Pastry Shop Apple Tart

I love to watch instructional cooking shows.

Usually, I watch them while I eat, via Youtube. It's getting harder and harder to find  episodes of shows I haven't already seen because I am dependent upon other posters for content. This means that I've had to get creative and be open to other shows.

I have been known to engage in some "Autoplay Roulette", falling at the mercy of the Youtube algorithm.

For this, I am wildly thankful because it brought me to Laura Calder and "French Food at Home".

I have watched every video, read every book. Laura's approach to cooking was mesmerizing. Simple, easy...yet beautiful and elegant.

Most things are done by hand, without the aid of gadgets and fancy tools. Ingredients are (sometimes) imprecise. The focus is on the experience of enjoying the food, in every aspect: shopping, preparation and cooking. Not just eating.

As a extra little shot of sunshine; the jaunty French background music makes me smile.

I remember looking for a recipe exactly like this for a cooking competition. I had entered all of the categories; one being "pie"...and I suck at pie. I was trying to find a way around "pie" because I wanted a winner (I hate to lose).

Weeks of internet searching brought me to Laura Calder's Easy Pastry Shop Apple Tart.

It was perfect; not a cake and not a pie.

I have made this dessert a thousand times. It is the perfect dessert to make when you don't know what to bring and are short on time.

The filling is very plain, meant to compliment the apples and cinnamon. It can literally take any flavouring you care to throw at it and works with almost any fruit.

I have made a thousand variations of this tart usually based on whatever I have in my pantry when I need it (which is usually at the very last minute).

Variations tried:

Peach and cranberry (cream layer spiced with mace, cinnamon, fresh grated ginger and Peach Schnapps - in place of the vanilla)

 

Peach and raspberry (cream layer spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, fresh grated ginger and Peach Schnapps - in place of the vanilla): In this variation, I had some raspberry pie filling left from a galette. I heated it and mixed it with a shot of raspberry vodka and put this on the bottom of the crust, before the cream layer. I took it to a dinner party at my favorite cousin 's house. I didn't get a picture of it (sad face), but I did hear someone say, "who made this? This is fucking phenomenal!". I cried all the way home, in the car.

Pear and Almond: I made this with a package of bosc pears I bought from the "reject rack" at Food Basics ($1.50 for about 10 pears). Pastry layer made with added almond extract, cream layer spiced with nothing at all but I did add a generous splash of Disarronno (almond liqueur). The pears were tossed in brown sugar, cinnamon, slivered almonds and a scant pinch of star anise. Danny said it was the best dessert I ever made. I also cried.

Cranberry, Orange and Chinese five spice: I put three generous tablespoons of orange zest (and orange extract in the pastry dough. In the pastry cream, I used a generous teaspoon of Chinese five spice and a quarter cup of orange marmalade I thinned with Grand Marnier. I added 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar to the filling to balance the bitterness of the orange marmalade.

No photo of this one. Too many complaints about having to take "a stupid photo, when we're just gonna eat it, anyways."

In case you're wondering: yes. It stomped on my joy. Also, having had my joy stomped upon, it did not taste good. Everyone else said it was great. To me, it tasted heavy and sad.

Blackberry and Apple: Recipe as written for apple, with added cinnamon, mace, cloves and nutmeg. Splash of (frighteningly expensive) Calvados (apple brandy) in the pastry cream.

Notes on variations and additions:

My tarte pan is 13". I always double the filling and the crust, to make sure that I have enough.

This tarte can take a lot. Don't be afraid to play with it. 

Love.