Pommes à la Royale

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Six 3-inch (7.5 cm) fluted tartlet tins
• •Narrow apple corer or ½-inch (1.25 cm) tube-cutter
• •8-inch (20 cm) snug saucepan
• •Countertop blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth
• •Pastry brush
• •Shallow 6-inch (15 cm) dish for the jelly
• •Parchment paper and baking weights

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the Maraschino jelly

   Sprinkle the Maraschino jelly gelatin over its 1 tablespoon of cold water and leave it for 5 minutes. Warm the remaining ⅓ cup water with the sugar just until the grains disappear, then take the pan from the heat and whisk in the swollen gelatin. Let the mixture cool until merely warm before stirring in the Maraschino liqueur, which keeps its perfume when it is not boiled. Pour into a shallow dish to make a layer about ¼ inch (6 mm) deep and chill for at least 2 hours, until firm enough to cut.

2. 2

   Mix and rest pastry

   Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter and use your fingertips to make a sablage, rubbing the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine, cool sand. Work in the egg yolk and only enough ice water for the dough to hold when pressed. If it remains crumbly, add water a few drops at a time; if it turns sticky, flatten it between two sheets of parchment and chill it rather than burying it in more flour. Ça se rattrape. Form a flat disc and chill for 30 minutes.

3. 3

   Bake the tartlets

   Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Roll the pastry between parchment to a scant ⅛ inch (3 mm), then line six 3-inch (7.5 cm) fluted tartlet tins. Press into the corners without stretching, trim the rims, prick the bases, and chill for 10 minutes. Line each shell with a small piece of foil and fill with baking weights. Bake for 12 minutes, remove the weights, and bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, until evenly butter-gold and dry at the base. If a shell shows a crack, press a crumb of reserved raw dough over it while the shell is still warm and return it to the oven for 2 minutes. Cool completely in the tins, then unmold.

4. 4

   Set the blanc-mange

   Blend the blanched almonds with ¾ cup cold water until the liquid is opaque and milky. Strain through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth, squeezing firmly to recover the almond milk. Sprinkle the blanc-mange gelatin over its 1½ tablespoons of cold water and leave it for 5 minutes. Warm the almond milk with the cream and sugar until the sugar dissolves, but do not boil. Remove from the heat, whisk in the swollen gelatin and almond extract, then cool over a bowl of ice water, stirring until it begins to coat the spoon like light cream. Divide among the cold tartlet shells and chill for about 2 hours. If the blanc-mange sets in the pan before the shells are filled, warm it over the gentlest heat until it flows again.

5. 5

   Poach the apples gently

   Combine the 3 cups water, 1½ cups sugar, and vanilla bean in a snug saucepan. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves, then hold the syrup just below a simmer. Peel and core the apples one at a time with the narrow corer, cutting a clean tube from stem to blossom, and lower each directly into the syrup. Cover the surface with a parchment cartouche so the fruit stays submerged. Poach at 180 to 190°F (82 to 88°C), with no hard bubbling, for 12 to 20 minutes depending on the apples. Turn them carefully once and test near the shoulder with a thin skewer; it should enter with slight resistance. If the first hairline split appears, take the pan off the heat immediately and let the fruit finish in the residual warmth. The split can face inward on the platter and disappear beneath the glaze. Ça se rattrape. Cool the apples completely in their syrup, then chill.

6. 6

   Glaze the cold apples

   Lift the cold apples onto a rack and blot them very gently. Warm the red-currant jelly with 1 tablespoon of reserved poaching syrup until fluid, then pass it through a fine sieve. Brush each cold apple with a thin first coat and chill for 10 minutes before adding a fuller second coat. If the jelly slides away, the apple is wet or too warm; blot it, chill it again, and begin with the thinnest tack coat. If the glaze stiffens in the pan, warm it only until it loosens.

7. 7

   Assemble the royale

   Cut the firm Maraschino jelly into small cubes, then chop them once or twice so they catch the light without becoming crushed. Arrange the six blanc-mange tartlets in a circle on a chilled platter and place one glazed apple squarely on each. Spoon the chopped Maraschino jelly into the open center. Keep the assembled dessert cold and serve within 2 hours so the pastry remains crisp. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose apples small enough to look generous on a 3-inch tartlet and firm enough to survive poaching. Small Pink Lady, Jazz, or Cox apples are good candidates; floury apples collapse before the syrup reaches their centers.
• •A narrow apple corer is the home equivalent of the tube-cutter. Core straight through so each apple stands upright, but do not widen the channel in search of perfection. The glaze is more forgiving than the knife.
• •Use smooth red-currant jelly, not jam or preserves. Seeds and fruit pulp prevent the clean, translucent coat that defines the finished apples.
• •The drop of almond extract replaces the bitter-almond accent once supplied at the pastry station. Keep it restrained. The blanc-mange should taste of almonds, not perfume.
• •The syrup must barely move. A thermometer is helpful, but your eyes are enough: a few lazy movements at the pan's edge are welcome, a boil is not.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the Maraschino jelly up to 2 days ahead, cover it once set, and keep it cold. Chop it shortly before assembling so the cut surfaces remain bright.
• •Bake the tartlet shells up to 2 days ahead and keep them airtight at room temperature. Fill them with blanc-mange no more than 8 hours before serving so the pastry stays crisp.
• •Poach the apples one day ahead and refrigerate them in their syrup. Drain, dry, and glaze them on the day they are served.
• •Assemble the complete platter up to 2 hours ahead and keep it cold. Bring it out about 10 minutes before serving so the butter pastry loses its refrigerator hardness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)