Hi everyone! Here’s another classic of the French pastry, it is the Bourdaloue pie. This pie is traditionally made up of a pie crust, filled with almond cream, topped with poached pears, and sprinkled with some almond halves. As you may know, I love apples, so I’ve replaced the pears with apples and it is so tasty ? You can also make a cocoa pie crust to add this delicious chocolaty taste which combines perfectly with the pear or apple. It is also possible to make a big tart instead of these small ones ?
For 6 tarts of 10cm in diameter:
Crust:
- 200g of flour
- 100g of icing sugar
- 100g of butter
- 40g of eggs (a small egg)
- 1 pinch of salt
- (+ 12g of unsweetened cocoa powder for the chocolate version)
Almond cream:
- 75g of butter
- 75g of almond powder
- 75g of eggs (1 egg and a half)
- 75g of icing sugar (or granulated)
Syrup for the poaching:
- 1L of water
- 200g of granulated sugar
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
Filling:
- 3 small apples
- Some almond halves
Syrup for the shine and decoration (optional):
- 30g of water
- 30g of sugar
- Some icing sugar
We’ll start with the apples:
1. Peel and cut the apples in half. Remove the seeds.
2. Bring to boil the water with the sugar and vanilla.
3. Add the apples and let it cook ~15min until the apples are soft (you must be able to prick them easily with a knife).
4. Remove the apples from the syrup and let them cool down aside.
Now for the pie crust: Did you know that the only difference between the sweet crust and the pie crust is the order in which we combine the ingredients? I’ll write a more detailed article about it!
1. In a bowl, add the flour, (the cocoa powder), the salt, the sugar and the cold butter cut into pieces. With the flat beater attachment, mix until everything is perfectly combined. The mixture should look like sand. You can also make it by hand.
2. Add the eggs and mix until it forms a ball.
3. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1h (you can also make it the day before).
4. Take pieces of 80g and roll them between two parchment papers to a 3mm thickness. If the dough is too cold, let it a few minutes at room-temperature, otherwise it may break.
5. Place the dough over the tart ring and gently bring the edges inside. With your forefinger, press the dough against the walls and create a right angle. Cut the surplus with a knife.
6. Repeat this operation until you have 6 tarts. You’ll have to use the scraps to complete the desired number of tarts (you can freeze the scraps a few minutes so they become easier to manipulate).
7. Refrigerate the tarts while we make the almond cream.
For the almond cream:
1. Mix the softened butter with the sugar.
2. Add the eggs, little by little, and the almond powder and mix perfectly.
It’s time to assemble!
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C fan-assisted.
2. Cut each apple halves into thin slices. Gently squash the surface to spread the slices a little bit.
3. Spread a generous amount of almond cream at the bottom of each tart (~1 tbsp).
4. Add the apple half and sprinkle some almond halves on the edges. You can slightly shape the poached apple to give it a nice look.
5. Cook the pies for about 20min. The dough and the crust must have a nice golden color.
For the syrup: (optional)
1. Bring to boil the water and the sugar.
2. Brush the poached apples to make them shine.
3. Sprinkle the edges with some icing sugar.
Your Bourdaloue Apple Pies are ready! Enjoy!
Don’t forget to write an email to partage@justonemorecake.com to share your pictures of the recipe and your opinions! I will add them at the bottom of this article.
