Nothing inspires culinary creativity like an abundance of a single ingredient.
Outside of maintaining your own garden, the best way to obtain an abundance like this is by joining a CSA or to go out and pick your own. After our recent apple picking excursion, we have apples overflowing the crisper into every available empty nook in the fridge. You would be hard-pressed to find two people who like apples more than us. That said, an apple and peanut butter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday will soon have you thumbing through your favorite cookbook for inspiration. This time around our inspiration came in liquid form.
After picking our apples at Fraleigh's Rose Hill Farm, we stopped by Tuthilltown Spirits just outside of New Paltz in Gardiner, New York. Tuthilltown opened their doors in 2005, and they are the first legal New York-based distillery since the end of prohibition. It's an inspiring place and well worth a visit. The vast majority of the ingredients used to make their spirits are grown in New York state. The property was originally a grist mill and includes the distillery, a tasting room, and a great restaurant. Everything about the place gives you the sense that they take craftsmanship seriously. All this wouldn't mean much if the whiskey was no good, but it happens to be excellent.
It's been a bit cool and damp in NYC recently, and this fall weather always makes me crave comfort food. Something that will stay with you and warm you up from the inside out. Tarte Normande de Pomme is a delicious French dessert often made with an apple brandy called Calvados. We decided to make an American variation with the bourbon we picked up on our trip. The sweet apples with custard in a buttery, flaky crust should be just the ticket to ward off the chilly weather.
The Heart of the Dish
This dessert really hinges on the apples. All of the other ingredients should compliment the sweet fleshy apples, but never take center stage. When we were picking, we learned from the woman at the orchard that the best pies are made with a mixture of apple varieties. Some are sweeter, some are more tart. Some stay fleshy when cooked, others break apart more readily in the oven. When you mix them together you get a more complex flavor and texture. We picked Macoun, Empire, and Jonagold.
I suppose nostalgia might be influencing our taste buds, but there is just something about getting the fruit straight from the tree that makes it taste better. When peeling apples for this tarte, my mind drifted to the sound of birds, the nice people working at the farm, and the big, sweet dogs running around the property.
The Secret Ingredient
The Hudson Four Grain Bourbon is made from corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. It's nice and smooth, but still has a little spice from the rye. If you're a bourbon lover, this recipe is a sure bet.
Don't be scared if you're one of those people who think all whiskeys taste like burnt rubber. When combined with butter, sugar, and lemon, it is transformed into an aromatic nectar that we have no doubt you will love.
All Ingredients
Original
600 grams Apples (Roughly 3 Apples, Peeled and Sliced)
The Crust
225 grams (2 cups) AP Flour
112 grams (1/2 cup) Cold Unsalted Butter
15 grams (1 Tablespoon) Granulated Sugar
5 grams (1 teaspoon) Salt
105 grams (7 Tablespoons) Ice Water
Bourbon Butter
45 grams (3 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
30 grams (3 Tablespoons) Bourbon
15 grams (1 Tablespoon) Lemon Juice
70 grams (1/3 cup) Granulated Sugar
The Custard
35 grams (1/4 cup) AP Flour
65 grams (1/3 cup) Granulated Sugar
2 Large Eggs
85 grams (3/4 cup) Heavy Cream
Vegan
600 grams Apples (Roughly 3 Apples, Peeled and Sliced)
The Crust
225 grams (2 cups) AP Flour
112 grams (1/2 cup) Cold Vegan Butter
15 grams (1 Tablespoon) Granulated Sugar
5 grams (1 teaspoon) Salt
105 grams (7 Tablespoons) Ice Water
Bourbon Butter
45 grams (3 Tablespoons) Vegan Butter
30 grams (3 Tablespoons) Bourbon
15 grams (1 Tablespoon) Lemon Juice
70 grams (1/3 cup) Granulated Sugar
The Custard
35 grams (1/4 cup) AP Flour
65 grams (1/3 cup) Granulated Sugar
14 grams (3 heaping teaspoons) Ener G Egg Replacer
70 grams (4 Tablespoons) Canned Full Fat Coconut Milk
85 grams (3/4 cup) Canned Full Fat Coconut Milk
The Steps
*Variations in the instructions for vegan recipe are marked by (*).
Make sure your butter is very cold before you start making the crust. Cut the butter into the flour, until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Slowly sprinkle the ice water into this mixture and gently mix with a fork. Make sure not to overwork the dough. Wrap the dough up in cling wrap and chill it in the refrigerator. I like to do this the night before, because it gives the water plenty of time to evenly distribute itself throughout the dough.
To make the bourbon butter, stir together the butter, sugar, lemon, and bourbon in a saucepan over medium high heat. Keep stirring until all of the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into quarter inch slices. Roll out the pastry dough into an 1/8 inch thick circle, and gently place it over an 11 inch tart pan. Tuck the dough down into the corners of the pan and gently press the dough into the corrugations of the tart ring. Cut off the excess dough with a rolling pin.
If you're not in a rush, go ahead and prebake the crust for 10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don't have time for such things, just arrange the apples in a tight circle on top of the pastry, brush them with the bourbon butter, put it in the 375 degree oven and cook for 10 minutes. The apples will begin to caramelize, and your kitchen should start smelling wonderful at this point.
Go ahead and get started on the custard while the crust and apples are in the oven. *Whisk together the eggs, flour, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it barely starts to boil. Drizzle the hot heavy cream into the egg mixture while thoroughly whisking and set aside.
When the ten minutes are up, pull the tart pan out of the oven and pour the custard over the top of the apples. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, take it out of the oven and dust it with powdered sugar. Place it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or until the custard is slightly puffy and the apples have turned a beautiful caramel brown.
Let it stand for 10 minutes before removing the tart ring, and give it another light dusting of powdered sugar. You're ready to serve! We served ours with a rich maple bourbon caramel sauce. Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook if you would like that recipe as well. Enjoy.
* A couple hours prior to baking, put the canned coconut milk in the freezer to separate the cream from the liquid. After it has chilled, open the can and scoop 3/4 cup of cream off the top for the Heavy Cream replacement. Mix together the leftover cream and liquid in the can, measure out 4 Tablespoons and add to the Ener G Egg Replacement, whisking until thoroughly combined.
