The tart that got me hired
After two years of working at restaurants as a pastry assistant, I thought, probably naively, that I was ready to graduate to pastry chef. I fell in love with Café Chenville the moment I walked in the door. It was full of charm and the small open kitchen, with its wood fired oven blazing, drew me in. The interview went OK. As I stood to go, the owner suddenly said, “We’d like you to bake us something. Do you have time now?” I said yes, of course, but to say I was terrified would be an understatement! I was let loose to figure out what to make with the ingredients already in the kitchen using the cookbooks on the shelf. One of the books was Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells. I decided to bake the Golden Cream and Apple Tart after a quick perusal of the pantry. There is nothing particularly complicated about this recipe, but its simple ingredients make for a tart that is comforting and completely satisfying. It is both homey and sophisticated. I was hired on the spot. I have since made this tart countless times, and have changed a few things. I now use a different cookie like crust, and have added lemon zest to the custard. You could dress it up with a swirl of caramel sauce , or a dollop of whipped cream, but I like it best as is—slightly warm.
Prepping the apples.
The tart will taste best if you bake it until the crust is uniformly golden brown, and the apples are very brown at the tips.
Salvaged light fixture from Cafe Chenville–after it went out of business. Call me sentimental!
Ingredients
- One 12 oz disk Sweet Tart Crust
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup (170g) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons (60g) sugar (3T for the filling and 2T for sprinkling on top)
- 4 apples (about 1 ½ pounds/750g)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Make, roll out and bake the crust according to the directions Sweet Tart Crust
Put the egg yolks in a medium bowl and beat with a whisk (or fork). Add the cream and 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Mix until well blended. Set aside.
Peel and core the apples; cut them in half. Cut each half into quarters. Starting just inside the edge of the pastry shell, neatly layer the apple slices—slightly overlapping them—in 2 or 3 concentric circles, working toward the center. Pour the cream mixture over the apples. Sprinkle on the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
Bake the tart until the cream filling is set and apples are very brown, about 45 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
http://madeleineeffect.com/2014/11/golden-cream-and-apple-tart/
YUM! I followed the recepie exactly and it came out great! Tastes every bit as good as it looks! I need to work on my crust technique a little more. I think I should have blind baked it a few minutes longer, but I thought the edges were getting too dark. Terrific directions – easy to follow and understand! Thank you Sasha!!!
Leia, thank you soo much! Your tart is gorgeous!!!!
Hi Sasha, what kind of apples would you recommend for this tart?
Hi Melissa, Any sweet/tart apple will be good for this tart. I especially like Pink Lady, Sierra Beauty, or Golden Delicious. Gravensteins would also be nice. You can’t really go wrong. Would love to hear what you used.