Okay, a quick disclaimer: I made this tart for my wife’s birthday yesterday, so I didn’t ignore the recipe nearly as much as I normally would. Some things are sacred, like French pastries and my wife (not in that order) and shouldn’t be mucked with too much. Plus baking scares the bejesus out of me—enough that I even dusted off the kitchen scale for this.
Besides, this recipe has already endured enough transmogrification. It’s the lovechild of recipes from Chocolate and Zucchini by Clotilde Dusolier and Desserts by Pierre Hermé, created for a guest blog post on Andrea’s Cooking Books blog, written by Camille of the wonderful Parisian cooking blog Croque Camille.
Camille’s style is right up my alley—she makes comments like “I have a trick or two up my sleeve to get the results I want” and “recipes are fluid things.” In other words, Camille already ignored the recipe. If I messed it much more I might have ended up with a quiche!
French Fruit Tart
For the crust (pâte sablée):
75 g/ 2.65 oz cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus some for the tart pan aluminum pie pan smashed into the semblance of a tart pan
75 g/ 2.65 oz sugar
150 g/ 5.3 oz flour (pastry flour is ideal, but all-purpose will work, too)
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 Tbsp. cold milk (or 1 tbsp, which is what I think Camille really meant)
30 g/ 1 oz 10 g 60% Cacao dark Ghirardelli chocolate
1. Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips (or a pastry cutter, or pulse in a food processor) until the mixture takes on the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add 1/2 Tbsp. of the milk and gently combine. The dough will look crumbly, but it should hold together when you squeeze it in your hand. If not, add the rest of the milk, a little at a time, until the desired result is achieved.
2. Butter a tart pan (the kind with a removable bottom, preferably) and dump in the dough. Spread it out evenly and press it into the sides and bottom to form a thin crust. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.
3. Heat the oven to 180 C/ 355 F. Bake the tart shell (sans plastic wrap) until it is nicely browned, about 15 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool.
Melt the chocolate and brush a thin layer onto the bottom of the cooled still warm tart shell.
For the crème diplomate:
250 g/ 9 oz. milk
1/2 vanilla bean 1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 egg + 1 yolk
50 g / 1.8 oz sugar
Pinch of salt
23 g/ .8 oz cornstarch
25 g/ .9 oz unsalted butter, softened
90 ml/ 3 oz. cream, whipped to medium peaks with a teaspoon of sugar, if desired. 3 oz Half-and-Half plus 1 tsp of sugar, which will never whip in to even soft peaks
1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the pulp into a saucepan. Add the milk and heat to a simmer. Cover and let infuse 15-30 minutes. Fish out the vanilla bean. Add the milk and vanilla to a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, salt and cornstarch with a whisk. Stir in a little of the milk, then beat in the egg and yolk.
3. Bring the milk back up to a simmer, then temper in the egg mixture. (Whisk a little of the hot milk into the eggs, then pour it all back into the saucepan.) Cook over medium to low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil 2-3 minutes to remove the raw starch flavor. Remove from heat, scrape into a bowl, and whisk in the butter. Cover directly with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly.
4. Using a rubber spatula, stir the cooled pastry cream to loosen it a bit. Beat in about a third of the whipped cream half-and-half and sugar mixture that was supposed to be whipped cream but refused to cooperate. Fold in the remaining cream in two additions.
For the tart:
Tart Crust
Crème diplomate
Fresh seasonal fruit, cut into bite-size pieces (I used strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and kiwi)
1. Fill the crust with a heaping layer of cream.
2. Top with fruit, the more colorful the better.
3. Serve ASAP.
FINAL RESULTS:My wife and daughter loved the dessert—especially the candles and singing part. I was a little disappointed by the crust, which I made too thick (probably because I used an 8″ aluminum pie pan instead of a 10″ tart pan). Still quite delicious—and easier than it seems!
The Recipe: A+
My Modifications: A
My birthday is July 1. When can I expect my tart?
That’s funny—I swear I put a tart in a manila envelope and mailed it to you. You haven’t received it yet?
Hi! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the fruit tart! And thank you for the A+.
What a great concept – ignoring the recipe. I firmly believe that’s the best way to gain confidence as a cook or baker. Kudos to you for going out of your comfort zone (and for usig a scale – yay!).