Tarte Aux Pruneaux (Prune Tart --Gascogny)
"A very rich and quite traditional tart from the Gascon region."
- Ready In:
- 2hrs
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
8-10
ingredients
-
For the pate brisee (pastry)
- 1 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, unsalted, room temperature
- 2 -3 tablespoons water
-
For the Filling
- 3 cups prunes, pitted
- 1⁄2 lemon, juice of
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, unsalted, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1⁄4 cup flour
- 1 1⁄2 cups fine ground almonds, finely ground
- 1⁄4 cup armagnac
- 1⁄3 cup apricot preserves, warmed
directions
- To make the crust.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt.
- Cut in the butter, mixing with your finger tips or a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Add the water, drops at a time, until dough forms--add no more water than absolutely necessary.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a disc to fit at ten or ten and a half inch tart mold.
- Lay the dough over the mold and gently press it into place on the bottom and sides.
- Remove any excess dough and refrigerate the tart mold for at least one hour.
-
To make the Filling:
- Place the prunes in a bowl and cover with hot water; add the lemon juice and allow prunes to stand for about half an hour or until plumped.
- Drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy -- do not under-beat.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating continuously.
- Fold in the flour and the ground almonds and mix gently but well.
- Pour this mixture into the prepared tart mold, smooth the top with a spatula, and arrange the prunes on top.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the surface turns golden brown.
- Remove from over and pour the Armagnac over the tart.
- Cool for a few minutes, then brush the top with the warm apricot preserves to glaze.
- Serve at room temperature.
- Note: If the edges of your tart brown too quickly place a ring of foil over the crust.
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Chef Kate
Annapolis, 60
<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
