Cranberry and Apple Normand Tart

Posted November 22, 2015

Filed under dessert, fruit, Large round mold, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

I never have to pleasure to host Thanksgiving, because I am in charge of Christmas dinner every year, but also because my sister-in-law, the only born American in our family, wants to make sure that by hosting it, it will be a true one, with a Turkey, and the potatoes and the dressing.

So this leaves me with making appetizers, desserts and sometimes sides. Every year, I scratch my head trying to figure out what I will be bringing. I have yet to think about the appetizers, but I think that I know what I will be bringing: Feuille d’automne, Tart Tatin and Apple and Cranberry Normand Tart.

This evening, I would like to share with you the Apple and Cranberry tart that I will be serving. It is very different that anything I have eaten before, but it is very good, very filling however. The great part about this dessert is that you can substitute the apples with any fruits that strike you fancy. The recipe was adapted from a recipe from Stephane Glacier called Tarte Normande.

Ingredients for a large tart of about 12-16 persons:

Ingredients for the pie shell:

250 gr. of flour
188 gr. of butter at room temperature ( should be soft to the touch).
7.5 gr. of salt
50 gr. of milk
10 gr. of egg yolks
15 gr. of sugar

Ingredients for the apple mixture:

1000 gr. of apples peeled and sliced in 8.
80 gr of butter
120 gr. of brown sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon

Ingredients for the normande filling:

also 1 cup of cranberry

225 gr. of eggs
275 gr. of sugar
38 gr. of sugar
190 gr. of melted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream

2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 of a mascarpone container ( if you do not have container, substitute with 1/2 cup of cream cheese).
seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
2-4 tbsp of sugar.

You will want to get the pie crust done first. In a mixer place the flour, salt and soft butter and mix well until you have a crumble texture.
Then add the other ingredients and mix well until you have an even texture dough.
Place the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the sliced apples.
Then add the cinnamon and the sugar and bring to boil.
Cook the apples for 10 minutes. Then pour the apples into the large round mold and place them into the oven at a temperature 450 of for another 10 minutes.
When the apples have cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
Take the dough out, place it in between two roulpats (or in between 2 plastic wrap if you do not have a roulpat) and roll it out in a 12-14 inch circle. Place it back into the fridge to cool before placing it into the tart pan.
Meanwhile, prepare the mixture that you will be drizzling over the apples. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the normande filling. Set aside.
Take the dough back out, and gently peel the pie crust off the roulpat and place it onto the grande round ( if you do have a grande round, use a 12 inch round tart mold) that you would have placed onto a medium perforated sheet. Pat the dough down to make sure that it is fitting perfectly inside the tart pan. With a fork, prick the dough all over.
Drain the apples from its juice, and spread them out evenly onto the pie crust.
Disperse 1 cup of fresh cranberries on top of the apples.
Pour the normande mixture over the apples, and cook the tart for 50 minutes at 350.
Prepare the mascarpone whipped cream. In a mixer, place the cream, the vanilla seeds and the sugar, and beat the cream until it is getting thicker, but it is still runny. Add the mascarpone cheese, or the softened cream cheese and beat until it makes hard peaks. Place the cream into a container and keep it cool until you are ready to serve the pie.
Let the tart cool completely before eating. Serve with Mascarpone Whipped Cream. Yum, Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Cranberry and Apple Normande Tart

Servings: 12-16
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
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Ingredients for a large tart of about 12-16 persons:

Ingredients for the pie shell:

250 gr. of flour
188 gr. of butter at room temperature ( should be soft to the touch).
7.5 gr. of salt
50 gr. of milk
10 gr. of egg yolks
15 gr. of sugar

Ingredients for the apple mixture:

1000 gr. of apples peeled and sliced in 8.
80 gr of butter
120 gr. of brown sugar
1 tbsp of cinnamon

Ingredients for the normande filling:

also 1 cup of cranberries

225 gr. of eggs
275 gr. of sugar
38 gr. of sugar
190 gr. of melted butter

Ingredients for Mascarpone Whipped Cream

2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 of a mascarpone container ( if you do not have container, substitute with 1/2 cup of cream cheese).
seeds of a vanilla bean, or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract.
2-4 tbsp of sugar.

You will want to get the pie crust done first. In a mixer place the flour, salt and soft butter and mix well until you have a crumble texture.
Then add the other ingredients and mix well until you have an even texture dough.
Place the dough into a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the apples. Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the sliced apples. Then add the cinnamon and the sugar and bring to boil.
Cook the apples for 10 minutes. Then pour the apples into the large round mold and place them into the oven at a temperature 450 of for another 10 minutes.
When the apples have cooked, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
Take the dough out, place it in between two roulpat, or in between 2 plastic wrap if you do not have a roulpat, and roll it out in a 12-14 inch circle. Place it back into the fridge to cool before placing it into the tart pan.
Meanwhile, prepare the mixture that you will be drizzling over the apples. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the normande filling and set it aside until you are ready to use it.
Take the dough back out, gently peel it off the roulpat, and place it onto the grande round ( if you do have a grande round, use a 12 inch round tart mold). Pat the dough down to make sure that it is fitting perfectly inside the tart pan. With a fork, prick the dough all over. Drain the apples from its juice, and spread them out evenly onto the pie crust.
Disperse 1 cup of fresh cranberries on top of the apples.
Pour the normande mixture over the apples, and cook the tart for 50 minutes at 350.
Prepare the mascarpone whipped cream. In a mixer, place the cream the vanilla seeds and the sugar, and beat the cream until it is getting thicker, but it is runny. Add the mascarpone cheese, or the softened cream cheese and beat until it makes hard peaks. Place the cream into a container and keep it cool until ready to serve the pie.
Let the tart cool completely before eating. Serve with Mascarpone Whipped Cream. Yum, Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Patriotic Fruit Pie

Posted September 2, 2013

Filed under dessert, fruit, Tarts and Pies, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Happy Labor Day guys!!! And Thank You Peter J. McGuire and Matthew Maguire for us giving this day off from work!!!

