Recipe from Gateaux by Mori Yoshida
I first discovered this fruit while shopping at a Paris market. When I tasted it, I found that it was firmer than a peach and had the perfect degree of acidity—even the skin was delicious!
That was when it occurred to me to cook nectarines, to achieve a balance of sweetness and acidity, and to create this tart. It seems to me that nectarines are rarely eaten cooked in France, and yet they are delicious when prepared that way.
EQUIPMENT
equipment
stand mixer
large round-bottomed mixing bowl
instant-read thermometer
11-cm round pastry cutter
pastry bag
1-mm plain tip
spray bottle of water
ALMOND CREAM
200 G confectioners’ sugar
200 G almond flour
200 G unsalted butter, at room temperature
170 G lightly beaten eggs (about 3½ large eggs)
TARTLETS
240 G inverse puff pastry
60 G almond cream
superfine sugar
3 yellow nectarines
DECORATION
apricot glaze
Makes 770 g
—
200 g confectioners’ sugar
200 g almond flour
200 g unsalted butter, at room
temperature
170 g lightly beaten eggs
(about 3½ large eggs)
Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C).
Make the almond cream. Sift the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour separately into two separate bowls.
Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and place the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl. Beat on low speed just until well combined, without incorporating too much air (see notes).
Place the eggs in the round-bottomed mixing bowl and set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Cook, stirring, until the eggs reach about 86°F (30°C). With the mixer running on low speed, gradually add the warmed eggs to the butter-sugar mixture, then incorporate the almond flour. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the pastry to a thickness of about 2 mm. Prick the base of the dough all over with a fork. Cut out six 11-cm disks with the pastry cutter. Fit the pastry bag with the 1-mm tip and fill with the almond cream. Pipe 10 g of almond cream in the center of each tart shell, to a diameter of about 5 cm.
Fill the base of a shallow, wide bowl with superfine sugar. Using the spray bottle, moisten the bottoms and edges of the tartlet shells. Dip the shells in the sugar to coat the bottoms, then sprinkle sugar on the edges.
Cut the nectarines in half, then into slices about 1 cm thick (about ten per nectarine). Arrange 3 nectarine slices in a circle around the almond cream in each shell, skin facing out, leaving 1 cm of pastry exposed. Place 2 nectarine slices in the center of the pastry, on top of the almond cream.
Place the tartlets on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, until the bottoms are caramelized and the edges are a deep golden brown.
While the tartlets are still warm, brush each one with a thin layer of apricot glaze.
TIP
You can also use white nectarines for this recipe.
Don’t skip sugaring the puff pastry—it is essential
to achieving a crunchy texture.
0 comments