chausson aux pommes

[Live It Up]

I just received my copy of Linda Dannenberg's Paris Boulangerie- Patisserie, which may have been a bit of an impulse purchase. Anyway, to my disappointment, even though there is a chapter on the Dalloyau patisserie, there is no recipe for my favorite item that they make: the chausson aux pommes. Does anyone have a good recipe for these? They don't seem to get mentioned much, but I love them. I don't want something that's like an american apple turnover (which in turn is like apple pie except in pocket pie form), but I'm not really sure what the difference is. I don't bake much besides tarts and muffins, so maybe someone can walk me through this. Thanks!

[sugarseattle]

I'm pretty sure you're going to be working with a classic puff pastry for the shell and just a little sugar coating the apples with a touch of flour. I personally would put some cinnamon in them, but that would make them more American.

I was just in Paris a few weeks ago and stopped in at Dalloyou on St. Honore. It was such a freaking fabulous shop. Anyhow, one thing that they had which was so super cool was a square cream puff. They must have special pans. My husband put a pic on his site, http://www.johnmccaig.com/index.php?showimage=264

Good luck with the Chaussons

[artisanbaker]

Start with great flour and butter. Make an excellent puff pastry. Wait til fall arrives and buy the finest quality apples you can get. Peel and core them. Slice them thinly and cook them in a heavy bottom pot until a thick puree arrives. Very lightly sweeten. Adjust acid with lemon juice.

Stamp puff ovals, dose the filling well, egg wash the edge to seal.

Egg wash the top and using the back of a knife make a decorative design.

Bake in a very hot oven and reduce the heat to medium to finsh the bake. The puff pastry must be baked DRY. That way, you have the crisp pastry and the perfectly textured filling.

having fun with my new moto Q,

R

[John DePaula]

These are two separate recipes, so you’ll want to adjust quantities for your needs.

Chaussons aux pommes (10 to 12 servings)

500g Puff Pastry

1000g Apple Compote (recipe follows)

egg wash

Roll out puff pastry approximately 3mm (1/8 in.) thick.

Cut out some fluted rounds using a pastry cutter approximately 12cm (4.75in.) in diameter.

Use a rolling pin to elongate the rounds.

Brush the lower half of the border with egg wash and place the apple preparation in the center.

Fold over the top half of the oval and press lightly to seal. Turn the pieces over and place them on a sheet pan lightly moistened with water.

Glaze with egg wash twice, score them decoratively with a paring knife.

Cook at the beginning in a hot oven (220/240°C) then move to a medium oven.

Just before the turnovers are finished baking, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar and return them to the oven. Or, with a pastry brush, brush them with sugar syrup as they are taken out of the oven.

Apple Compote

2400g Apples

250g Butter

200g Sugar

Cinnamon (to taste)

2 Zests of lemon (optional)

Peel, core, and chop apples medium dice (mirepoix)

In a large skillet over a med-high flame, melt the butter

Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon and zests.

Toss from time to time and cook being careful to not cook too long so that you have chunks of apple in the compote.

[artisanbaker]

Yes, don't forget the sugar glaze. I like to brush them with sirop and then return them to set the glaze. Otherwise it risks getting sticky after cooling. The glaze makes it very attractive.

[Live It Up]

Thanks so much for the help....I always wondered if the apples were cooked first, and consensus seems to be that they are. I've never successfully made puff pastry, so I'll probably buy some for my first attempt at least.

artisanbaker: for the sugar glaze would I brush them before, during, or after baking?

[John DePaula]

Thanks so much for the help....I always wondered if the apples were cooked first, and consensus seems to be that they are. I've never successfully made puff pastry, so I'll probably buy some for my first attempt at least.

artisanbaker: for the sugar glaze would I brush them before, during, or after baking?

←

If you do decide to purchase puff pastry, try to find one that is 'all butter.' You can find such products at Whole Foods in the Frozen section.

ETA: Just occurred to me that your local bakery, assuming they make a decent puff pastry (many don't...), might be willing to sell you some puff pastry dough. Just a thought.

Edited May 31, 2007 by John DePaula (log)

[Live It Up]

Yeah, I can't stand the flavor of super market puff pastry. As an aside to those who have access to freshdirect, they have all butter puff pastry that's ridiculously cheap.

[artisanbaker]

Brush with syrup when 95 percent baked and return to the oven until it shines with brilliance.

happy baking

[sugarseattle]

blitz-puff pastry, which is made like pie dough that's folded like puff pastry, is pretty easy to make, plus it's fun to say in a german accent as you're making it! I guarantee you'll be saying "bleetz-puff" all day long!

[chezjim]

Someone having searched my site for the origin of what was once my favorite viennoiserie (before weight loss put it off-limits), I was surprised to discover it had existed in France since before the middle of the nineteenth century (the English apple turnover is documented back as far as 1835).

In 1825, "apple croquettes" were made which were basically fried chaussons aux pommes:

Apple croquettes

Take puff pastry dough, spread it out very thin, and cut it with a pastry-cutter in circles of two and a half inches diameter; put on half of each circle a little pile of apple marmalade; fold the other half of the dough circle, and seal the edges in pinching it with the fingers, your croquettes will have the form of a small pouch [chausson]; fry them.

One can serve in this way all sorts of marmalades, preserves, or whole preserved fruits.

B. Albert-Le cuisinier parisien; ou, Manuel complet d'économie domestique 1825

I don't yet know if these were considered separate, or if one evolved from the other.