Bon Appetit Desserts (76 page)

1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into

½-inch cubes

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon (or more) ice water

2 large egg yolks

6 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 tablespoon cornstarch

⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

⅓ cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, each cut into 16 slices

CRUST
: Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk egg yolk and 1 tablespoon ice water in small bowl. Add to flour mixture and mix just until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Break dough into small pieces and scatter over bottom of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using fingertips, press dough onto bottom and up sides of pan in even layer. Trim excess dough and reserve. Freeze crust until firm, about 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line crust with foil; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Continue to bake until crust is light golden, piercing bottom with fork if crust bubbles and patching with reserved dough if crust cracks, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust completely on rack.

FILLING
: Whisk egg yolks, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cornstarch in medium bowl to blend. Bring whipping cream and apple juice concentrate to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover crust and store at room temperature; refrigerate filling.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add apples and sauté until tender and light golden, about 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons sugar; toss until sugar dissolves and apples are glazed, about 3 minutes. Cool until just warm to touch, about 15 minutes.

Spread cream filling over bottom of crust. Arrange apples in concentric circles atop filling. Bake tart 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar; bake until filling is set and apples are glazed, about 10 minutes longer. Serve tart slightly warm or at room temperature.

Warm Cinnamon-Apple Tart with Currants

This simple French-style fruit tart is a lifesaver when you need a quick but sophisticated dessert.
4 servings

2 tablespoons sugar

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 16-ounce package all-butter puff pastry or half of 17.3-ounce package regular puff pastry), thawed

1 large egg, beaten to blend

8 tablespoons apricot preserves, divided

1 Golden Delicious apple (6 ounces), peeled, cored, very thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter

Dried currants

Vanilla ice cream

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Mix sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl. Unfold thawed puff pastry on lightly floured baking sheet. Brush some of egg over 1-inch border of pastry on all sides. Fold 1-inch border over to form raised edge on all sides; press edge to adhere. Using sharp knife, make ½-inch-long cuts all around pastry edge, spacing ½ inch apart. Pierce center of pastry (not edge) all over with fork. Spread 2 tablespoons apricot preserves over center of pastry. Arrange apple slices atop apricot preserves in 3 rows, overlapping apples and fitting tightly together. Brush pastry edge with some of egg. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over apples and pastry edge.

Bake tart until apples are tender and pastry is brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer tart to rack.

Meanwhile, mix remaining ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, remaining 6 tablespoons apricot preserves, lemon juice, and butter in small saucepan. Stir apricot sauce over medium heat until melted and hot.

Lightly dab some of apricot sauce over apples. Sprinkle with dried currants. Cut warm tart into 4 squares. Top each square with scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle remaining apricot sauce over ice cream and serve.

Apple Frangipane Tart

Frangipane is a sweet almond mixture that is used as a filling or topping for pastries and cakes. Here, the almond mixture is combined with thinly sliced Golden Delicious apples for a luscious fall treat. Look for almond paste in specialty foods stores and in the baking aisle of most supermarkets.
6 to 8 servings

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

4 ounces almond paste, crumbled

1 large egg

⅓ cup unbleached all purpose flour

2 medium Golden Delicious apples, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into Winch-thick slices

½ tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

1 tablespoon warm honey

CRUST
: Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until coarse crumbs form. Add 3 tablespoons ice water. Process until small moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic and chill until cold, about 1 hour.

Roll out dough disk between 2 sheets of plastic wrap to 11-inch round. Remove top sheet of plastic. Using bottom sheet of plastic as aid, invert dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Using plastic wrap, press dough onto bottom and up sides of pan. Remove plastic. Fold dough overhang in; press to form high-standing, double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Freeze 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep frozen.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake crust until golden, about 25 minutes. Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

FILLING
: Combine butter and almond paste in processor and blend until smooth. Add egg and process until well blended. Add flour and process just until blended. Spread filling evenly over bottom of crust. Toss apples with sugar in large bowl. Arrange apples in concentric circles atop filling. Brush apples with melted butter.

Place tart on baking sheet. Bake until apples are tender and light golden, about 40 minutes. Transfer tart to rack; cool 15 minutes. Brush apples with honey. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Red Wine and Pear Brioche Tart

Brioche is an egg-and-butter-enriched light yeast bread. Here, it’s used as a wonderful cakey crust for wine-poached pears. The brioche rises for about two hours, allowing plenty of time to poach the pears. If you prefer, poach the pears and reduce the syrup up to one day ahead and keep them covered at cool room temperature.
6 to 8 servings

1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

¾ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons whole milk

1¾ cups dry red wine

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1¼ pounds firm but ripe Bosc pears (about 3 medium), peeled, quartered, cored, each quarter cut into 3 wedges

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon water

Crème fraîche or sour cream

BRIOCHE CRUST
: Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2¾-inch-high sides. Blend flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, blend until butter is reduced to pea-size pieces. Add eggs and milk. Using on/off turns, blend until sticky dough forms. Using buttered fingertips, press dough onto bottom of prepared springform pan. Cover with plastic. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until light and puffy (dough will not double in volume), about 2 hours.

FILLING AND SAUCE
: Meanwhile, stir wine and ¾ cup sugar in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Add pears. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until pears are tender, about 8 minutes. Cool mixture 30 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Boil wine syrup in pan until reduced to 1 cup, about 4 minutes. Mix cornstarch and 1 teaspoon water in small bowl; stir into wine syrup. Cook until syrup thickens and boils, whisking occasionally, about 1 minute longer. Set sauce aside.

Position rack in top third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Starting at edge and leaving ½-inch plain border, arrange pear slices close together in concentric circles atop dough. Sprinkle pears and dough edge with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake tart until edge is brown, pears are tender, and crust is cooked through, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack; remove pan sides. Cool at least 15 minutes. Cut tart into wedges; place on plates. Drizzle with sauce. Spoon dollops of crème fraîche alongside and serve.

Classic Fruit Tart