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What is a tart? What is the history of the tart?
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Man's efforts to create a life for himself that is not only bearable, but pleasant, are constantly hampered by gloomy souls muttering variations on the theme of "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." Fortunately, man goes right on making the aforesaid purse out of the above-mentioned ear, setting at defiance the
prophets of doom.
Consider the fruit tarte as an example. Light as a breath, elegantly delectable, its antecedents are humble, to put it mildly, its history checkered and fraught with adversity. The ancient Romans knew of this pastry but apparently treated it shamefully. Petronius, writing of a banquet given by Trimalchio (a gentleman who was all money and no sensibility), describes slaves bringing in an enormous set piece representing the figures of the zodiac. The sign of Libra, the Balance, was a pair of scales, one holding a cake, the other a tarte, neither of which the euests bothered to eat. Later
in the meal, Petronius quotes a drunken diner speaking of a repast that included "little tartes with a hot sauce of honey" and boasting, "As for the tartes, I didn't eat a mouthful of them, but I just smeared myself with the honey, I can tell you!" With such a grubby lack of appreciation, is it any wonder that the tarte seems to have gone underground for some centuries?
It reappeared during the Middle Ages, if not precisely in the guise of a sow's ear, then as something rather close to it. Medieval feasters regarded plates as sheer affectation and ate their food from heavy slices of bread, which presumably kept the gravy off the gala board. When they finished the meal, they quite naturally consumed the bread pieces, or tartines, as the French called them. Edmund Burke once remarked, "The progress of the human mind is slow," and so it is; very slowly the tartines became lighter and more cake-
like, the food upon them less ponderous; slowly the pastry
enfolded the lighter fare within. A bumpkin version of the
tarte as we know it today emerged.
The tarte appeared in France, in Germany, in England. The Elizabethans knew it: A Proper Newe Book of Cookerye, published in 1575, included recipes "to make a tarte of borage floures," and "to make a tarte of marigolds, prymroses or cowslips." George Wither waxed poetically indignant over seventeenth-century culinary extravagances in these measures:
So they are pampered while the poor man starves,
Yet that's not all; for custards, tarts, conserves,
Must follow too ...
With many other idle fond devices
Such as I cannot name; nor care to know . . .
An eighteenth-century bard speaks more kindly: "Then came 'sweets'-served in silver were tartlets. . . ."
But it was the French, as ever, who made the true fruit tarte their own, probably after the middle of the seventeenth century, when sugar appeared for the first time in the kitchens of France. A royal procession of French chefs, including the great Careme, worshipper at the temple of pastry, brought the tarte to perfection, although the Germans, with their national aptitude for baking, played a role in its development.
By the nineteenth century, the incarnation of the fruit tarte was completed. Theodore Francis Garrett, author of such noble volumes as Muffins and Crumpets and Wine Adulteration, begins a tarte recipe with the delightful phrase, "Have ready a dozen or so golden pippins." In the nineties, Mme. Lebour-Fawsett, Gallic to her skillful fingertips and a cordon bleu, was impressing upon her young English pupils the virtues of strawberry and apricot tartes and warning the ladies
"that if a man who has worked all day . . . comes home and finds nothing warm and appetizing prepared for him, he will go away quicker than he came, and spend at the next gin palace . . . the money he would otherwise have gladly spent on his family if his wife had tried and knew how to make him comfortable. . . ."
Such is the history of the fruit tarte's triumph over tribulation, and it behooves us to be wary of gin palaces and to seize the advantage of our forebears' ingenuity, commencing perhaps with the basic tarte pastes.
The French use two types of paste for fruit tarts: pate sucree, also known as pate seche, and the pate a
foncer, this also known as pate brisee. As the label implies, the pate sucree is sweet and rich and more closely
resembles a delicate, short cooky dough than it does the flaky
type of crust used for our American pies. It does not soak up fruit juices and so remains crisper than other pastries because it contains an egg and some sugar. Pate sucree is, all in all, very like the German paste used for fruit kuchens, called by them Murber Teig. Pate a foncer, or brisee, is less rich, but is also used for fruit tarts and provides pleasant contrast.
Pate a Foncer ou Brisee
(Plain Tart Dough)
Sift 2 cups flour onto a pastry board and make a well in the center. In the well put 3/4 cup soft sweet butter, 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Work these to a smooth paste, then quickly work in the flour, adding gradually about 5 to 6 tablespoons water, or enough to make a firm dough that just cleans the board. Do not handle the dough unnecessarily. Mix it well but lightly. Wrap the
dough in wax paper and chill it in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Use to line two 9-inch pie plates or flan rings.
