Sweet Endings

Text and Photos by : Füsun Atalay © Copyright 2007

I’ve always been curious about the difference between a tart and a torte; and oftentimes I don’t know which is which. Pies, on the other hand are a little more familiar— at least I think of them as baked pastries which contain savory or sweet fillings. But the jargon becomes somewhat more mystifying especially when we add the crisp, crostata (from Italian), crumble (from English), galette and tartelette (from French) into the mix.

A little research revealed that torte-derived from German- is a rich cake made with eggs, ground nuts, sugar and flour. The Hungarian Dobos Tort is a labour-intensive six, sometimes seven layer basic sponge cake supporting a butter cream between each layer. The final top layer is coated with chocolate and hazelnut cream. As with many cakes, the layers are moistened with a simple sugar syrup during assembly.

A tart, however, is an open topped pastry which can be filled with sweets such as fruits — or savory fillings such as onions, cheese and eggs. On the other hand a crostata, although not baked in a pan but rather "free form", is another name for 'tart' . Go figure !

But, what’s in a name? All that matters is baking your cake (or tart) and eating it too by taking advantage of the season’s ripe fruits. Pears, plums and apples are at their peek now. Besides biting into one of these juicy ripe fruits, what better way to use them than in these spectacular sweet finalés to a special meal?

The following recipes are not half as confusing as their names, and the results are truly something to be proud of when you present them at the table .

Linzertorte

Born in Linz, Austria, almost three centuries ago Linzertorte , with its beautiful golden brown crust filled with ruby red raspberry preserves shimmering through the lattice design, is a distinctive classic.

1 /2 cup blanched ground almonds
1 -1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 /2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
2/3 cup raspberry jam
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, almonds, cinnamon, granulated sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse meal.. Add in egg and pulse to blend with the flour mixture.

Spoon 2/3 of dough onto bottom of 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Pat dough evenly over bottom and up side of pan. Combine lemon juice with jam; spread jam over bottom of dough. On lightly floured surface roll remaining third of dough into 10x5-inch rectangle ; cut ten 1/2-inch-wide strips.

Arrange strips in lattice pattern, trim and press ends into edge of crust. Bake 25 -35mins or until crust is golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Remove torte from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges. Store, tightly covered, at room temperature upto 2 days.

Pear Frangipane Tart

Prangipane refers to a filling made from almonds which can be used in cakes, tarts, croissants and other pastries. It’s a great fall dessert when pears are plenty.

Base:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk

Frangipane:
5 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup natural almonds, ground
1/4 tsp almond extract

Tart:
3- 4 pears, halved , peeled and cored
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp apricot jam

Combine flour, sugar and butter in a food processor ; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the yolk and pulse until all is combined into a ball. Flatten into a disk between sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Roll out to to fit into an 8 inch tart pan with a removable bottom and with floured fingertips push dough up and down the sides and bottom of the pan . Cover with aluminum or parchment paper, top with dry beans and "blind bake"at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Remove beans. Cool.

Meanwhile prepare frangipane by creaming together butter and sugar. Add eggs and cream some more, stir in ground almonds and extract, and mix well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Fill baked tart shell with the frangipane.

Cut the pear halves, lengthwise into thin slices, keeping them together at the stem end.
Fan the pears slightly and place over the frangipane filling in a petal pattern.
Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar over the pears. Bake the tart for 50 minutes.
Melt apricot jam and brush over the warm pears. Serve at room temperature.

Apple Tarte Tatin

The result of forgetfulness rescued by ingenuity, this tarte was created by sisters Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin who operated a hotel in Lamotte-Beuvron in the early part of the 19th century. It was such a success that it found its way to Maxim's of Paris in no time.

Short crust pastry

1-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp sugar
3-4 Tbsp ice water

Combine flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. While the motor’s running, slowly add ice water and process until dough begins to come together. Remove from processor and pat into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap ; chill 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface roll out pastry to a 10-inch circle of 1/4-inch thickness. Chill until use.

Filling:

4 Golden or Red Delicious apples
1/3 cup butter
1 /2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375º F.
Peel, core and quarter apples.
Melt butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, stirring until bubbly. Add vanilla. Spoon into the pie or cake pan.
Arrange apples cut sides up on sugar.
Poke holes in pastry and place on top of apples.
Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until crust is rich golden brown and apples are tender.
Turn out onto a plate, so that apples show on top. Watch for hot syrup that might drip. Serve warm.

Italian Plum Tart

Easiest of the three, the base isn't even rolled out for this tart that showcases purple Italian plums.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup walnuts
3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3/4 cups cold butter, diced
1 egg
2 pounds (about 12) firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, walnuts, sugar and butter in the food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse meal. . Add the egg and pulse on-off until egg is combined but the dough is somewhat still crumbly.

Press 1-1/2 cups of the crumbly mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin side up, in a circle; starting from outside, work to the middle.
Sprinkle rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar ; serve warm or at room temperature

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