We have a Labor Day in France called “La Fete du Travail”, but it is celebrated on May 1st, so quite uncertain of the origins of the American holiday, i googled it today. Did you know that this day only became a federal holiday in 1894? The reason why it became one is because the congress wanted to appease the unrest of the American people after riots erupted when a strike against wage cuts went bad. Well, I learned something today;-) and I much enjoyed this day off. I hope that you too have had a fun week-end!

Unlike many of you who probably ran to the beach one last time this year, we decided to stay home to relax and enjoy the beautiful weather that we missed most of the summer. So what have I done? not a lot… I slept late, worked out and had fun with my family doing nothing.

And today though we are celebrating Labor Day, I decided that I would not touch my computer and enjoy another lazy day.

Because many of you will be hosting a cook-out today, I thought to share a recipe that is very appropriate for a patriotic event such as Labor Day. It is easy, delicious, quick and looks great. A great dessert for party days such as Memorial Day or even Independance Day.

Ingredients for 1 pie of about 9 to 10″:

1 pie crust ( you can either make your own ( very easy),, or buy it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store next to dairy)
8 oz of cream cheese at room temperature
8 oz. of ghiradhelli Chocolate Chips
4 oz or about 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 box of blueberries
1 box of raspberries
1 box of black berries

Unfold the pie crust and place it inside your mold. I used the scalloped pie crust, but really the large round mold can work as well.
With a fork, prick the bottom of the pie crust so that air pockets will not form while the crust is baking.
Spread either porcelaine beads, or dry pinto beans to weigh the pie down while it is baking ( this way it will not fluff up too too much)
Cook the pie crust in a warm oven of 400 for 13-15 minutes
When the pie crust is baked and golden, remove it from the oven and let it cool completly.
Meanwhile prepare the cream:
In a small bowl, place the white chocolate chips and set aside.
In another small bowl, warm up the cream by either warming it up on the stove, or by microwaving it for 1-2 minutes.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and set it aside for at least 5 minutes ( the heavy cream will melt the chocolate chips).
With a small whisk, whip the mixture. It should be smooth, liquid and free of lumps. If it is not, place it back into the microwave for 20-30 seconds and repeat until your mixture is free of lumps.
Pour this mixture into a kitchen mixer, add the cream cheese and beat the two until you have a thick lump-free cream.
Remove the beans from your pie crust, and spread the chocolate mixture in the pie crust.
Decorate your pie as you like, I used black berries, blueberries and strawberries.
Cool in the fridge for 30 minutes and serve. Yum, Yum!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

If you like this recipe, I would love for you to subscribe to this blog by entering your e-mail address into the box on the right of this post. Also if you have time, please rate or post a comment. Your comments are always much appreciated. Merci beaucoup et a tres bientot ( thank you and see you soon)

Summer Fruit Tartlets

Posted August 5, 2011

Filed under dessert, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Summer is one of my favorite season of the year for many reasons. As a teacher, I have my summer off, and have the leisure to do what I want. The weather is perfect to go to the beach and do fun outdoors activities as long as it is early in the day;-). And for a healthy freak like me, summer offers you a wonderful array of vegetables and fruits to dine on: Squash, zucchini, cuccumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, peaches, strawberry, berries…. you name it.. you have it..

Well, since I am always on the go, I am not one who can own a garden as it requires much care, time and attention. Therefore I have to go to my grocery store, or my neighboring farmer’s market to buy my vegetables and fruits. The problem with that, is the fact there are so many tempting choices in those places. So I often end up buying more than I can cook or serve at once. And of course this was the case this week with fruits. Everywhere I turned, they were yummy fruits: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, mango, kiwis, peaches. Since I just could not make a decision on what to purchase, I just bought one of everything. So now, I have to find ways to cook or prepare those fruits so that everybody here will eat them. The solution to the problem: add whipped cream or chocolate and it will disappear.

So today my daughter and I fixed summer fruit tartlets. They are so easy to make, and so delicious…You can make mini tartlets or individuals tartlets. Of course the pies would take 100 times better if it was made out of Pate Sablee, but we were trying to be quick.

Ingredients: 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 tsbp of vanilla extract, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, 1 pie crust, fresh fruits of your choice ( I used kiwis, strawberry and blueberries).

Materials: Flexipan of tartlet tray ( medium, small or large depending on how you want to serve them. We chose the small tartlet trays so we could snack on those tartlets rather having them as desserts). You will also need the Demarle dough cutter that would best fit the size of the tartlets you are fixing ( 2 1/4 for the small tartlet, 3 1/16 for the medium, 3 7/8 for the large), Demarle whip, spatula, Demarle paring knife, the roulpat, a whipping bag, and a nice tip for the pastry bag.

Turn the oven to 325. Lay out the pie crust on the roulpat and cut out the dough for each of the tartlets. I used the scalloped edge. With a fork, puncture small holes in the dough. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes until they become golden. Remove from the oven, and let them cool. Meanwhile in a electric mixer, place 1 cup of heavy cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of sugar and whip until it becomes thick and makes peaks. Place the whipped cream in the pastry bag, and pipe the cream in each tartlet ( they should be cold at this point or the cream will melt.) With the paring knife, slice the fruits thinly to make them fit nicely on your tart. Decorate the tartlets as you like. We used kiwis, strawberries and blueberries. Miam….