Learn with Michel Roux Jr
Roux’s rules
How do I choose decent ready-made pastry?
Look at the ingredients: the fewer the better. There should be flour, water, butter and salt. And it should be butter – no other fat. It’s worth spending a few more pennies on quality puff pastry.
What apples can I use?
Bramley apples won’t work because they cook to a mush. I like to use cox apples, but braeburn, russet and granny smith work equally well. Choose a flavourful apple that holds its shape when cooked – hunt around and see what’s available. It’s nice to mix them, but you can also be specific and choose one variety. If you’re making little individual tarts, you could even make each one with a different apple.
Do I need to peel the apples?
That’s up to you. Sometimes my wife will peel them, sometimes she doesn’t: she says it depends on the thickness of the skin. It’s entirely your choice.
How thin should the slices be?
At home I like the apples sliced not too thin, but if I’m making a tart in the restaurant, I slice them quite finely. It depends whether you’re aiming for a fancier or more rustic tart.
How do I crimp the pastry?
It doesn’t have to be fancy – it could be just pressing a fork along the edges. I pinch and fold the edges slightly, but that’s just me. Crimping the underside may seem counter-intuitive but as the pastry cooks it rises and curls round to reveal the crimping.
What’s the key to assembling the tart?
Don’t skimp on the apple – that’s important. The fruit does cook down, so you need to be quite generous. When you’re fanning out the slices, arrange them closely and overlapping, not flat – the filling should be slightly raised, so you get a nice amount of apple.
How can I elevate it?
It might just be an apple tart, but it’s worthy of a special occasion as well. If I have guests coming, I’ll pay particular attention to the crimping and how I arrange the apples. This recipe is for a round tart, but sometimes we do long ones as well using a roll of puff pastry.
How do I know when the tart is cooked?
It’s important the apple is cooked all the way through – and obviously if you put more apple on there, it’s going to need a little bit longer in the oven. Use the visual cues, a skewer to test – and read the recipe.
Why bother with the flambé?
The flambé is a bit of extravagance and drama, like lighting the Christmas pudding. Dim the lights and spark up – it’s fun – but be careful, obviously, because calvados is flammable.
Don’t do it by the curtains! You don’t need to flambé, though – you can
