Apple And Prune Tart With Vanilla Ice Cream And Cognac Recipes

APPLE, APRICOT, AND PRUNE TART

Steps:

• Make pastry dough:
• Into a chilled large metal bowl sift together flour and salt. Set a grater in bowl and using largest teardrop-shaped holes coarsely grate frozen butter into flour, gently lifting and tossing flour to coat butter. Chill mixture 20 minutes. Drizzle 8 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork until just incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When it has proper texture it should hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring until just incorporated, and test mixture again. (If you overwork or add too much water, pastry will be tough.)
• Turn mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and with floured hands mound into 4 portions. With heel of hand smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather dough portions together and form it, rotating it on work surface, into a disk (dough will not be smooth). Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 2 hours, or until firm, and up to 2 days.
• On floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough 1/4 inch thick (about a 15-inch round). Fit dough into a 12 1/2- by 1-inch fluted round tart pan with a removable bottom and with a rolling pin roll over top of shell to trim pastry flush with rim. With a fork prick bottom of shell all over. Chill shell 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425° F.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell in middle of oven 20 minutes. Carefully remove weights or rice and foil and bake shell until golden, about 10 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Make filling
• Peel, core, and chop 1 apple. In a saucepan cook chopped apple, apricots, 1/2 cup sugar, and water, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender, about 12 minutes. Cool mixture 20 minutes. In a food processor pulse mixture until smooth and transfer to a small bowl. Chop prunes and stir into purée. Peel remaining 4 apples and quarter. Core apples and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
• Spoon apricot purée evenly into shell and smooth top. Decoratively arrange apple slices, overlapping them, over purée and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake tart in middle of oven until apple slices are slightly browned and crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool tart slightly in pan on rack. In a small saucepan melt jam over low heat and pour through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Press hard on solids and discard. With a pastry brush, brush glaze evenly over tart.
• Serve tart with crème fraîche or whipped cream.

APPLE TARTS WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Peel apples, reserving skins. Stir together water and 6 tablespoons sugar in a 1-quart heavy saucepan, then scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add pod. Add reserved apple skins and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Pour through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids.
• Roll out 1 pastry sheet into a 10-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, then cut in half and transfer to 1 of baking sheets. Repeat with remaining pastry sheet, transferring to second baking sheet.
• Halve apples lengthwise, then core with a melon-ball cutter or a small spoon and cut crosswise into very thin slices (1/8 inch thick or less), keeping apple halves intact. Fan apple slices slightly, keeping apple shape, then arrange 3 halves in a row on each piece of pastry, leaving a 2/3-inch border on all sides.
• Brush border lightly with syrup and fold over about 1/3 inch to touch edges of apples. Crimp edges with a fork, then brush apples and edges of pastry with syrup (reserve remaining syrup). Brush apples completely with melted butter, then sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
• Bake tarts in upper and lower thirds of oven 20 minutes, then switch position of sheets and reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Bake tarts until edges are golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. (If pastry edges aren't browning evenly, rotate tarts 180 degrees on sheets halfway through baking.)
• While tarts bake, boil remaining syrup over moderate heat until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Let tarts stand 5 minutes, then brush warm apples with remaining syrup.

APPLE AND PRUNE TART

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Pulse together flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle in 4 tablespoons ice water and pulse until pastry starts to hold together, adding remaining tablespoon ice water if needed. Turn dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times. Form dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Simmer water, Calvados, and prunes, uncovered, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Stir together cinnamon, cloves, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 cup sugar.
• Peel and core apples and cut into 1/2-inch wedges. Halve wedges crosswise and toss with cinnamon mixture. Add lemon juice and toss to coat.
• Finely grind walnuts with remaining 3 tablespoons flour and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor.
• Assemble and bake tart:
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14- by 18-inch oval. Roll dough loosely onto floured rolling pin and unroll onto a large buttered baking sheet. Spinkle walnut mixture over pastry, leaving a 2 1/2- to 3-inch border.
• Stir stewed prunes into apple mixture and spoon over walnut mixture, evenly tucking prunes between apple pieces. Turn edge of dough over fruit to form pleats. Brush top of dough with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake tart, loosely covered with foil, in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crust and fruit are golden and juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes more. Cool tart on baking sheet on a rack at least 20 minutes before serving.

PRUNE-ARMAGNAC ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place the prunes and enough water to cover in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat. Let the prunes cool in the liquid, then drain them well. Stir in the Armagnac, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the milk, cream, and 1 cup of the sugar to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining ¼ cup of sugar. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and add a little to the egg yolk mixture to warm it, whisking constantly to keep the yolks from cooking. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk mixture, whisking the milk constantly as you pour.
• Return the custard to the stove and cook it over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and strain it into a bowl. Stir in the salt and let cool completely.
• Chill the custard until it's thoroughly cold, at least 4 hours. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Fold the Armagnac-soaked prunes into the ice cream immediately after freezing while it's still soft. Transfer to a container and place in the freezer until frozen solid, at least 2 hours.