Pate Sucree ou Seche
{Sweet Tart Dough)
Sift 1 cup flour onto a pastry board and make a well in the center. In the well put 1/3 cup soft sweet butter, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. The grated rind of 1 lemon or a few drops of vanilla may also be added. Mix the center ingredients to a smooth paste, then quickly work in the flour, adding a very little cold water, if necessary, to make a firm dough that cleans the board. Wrap the dough in wax paper and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Use to line one 9-inch pie plate or flan ring.
Murber Teig
(Rich Tart Dough)
Sift 1 cup flour onto a pastry board and make a well in the center. In the well put 1/2 cup soft sweet butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 egg yolk, and a pinch of salt. The grated rind of 1 lemon may be added. Mix the center ingredients to a smooth paste, then quickly work in the flour, adding a very little cold water if needed to make a firm
dough that just cleans the board. Wrap the dough in wax paper
and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Use to line one 9-inch pie plate or flan ring.
Flan Shell
On a lightly floured board roll chilled tart dough into a circle 1/8 inch thick. Slip the dough over a buttered flan ring and press it gently but firmly against the inner side of the ring. Make a small fold of the dough around the inner top edge of the ring and cut away the dough above the fold. Then raise the fold to make a standing border and flute the border with thumb and index finger, or pinch it all around with a pastry pincher. Place the lined flan on a baking sheet, prick the dough with the tines of a fork, and chill for 30 minutes.
To bake an unfilled flan shell, cover the dough with wax paper and weight the paper down with 1 cup dry rice or beans. Bake in a hot oven (400¡ F.) for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350¡ F. and continue to bake for 15 minutes longer, or until the crust is a
pale gold. Discard the rice or beans and paper, cool, and fill with a prepared filling.
If the dough is to be baked with_the filling, the shell should be chilled for 30 minutes, filled with fruit, sugar, and spices, and
baked as indicated in the individual recipe.
Tarte aux Pommes
(Apple Tart)
Pare, core, and quarter 6 cooking apples and put them in a saucepan with 1/2 cup each of water and sugar and 2 tablespoons butter. Cover the saucepan tightly and cook the apples over moderate heat until they are tender. Press the apples through a fine sieve and let the puree cool.
Line a flan ring with any tart dough and fill it halfway with the apple puree. Peel, core, and slice 4 small cooking apples and arrange the
slices over the apple puree in a spiral, starting at the center and working out, the slices overlapping. Sprinkle with sugar and bake in a hot oven (400¡ F.) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden. Glaze the tart while it is still hot with
apricot jam, melted and thinned with a little hot water to spreading consistency.
Tarte aux Cerises Bourbonnaise
(Cherry Tart Bourbonnaise)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough and sprinkle the bottom
lightly with sugar. Fill the lined ring three-fourths full with pitted sweet cherries and pour over them a batter made by combining 1 lightly beaten egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, a pinch of salt, 3 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 cup milk. Bake the tarte in a hot oven (400¡ F.) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden, and serve warm.
Tarte aux Abricots
(Apricot Tart)
Line a pie plate or flan ring with a tart dough, bake it, and cool.
Boil 2 cups water with 3/4 cup sugar and a 1-inch stick of vanilla bean for 5 minutes. In the syrup poach 12 fresh apricots, peeled, halved, and stoned, until tender and cool them in the syrup.
Spread the tart shell with 1/2 cup sieved apricot jam and arrange the apricots cut side down on the jam. Glaze the fruit with 4 tablespoons apricot jelly melted with 2 tablespoons water and let the jelly set. Dust with confectioners' sugar and chopped pistachio nuts. A fluted border of whipped cream may be piped around the edge of the tart.
Tarte aux Peches Chantilly
(Peach Tart Chantilly)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough and bake it. Cool the shell
and fill it level with whipped cream sweetened to taste and flavored with vanilla. Cover the cream with ripe peaches, peeled and halved, cut side down, and glaze the peaches with 2 tablespoons peach or apricot jam melted with 2 tablespoons boiling water and pressed through a fine sieve. Sprinkle the tarte with shredded blanched almonds, toasted to a golden brown, and chill in the refrigerator before serving.
