Saturday, March 24, 2012

Tarte Normandie



Tarte Normandie

I was actually in Normandy to today and came across one of their regional desserts, the Tarte Normandie.  This shortcrust pastry, made in Normandy, is ornate with apples, almonds, all in an egg custard. It is then baked until the top is slightly caramelized to a nice golden brown color. It is quite similar to our own American Apple Pie, but Norman style.  The difference between this tart and others that use egg-custard is the fact that it contains the apples and almonds. This is the unique “trademark” of this Normandy dish. It should be noted that the Tarte Normandie is a variant of other Normandy apple tarts, as apples are one of the top regional products. Since apples are one of the stellar regional ingredients of Normandy, this dish is judged by the apples used to make it. Obviously if the apples are bad the tart will not be very appetizing, not very hard to figure out. Flavorful or not, this dessert is still pleasing to the eyes when walking past a Boulangerie.

~ Andrew Hervey

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