Receta Claudia Fleming's Apple Crostata with Bacon Toffee
For such a
relatively small corner of the world, the East End of Long Island is long on
extremely talented chefs. Proximity to
New York has led many a city chef to, if not abandon the city, set up a second
home out in the land of milk and honey.
One of these is the legendary pastry chef, Claudia Fleming. Ms. Fleming is a Long Island native who originally
pursued a career in dance. To support
her passion for it, she took the well-known route of working in restaurants,
most particularly Danny Meyer’s immensely popular Union Square Café. She worked in all parts of the operation but
was drawn to pastry. She took her
calling seriously and in 1991 she went to Pastry Chef Claudia Fleming
Paris where she worked at Fauchon and
perfected her skills. In 1994, she was
called back to New York to open, with Mr Meyer and his partner, Tom Collichio,
the Gramercy Tavern. Her farm to table
philosophy was perfectly attuned to theirs. She loves seasonal ingredients and
creating intense flavors. She eschews her contemporary’s use of architectural
flights of fancy and focuses on honest, forthright desserts you’ll never
forget. And this Apple Crostata with its Bacon Toffee topping is all you need to make to know how unforgettable Chef Fleming's pastry really is.
By
2006, Claudia had married a fellow chef from Gramercy Taven, Gerry Hayden, and
the two headed out east to open the North Fork Table and Inn. (57225 Main Road, Southold, NY 11971;
631-765-0177) This simple roadside Inn has become a mecca for diners from all
over the East End, drawn to Chef Hayden’s award-winning cuisine and Claudia’s
incredible gifts in pastry-making. Most
unfortunately, in 2010, Chef Hayden who is 49 years old, was diagnosed with
ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. The community
has rallied around the chef raising money to fight not only his personal battle
with the disease but also to research its causes and hopefully, at some point
in the future, its cure. But the North
Fork Table and Inn soldiers on. And Ms.
Fleming continues to beguile us with her pastries. In November of this year, just in time for
Thanksgiving, Claudia’s recipe for a simple Apple Crostata appeared in the New
York Times. Andrew could not wait to
make it part of our Thanksgiving Celebration.
It’s not only the crostata that makes headlines here: It’s the Bacon
Toffee.
Bacon
Toffee is a bit of a misnomer if you imagined bits of bacon floating in
sauce. The bacon fat is used to carry
the flavor and boy, does it ever! It also makes a great guessing game--what exactly is that flavor? The
sauce produced is far more than you could ever use on Ms. Fleming’s Crostata. You’ll be saving and savoring this over ice
cream long after the Crostata is a memory.
I am never happy to describe any pastry recipe as simple. One man’s ‘simple’ is another man’s
‘ordeal’. But Andrew was so impressed by the dessert that he made twice on Thanksgiving Weekend, always a good sign. And Ms. Fleming herself
said in the New York Times, “I love its organic shape, and the fact that is
doesn’t require a dish or pie pan. And because the crostata is baked directly
on a sheet pan, it retains its flakiness better than a pie”. I can’t vouch for how easy it is to make. I
can however rave about how it tasted. Do
not leave out the Bacon Toffee and, in our house, we never serve apple desserts
without a scoop of rich Vanilla Ice Cream.
Here’s the recipe.
Recipe
for Claudia Fleming’s Apple Crostata with Bacon Toffee
Time: About
2 hours, plus at least 1 hour chilling. Serves 8 to 10
1 1/4
- cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup
- (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
- 1/3 cup
- ice cold water, more as needed
- Raw
- sugar, for garnish (1 Cup)
- 6 to 8
- Granny Smith or other tart apples, peeled and cut into 16 slices each (about 6
- cups total)
- 1/4
- teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4
- teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2
- cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4
- teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup
- (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- Time: 15 minutes Makes at least 2 cups.
- 1
- (1-pound) box dark brown sugar
- 2
- teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5
- ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 2
- ounces rendered bacon fat (from about 4 slices thick-cut bacon)
- Make the crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food
- processor and blend for 5 seconds. Add butter, pulsing, until mixture resembles
- small peas. Add ice water and continue to pulse until mixture comes together in
- moist clumps; if mixture is too dry add a bit more water a tablespoon at a
time.
Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill
for at least 1 hour or freeze for up to a month.
Make the filling: In a large bowl toss together sliced apples,
brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, zest and vanilla. Set aside.
Make the crumble: In a medium bowl, mix together granulated
sugar, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle in melted butter and, using a
fork, stir until mixture is crumbly and all the flour is incorporated; the
crumbs should be smaller than 1 inch.
Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment
paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 to
15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 14-inch circle.
Transfer to baking sheet and chill until firm, about 15 minutes.
5.
Remove baking sheet from refrigerator and let soften for 1 to 2
minutes. Arrange filling evenly in the center of the dough, leaving a 4-inch
border all around; reserve the juices.
Brush exposed dough border with beaten
egg.
Fold edge in up over fruit, making pleats every 2 inches. Pour
remaining juices over exposed fruit, brush the folded outer edge with beaten egg,
and sprinkle with raw sugar.
Cover exposed fruit with about 1 cup crumble. Then sprinkle the raw sugar over the pastry edges.
6.
Bake crostata until crust is golden brown and filling is
bubbling, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove and let cool before serving. Serve
with bacon toffee sauce and a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.
Recipe for the Bacon Toffee
Takes 15 minutes. Makes at about 3 cups.
In a heavy medium
saucepan, combine cream, sugar, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a
low simmer, and allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes being careful not to let it
get too hot and bubble over.
Remove from heat and
whisk in butter followed by bacon fat; stir until thoroughly combined.
Serve
sauce warm. Can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 10
days.