flipTarte aux pommes du dimanche
Tarte aux pommes du dimanche
Why this dish? The dessert of a family table without ostentation: an apple tart as made in all good French homes, and especially in the North where the General was born (Lille). A Sunday dessert, modest and comforting, in the image of the table at Colombey.
A shortcrust pastry filled with a fine apple compote and apple quarters arranged in a rosette, baked golden and glazed with apricot jam. The Sunday meal dessert, which perfumes the whole house.
The dessert, at our home, had no need for show. An apple tart, that is a worthy end to a family meal. We made it on Sundays, with apples from the orchard, a hand-worked pastry and a hint of cinnamon. When the smell rose through the house at Colombey, it was already a celebration. Eat it warm, sir, that is when it is best.
- •Flour — enough for the pastry (base of shortcrust)
- •Butter — a good lump (body of the pastry)
- •Apples from the orchard (Reinettes) — several (filling)
- •Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- •Apricot jam — a little (glaze)
Tarte aux pommes du dimanche
A shortcrust pastry filled with a fine apple compote and apple quarters arranged in a rosette, baked golden and glazed with apricot jam. The Sunday meal dessert, which perfumes the whole house.
Why this dish? The dessert of a family table without ostentation: an apple tart as made in all good French homes, and especially in the North where the General was born (Lille). A Sunday dessert, modest and comforting, in the image of the table at Colombey.
The dessert, at our home, had no need for show. An apple tart, that is a worthy end to a family meal. We made it on Sundays, with apples from the orchard, a hand-worked pastry and a hint of cinnamon. When the smell rose through the house at Colombey, it was already a celebration. Eat it warm, sir, that is when it is best.
Ingredients (period version)
- Flour — enough for the pastry (base of shortcrust)
- Butter — a good lump (body of the pastry)
- Apples from the orchard (Reinettes) — several (filling)
- Sugar — to taste (sweetness)
- Apricot jam — a little (glaze)
Ingredients
- Flour — 250 g (shortcrust pastry)
- Cold butter — 125 g (pastry)
- Sugar — 30 g (pastry) + 50 g (apples) (sweetness)
- Cold water — 4 tbsp (binding the dough)
- Reinette or Boskoop apples — 6 (filling, slight acidity)
- Cinnamon — 1 pinch (flavor)
- Apricot jam — 3 tbsp (glaze)
Method
- Prepare the shortcrust pastry: rub the flour with the cold butter and 30 g sugar, bind with cold water without overworking. Rest 30 min in the fridge.
- Peel the apples. Make a quick compote with two apples, a little sugar and cinnamon; slice the others into thin quarters.
- Roll out the pastry in a mold, prick the base, spread the compote then arrange the quarters in a rosette. Sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 35-40 min at 190°C. Upon removal, glaze with warmed apricot jam. Serve warm.
How it was made : Apple tart was the Sunday dessert of French families in the first half of the 20th century: they used apples from the orchard, stored all winter in the cellar, and the pastry was hand-kneaded for lack of a mixer. The apricot jam glaze gave that shine admired in the pastry shop.
The contemporary twist : Arrange the apple quarters in a very tight spiral, like a fine pastry rosette, and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream slowly melting over the warm slice.
Charles de Gaulle · Charactorium
