Pierre Herme's "Pastries" - A Humble Apple Tart

"I love when it rains because it sounds like something is cooking on the stove" is what I wrote on my Facebook wall over the weekend.

I thought nothing of it until quite a few "likes" for my little thought accumulated. There is no sweeter sound than that of butter sizzling in a pan having added something to saute. The act of sauteing is to gently heat and initiate the start of the caramelisation process to bring out the natural sugars of anything, from a steak to an apple.

Sydney city had some rain filled moments that steered me into the direction of baking a dessert. Having acquired 2 books recently, Pierre Herme's "Pastries" and Olivier Dupon's "The New Patissiers" I spent part of my Saturday evening into how I would use some apples that were given to me by a charity that collects food from cafes and passes it on to people that would use it at home. Similar to that of Oz Harvest but under a different organisation.

The beauty of Pierre Hermes' book is that it provides sound knowledge and history of desserts that we take for granted and believe to have been since the beginning of sugary times. It goes into detail about the Tart Tatin, the Macaron, the simple Chocolate Cake, the Eclair and even the humble Australian Peach Melba.

The other aspect of the book that gives it a winning factor is that after the knowledge of each of these classic desserts is passed on, a recipe for perfection along the lines of the original is provided. The importance of understanding the classics and where they came from are imperative to know what can be done in the future. Here lies where I found my recipe for these little apples. From the timeless Apple Strudel comes the classic Apple Tart with Sweet Almond Milk.

As simple as it was I didn't see it being too original but what I did like about it was that it was simple and used various textures from the walnuts to sauted apple left to macerate in the fridge to the finely sliced apples allowed to bake on top of the tart to become dry and crisp. The almond syrup is a clever addition as anything almond flavoured especially in a milk form creates an emulsion with the apples juices that would pass as a top line perfurme. In saying this, the good measure of a book is known once a recipe is followed and it comes out as it should. This one fit the bill, very well.

I look forward to making a few more of the desserts from the book to understand the original and history and then having a go at Herme's attempt of a recreation.

- Mith