to use puff pastry, it adds an extra fluffy, flaky dimension.

4 apples, a crisp, slightly sour type
200g sugar
75 g butter, cut into small cubes
black peppercorn-poached quince

Peel, core, and slice each apple into 12 equal wedges. In a small, heavy bottomed pot, combine 100g sugar with 50ml water. Bring to a boil without stirring. Allow to boil on medium heat until the sugar syrup begins to caramelize. When a dark caramel has formed, but before the sugar is burnt drop the apples in and remove from heat. Stir gently until the apples and sugar have cooled slightly. Test the apples with the tip of a knife to see if they are cooked. The knife should slide in and out with little resistance. If they are not quite done, return to the heat and allow to simmer for an addition minuet or two. Set aside.

In another small, heavy bottomed pot, combine the other 100g sugar with 50 ml water and boil. Cool until a light caramel has formed. Remove from heat and whisk in 2 small cubes of the butter. When they have melted and combined with the caramel add a couple more, then a couple more, until all the butter is incorporated. Pour this butter-caramel into a tart tin and allow to cool slightly.

Drain the liquid off of the apple slices and quince. Arrange in the tin on top of the caramel in a spiral, alternating quince and apple slices. Remember, this tart is flipped before it is served, so the bottom is the presentation side.

Top the apples and quince with a sheet of puff pastry cut to the size of the tin. Tuck the edge of the pastry around the apples down the sides of the tin. Poke holes in the pasty top to allow steam to escape. Bake in a 180ºC (350ºF) oven for 15-25 minuets, until the pastry is brown and crisp. Remember, the apples and quince are already cooked, and too much additional cooking may burn your caramel, resulting in a bitter Tatin.

Cool slightly. Turn onto a serving dish and slap on some ice cream. Oh yes.

(This recipe will make a full-sized tart, the one in the photo is a mini version.)

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I know I said that this was a “simple” dessert, and it is. I just complicated it a bit. Here's the simple version. Peel, core, and quarter 4 apples. Arrange them at the bottom of a oven-safe heavy-bottomed pan. Dot the spaces between the apples with 75g butter and sprinkle with 100g sugar. On medium heat cook without stirring until a rich caramel forms from the butter, sugar, and apple juices. Remove from heat, cool slightly and top with pastry. Bake in a 180ºC (350ºF) oven for 15-25 minuets. Cool, flip, and serve. Wow, that is easy.