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November, 2002 Tart - Pie's French cousin 
Thanksgiving is almost here with the smell of turkey, sweet potatoes and
gravy. It is a celebration of survival, family, and heart-warming food.
It is also my excuse to make tarts - pies' open-faced French cousins.
What would Thanksgiving be without the aromas of buttery crusts and sweet
fillings! Making pies on this holiday is an old and wonderful tradition;
with some creativity it will stay fresh every year. There are two parts
to making a pie or a tart - the crust and the filling. Making the crust
is the hard part. Like any dough it requires accurate measurement and
excellent technique. The filling is where you can let your imagination
run wild. Let fall's bounty be your inspiration and use the ripe fruit,
berries, and nuts that are so abundant during the harvest season. Don't
worry about breaking with tradition - a tart is still a pie, but with a
touch of French technique.
There are three ways to bake a tart. The first is in a tart shell with a removable bottom that is 1 to 1 1/2 inches deep. This is the most multipurpose way; it works for all fillings from berries to custard. This is also the best way for showing off buttery and flaky tart dough. The dough is pre baked in the tart shell. This prevents it from becoming soggy when fruit is added. The second way is to bake a tart in a skillet with fruit on the bottom and the dough on top and then flip it when it's done. Two spinster sisters named Tatin made this way of baking famous with their upside down apple tart in the Loire valley during the early 1900's. Upside down tarts have an amazing look and taste due to the caramelization of the fruit. The third way is to bake a free form tart called galette. To make a galette, the dough is placed on a cookie sheet and filling is spread over it, leaving 2 inches around the edges. The edges are then folded over the filling to partially enclose it. This method gives galettes a rustic look and easily allows for making individual tarts if you don't have many little tart pans. Since the dough is not pre baked, it helps to put a layer of frangipane (almond custard) under the fruit to protect the dough from getting soggy. If the idea of making your own tart dough scares you, you are not alone. It is a great challenge. It took me 3 cookbooks and 30 tarts to be happy with my crust, but even the first tart was delicious because the filling covered up the crust imperfections. Visual aids are invaluable to mastering Pâte Brisée (tart dough). The flaky pie dough recipe in "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan has excellent pictures, and a technique video on epicurious.com is as close as you can get to a live tart dough demo. With these resources, and my tart dough recipe, you are well equipped for dealing with challenges of the crust. If this sounds too daunting, you can use the store bought pie dough. It works great with the upside-down pear tart. I won't tell if you won't tell. Now on to the fun part - the filling. The tarts that follow use the fruits, nuts, and berries available during the fall and winter: apples, pears, pecans, and cranberries. These are all good fillings to start with. They are not as juicy as summer fruit and berries, so they have less chance of making your crust soggy. Filling gives you the opportunity to get creative and improvise. Have fun and invite friends and family to help you eat your creations. |
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Normandy Apple Tart |
Pecan Cranberry Tart |
Caramelized Upside-Down Pear Tart |