Tarte aux Fraises
(Strawberry Tart)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough, bake it, and cool. In a saucepan beat 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in 2 teaspoons gelatin and 3/4 cup hot milk and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the cream becomes very hot and thick, being careful not to let it boil. Stir the cream over cracked ice until it is cool and fold in
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten, 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped, and vanilla or rum to taste.
Turn the pastry cream into the baked shell and arrange large ripe strawberries attractively over the cream. Glaze the strawberries with 3 tablespoons red currant jelly melted on the fire and thinned
with 1 tablespoon boiling water.
Tarte aux Peches
(Peach Tart)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough and sprinkle the dough with 1/2 cup sugar. Cover the suga with fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and
halved, cut side down, in a spiral from the center, the halves overlapping. Bake the tart in a moderate oven (350¡F.) for 15 minutes. Drip over the fruit 1 egg yolk beaten with 3 tablespoons
heavy cream and continue to bake for 15 minutes longer, or until the fruit is tender and the crust is a golden brown.
Clafouti aux Cerises
(Cherry Flan)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough and fill with 1 pound dark, sweet, pitted cherries. Combine 1/2 cup flour and 2 tablespoons sugar.
Stir in 1 egg lightly beaten with 2 cups milk, 2 tablespoons cognac, and 3 tablespoons melted butter and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake the tart in a moderate oven (350¡F.) for 35 to 40
minutes, or until the crust is golden. Serve warm, sprinkled with granulated sugar.
Tarte aux Poires a la Bourdaloue
(Pear Tart with Macaroons)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough, bake it, and cool.
Boil 2 cups water with 3/4 cup sugar and a 1-inch piece of vanilla bean for 5 minutes. In the syrup poach 6 pears, peeled and quartered, until tender and cool them in the syrup.
Fill the tart shell half full with creme frangipane and arrange the pears in a ring around the edge of the cream, the quarters slightly overlapping. Glaze the pears with apricot jam thinned with hot
water and rubbed through a fine sieve and sprinkle toasted macaroon crumbs in the center, where the fruit, does not cover the cream.
Creme Frangipane
In a saucepan combine 1/3 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. Add 1 egg and 1 egg yolk and mix thoroughly. Stir in another egg and another egg yolk.
Scald 2 cups milk with a 1-inch piece of vanilla bean and add it, little by little, to the cream, stirring until combined. Cook, stirring vigorously, until the cream almost reaches the boiling point
and continue to cook gently, still stirring, for 2 minutes.
Remove the cream from the fire, discard the vanilla bean, and stir in 2 tablespoons butter and 4 macaroons, crushed. Cool the cream, stirring it occasionally to prevent a crust from forming.
Tarte aux Prunes
(Plum Tart)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough and sprinkle it with stale cake crumbs. Halve and stone 2 pounds of plums and arrange them cut side down on the cake crumbs. Sprinkle the plums generously with sugar and bake the tart in a hot oven (400¡ F.) for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the fruit is tender. If the plums are blue or red, glaze them with melted currant jelly. If they are yellow
plums, glaze them with apricot jam thinned with boiling water and pressed through a fine sieve.
Tarte aux Groseilles
(Gooseberry Tart)
Line a flan ring with a tart dough and fill it with 1 quart
gooseberries, washed and tailed. Sprinkle 1 cup sugar over the gooseberries and bake the tart in a moderate oven (350¡F.) for 20 minutes. Drip over the berries 1 egg yolk lightly beaten with 3 tablespoons heavy cream and continue to bake for 15 minutes longer, or until the crust is lightly browned and the fruit is tender.<
Tarte des Demoiselles Tatin
(Upside-Down Apple Tart)
Butter an 8-inch pie plate thickly and cover the bottom with 3/4 cup fine granulated sugar. Over the sugar arrange about 6 tart apples, peeled, quartered, and cored. Sprinkle the apples with 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and the grated rind and juice of half a lemon, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
Roll tart dough 1/8 inch thick, cut out a circle 8 inches in diameter, and lay the circle over the apples. Bake the tart in a moderate oven (375¡F.) for about 30 minutes, or until the apples are tender, the crust is golden, and the sugar is well caramelized in the bottom
of the plate. Invert the tart on a serving dish and serve warm with whipped cream, sugared and flavored to taste. Peaches, apricots, or pears may be used instead of the apples.
Anonymous. 1952October. La Patisserie. About the Triumph of the Tarte. Gourmet 12(10: 22.
Updated: Sunday, July 29, 2007. |
