Tuesday, September 28, 2010

TWD: Tarte Fine



The only thing that has gotten me through the twenty-three (23) days of 90+ degree weather in September has been the appearance of apple desserts on the TWD schedule. I'm a fall/spring lover, winter/summer hater, which means I have never lived in the right place in any of my almost 38 years (Connecticut: winters too long/cold. Alabama: summers too long/hot). But I won't dwell on that, and will instead thank Leslie for picking this week's fabulous recipe, Tarte Fine. I've actually made the tarte fine before, because it's one of those delicious and impressive desserts that is super easy, thanks to the miracle product that is frozen puff pastry.

When I started baking/blogging, I had no idea what frozen puff pastry ("FPP") even was. I remember googling "frozen puff pastry" and printing out a picture of the Pepperidge Farm package so I would know what to look for at the store. And now two years later, not only am I a regular consumer of FPP, but I have brand preferences and everything! I first tried Dufour Pastry Kitchen's all-butter FPP after reading Dorie's recommendation -- she claims that it is so good that she stopped making her own puff pastry. Other accolades: winner of the International Fancy Food Show, and called "The most buttery and flaky pastry you will ever find" by Details Magazine {as an aside, I always thought of Details as more of a "Jessica Alba reviews the iPhone 4" kind of magazine -- but I may be mixing them up with Maxim}.

In any event, this dessert would be wonderful with just about any kind of FPP. Roll out the defrosted FPP, top with lemon juice soaked apples, top with sugar, brush the pastry edge with milk or cream and the apples with an egg wash, and bake. Easy!

My daughter just picked it up and ate it like pizza.


I may not have defrosted my pastry quite long enough, and may not have achieved optimal puffage as a result. No matter, it was still delicious. I served this with David Lebovitz's cinnamon ice cream, my favorite. The cinnamon sticks seeped in my milk for two hours rather than the prescribed one hour, because I never seem to be home for an hour straight. So it was very cinnamony, and so delicious, especially with this scrumptious tarte!

Leslie, thanks for the fabulous fall pick! Please run, don't walk, to Leslie's great blog, Lethally Delicious, for the recipe.

19 comments:

Peggy said...

Well I need to try that puff pastry you have there! My tart just did not work. Maybe because I forgot to glaze it. Maybe because I tried to do it like Gordon Ramsey does his on his video. Maybe because I am a lame cook. :) Yours looks perfect!!

chocolatechic said...

I have wanted to try that kind of puff pastry, but alas...Walmart doesn't carry it.

Mary said...

It looks fantastic! I ate mine the same way your daughter did--yum!
:)

Jeannette said...

cinnamon ice cream sounds like the perfect compliment to this tarte!! good thinking!

and i'm with you. i was once a 'puff pastry-whaaa??' girl. i didn't even know where to look for the stuff. oh how the times have changed ;)

Unknown said...

You're brave to turn the oven on in the heat! The tarte looks great, especially with cinnamon ice cream.

I too am a fall/spring person - I wish I could live where it was 65-70 degrees and partly sunny year round. Except I did grow up in a place like that (southern California) and couldn't wait to escape!

Leslie said...

Your tart is perfection! Umm, that's the way I eat mine, too. Oops. I'm going to have to try that cinnamon ice cream. I made caramel ice cream for mine, but since I served both of them for breakfast, the caramel ice cream is still in the freezer. Thanks for baking with me this week!

Audrey said...

I know what you mean...I never remember which magazine has the best FPP reviews, either. :) I think your daughter is just proving that your tarte is as fine as it looks! I can't wait to try it! I'm going to wait till I get home though becase Dufour is probably $129 in the Swiss grocery store...

Di said...

Your tart looks delicious! I still need to try the DL cinnamon ice cream. I made my own version of brown sugar/cinnamon ice cream to go with next week's apple bundt. Mmm.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

We served the tarte fine with rum ice cream, but I will have to give that cinnamon ice cream a try. I'm late to the Dufour love-fest, but I have to agree with your assessment. Buttery perfection even without maximum puffage (mine was definitely defrosted, at that)

Jessica said...

I love spring, and I love fall, but I wish we could get rid of the winter in between! I feel as though I can't enjoy really give fall its due because I'm so preoccupied with the impending short, cold days.
Enough about seasons! Your tart looks delicious enough to eat any time of the year. I confess, I ate my pieces pizza-style, too.

Anonymous said...

It looks nicely puffed and sounds soooo good with cinnamon ice cream! I don't think my usual grocery stores have Dufour. I know I saw it once, but never found it again.

Unknown said...

Great pairing of the ice cream! Cute picture of your daughter! It is awesome to involve the kids!

mike said...

I hate you. Dufour. I'd have to travel 200 miles to get some. :) But alas, there's always Pepp. Farms [sigh]. Wonderful photo of your daughter - it's a stunning shot [lighting, etc]. Oh, and the tart? Looks equally as wonderful - and cinnamon ice cream is one of my favs. I made that a lot this summer! Here's to cool weather for you!

Liz said...

Ooh, cinnamon ice cream sounds like the perfect pairing with this. I used vanilla, but that's only because I was too lazy to make my own and went with storebought instead.

Also, your daughter has the right idea. That's totally how I ate this tart! Actually, I cut it into thin slices and then ate about 4 in a row, but it doesn't really count because the slices were so thin to begin with...yeah.

Katrina said...

That is some FPP love there. ;) I can't find that brand here. How much does it cost? Is there only one sheet in the package?
Best kind of "pizza" in my book.

natalia said...

Ciao CXathy ! i love your daughter's picture ! Unfortunately we don't get any puff pastry made with butter here ! I'll have to make my own for the future !

Flourchild said...

It looks wonderful! Im glad you enjoyed the recipe!

Kayte said...

Looks wonderful, especially in the hands of your discerning eater...so cute!! I'll get this made eventually, maybe tomorrow for guys will be back from Denver, sounds like a fitting welcome home dessert, dontchathink? That cinnamon ice cream sounds wonderful as well, so going there, mixing that up tonight to churn tomorrow morning, thanks for the tip.

Anonymous said...

So you can tell the difference between the two FPP? I was just wondering...

 
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