As each season approaches it becomes my favorite. While moving to London a few months ago meant I missed my proper California summer I'm still excited for fall. Autumn means hot cocoa by the fire, Halloween treats, football (the American sort), Thanksgiving (my absolute favorite holiday - all the yummy food and no presents!), and apples and chestnuts.
I usually only put apples and chestnuts together when making stuffing, but when I came across RealEpicurean and A Slice of Cherry Pie 's "In the Bag" seasonal food blogging event I realized it was the perfect time to marry my apple tart with chestnut cream into a napoleon.
Apple Chestnut Napoleon
I must admit I've always used prepared chestnut puree when making chestnut mousse or cream. When I saw these fresh, local chestnuts at Borough Market in London I thought it was about time to try it from scratch.
Chestnuts from Borough Market
CHESTNUT CREAM
- 1.5 pounds chestnuts
- 3/4 c sugar
- 2 c milk
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split
- 1 Tbs unsalted butter
- 2 c cream
METHOD
Make "X" marks on chestnuts. Put in cold water and bring water to a boil for 1 minute. Drain and rinse chestnuts with cold water. Peel.
Scald milk, sugar, and the vanilla bean. Add peeled chestnuts and leave on low heat for 30 min. Drain and set milk aside. Add butter and puree. Add reserved milk if needed to thin the mixture. Pass through a sieve. Taste puree and add more sugar if you would like it sweeter. Chill.
Whip cream to medium peeks and gently fold into chilled chestnut puree. I found my puree to be a bit thick so I whisked in a bit of cream before folding it into the whipped cream.
Chestnut Cream
Let chestnut cream chill in fridge while you prepare the apple tart. Or you can make the cream while the tart is in the oven.
For my apple tart I used local British Spartan apples. They are just the tartness I like but any firm, baking apple will do. I used six small apples for 200 grams of short dough. This will serve four people.
APPLE TART FOR NAPOLEON
The first step is to prepare your short or pie dough. Use your go-to pie dough or check out smittenkitchen's pie crust 101. I prefer to omit most of the sugar as I don't like my crust too sweet. Shape 200 grams of dough into a rectangle and chill.
Peel and slice the apples. Slice super thin! Use a knife to keep the apples intact.
Slicing Spartans
Don't worry about the apples turning brown as you assemble the tart as it will cook to a deep caramel color.
The next step is to roll out the short dough. I flip a sheet pan upside down and place it on a towel to prevent it from slipping. Cover the sheet pan with parchment and place the dough on top. Roll out to a 7x10 inch rectangle. Then place the sliced apples on the dough, leaving a very small border. Slightly press the apples in and fan a bit towards one direction. Brush tart with fresh lemon juice and sprinkle liberally with sugar.
Place the tart on the upside sheet pan in a 325 Fahrenheit / 160 Celsius oven for ten minutes. Then take out of the oven, place another piece of parchment (rub a bit of butter on the side of parchment that will touch the apples to prevent any sticking) directly on top of the slightly cooked apples. Then weigh down with another sheet pan. Return to the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Trim edges and slice into 12 equal pieces.
Alternate apple tart slices with a dollop of chestnut cream.
This is autumn. Yum.
