Notable fruit: what kind of pastries are prepared in restaurants with apples
An apple is a fruit that has been familiar to all of us since childhood. It is always at hand, it is stored for a long time and behaves perfectly in baking. When baked, the apple gives a natural sweetness and aroma, caramel shades and a slight sourness, creating a pleasant balance of flavors. Therefore, desserts with apples are perceived as something homely and cozy. Izvestia found out how the restaurant versions of baking with apples differ and which pies are especially loved by Russians.
Charlotte
The most popular dessert with apples in Russia is, of course, charlotte. A simple pie is baked in almost every home, and it doesn't require any special culinary skills to make it. The basic recipe contains only eggs, sugar, apples, and flour, but for variety, you can also add cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, nuts, or other fruits. Of course, slightly more complicated versions of charlotte are also prepared in restaurants.
Charlotte with melted milk and homemade ice cream
— Of course, you can experiment with charlotte, just like with other pies, but you need to do it carefully, because it's like borscht in the dessert world, — says Artem Chudnenko, brand chef of Soma restaurant (Moscow). — Everyone has an idea and faith of what it should be, and surely everyone had the most genuine and correct one in childhood.
Our interlocutor also created his own version of charlotte, based on childhood memories and associations: summer, cottage, grandmother. Dessert is served warm, with homemade ice cream made from melted sour cream and an enameled mug of milk. The contrast of temperatures and textures allows you to better experience the nostalgic sensations familiar to many. For anyone who likes to cook homemade charlotte, brand chef Chudnenko advises that before pouring the batter over the apples, fry them in butter, add maple syrup, a little whiskey and a drop of citric acid. This way, the taste of a familiar dish will reveal itself much more vividly.
Charlotte with vanilla ice cream and apple caramel
In addition to charlotte, open and closed apple pies, as well as fruits baked in dough, are traditionally popular in our country.
"Apple pies have occupied a special place in our menu from the very beginning and have become the hallmark of the project," Victoria Polovnaya, pastry chef at the Apples Bake restaurant of modern rustic cuisine (Krasnaya Polyana in Sochi), told Izvestia. — Their peculiarity lies in the simplicity, but at the same time the extraordinary sophistication of real taste, which gives not only satiety, but also memories and warm, kind emotions.
One of the most popular items in the Bullseye in a Blanket project is a whole baked apple wrapped in homemade puff pastry with aloe honey, which emphasizes the sweetness of the fruit. The fruit is baked without the peel, which allows it to transfer all the juice and flavor to the wrapper. Certain varieties of apples are used to make pies in the Apples Bake kitchen, which have a balance of sweetness, sourness and density. First of all, these are seasonal fuji with a very pleasant honey note, and red delicious with a delicate sourness. The fruits of these varieties have very juicy and dense flesh, which does not turn into porridge when baking and gives the dessert the desired texture and saturation. To anyone who bakes apple pies at home, our interlocutor advises to cut them only after they have cooled completely. This way, the dessert will be better soaked in the aroma of baked apples and then it will be easier to give in to the knife.
"Inspired by the traditions of Russian cuisine, which is famous for its gorgeous and delicious pies with various fillings and amazing pastries in the form of apple jam pies, we decided to make an open pie in the form of pizza," said Alexey Bekasov, chef of Gorynych restaurants (Moscow, Gelendzhik, Kazan). — Instead of the sauce, they added a delicate sweet cheese, sprinkled everything with cane sugar, and covered the edges of the sides with almond petals.
For baking, our expert advises choosing seasonal varieties of apples. For those who prefer a more acidic filling, it is best to use the Antonovka variety, and for those who like a sweeter one, idared is suitable. In any pastry, you must add a pinch of salt, which will help to better reveal the taste of the whole dish.
Strudel
Viennese strudel is at the top of the most popular apple pastries in Russian restaurants today. This dessert came to Russia in the 19th century from Austria, although there it was borrowed from the East and is a transformed version of baklava. In the canonical version, the strudel is prepared with an apple filling wrapped in several layers of very thin dough.
Strudel
"Strudel was especially popular in Russia in the 2000s, then disappeared for a while, but now it's coming back again, because the dessert is simple to make and very tasty,— says Alessio Gini, chef of Bistrot restaurant (Moscow). — It is usually cooked with a large sausage and cut into portions before serving. We immediately bake the small strudels whole, so they turn out even more crispy.
According to our interlocutor, strudel is also popular in Northern Italy, where not very sweet reinet apples are usually used for its preparation. He advises adding pine nuts and raisins soaked in rum to the filling (after baking, the berries lose the taste of alcohol, but retain their piquant aroma). The dessert dough should be rolled out as thinly as possible, and the filling should be moderately juicy so that the shell does not get too wet during baking. It is also important to make cuts on top of the roll so that the dough does not swell and the heat penetrates inside.
Tarte tatin
Another widely used apple dessert in restaurants, which also has a history from the 19th century, is tarte tatin (or tatin). It is named after French women Stephanie and Caroline Tatin, who accidentally came up with this sweet dish. In the confusion, one of the women forgot to make a pie pan and covered the caramelized apples with dough on top, and then simply turned the resulting treat over.
Tatin
"Such pies are popular in Paris, and in every pastry shop you can find a variety of versions of it," explained Domenico Filippone, brand chef of the Chaika and Lastochka yacht restaurants (Moscow). — I make my own version of the pie on a thin puff pastry with almond cream and thin slices of apples (then they retain their freshness and pure taste when baking) with sugar and powdered sugar. We serve it with vanilla ice cream — this creates the perfect balance of flavors.
In order for the tarte tatin to taste better, you need to use the right apples, our interlocutor is convinced. For his baking, he chooses granny Smith apples — they are convenient for work, and the sour taste balances sugar well. For a sweeter version, you can use the golden variety. Honey, cinnamon, nuts and dried fruits always go well with apples. And, of course, when served, a warm pie will perfectly complement vanilla ice cream or sauce.
"The balance of sweetness, sourness and flavor is important in my tatin," the brand chef of the Dvortsovaya restaurant (Tobolsk) told our publication. The base is puff pastry, which becomes crispy after baking and contrasts with the soft filling consisting of apples, orange and a small amount of lemon, which adds a touch of freshness. Top off the dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Thin Apple Pie
Our expert chooses antonovka for the pie. Apples of this variety have a bright acidity, do not boil and retain their texture. He cooks caramel on sugar with the addition of cinnamon — it gives a cozy "homely" flavor. In this process, it is important not to overdo it with sugar — apples themselves are sweet, and it is important to preserve their natural taste. Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla) perfectly emphasize the fruit, but should not drown it out, so they should be added in moderation. High-quality butter or dough makes the baking structure more delicate and expressive.
Tsvetaevsky pie
The history of Tsvetaevsky pie is not completely clear, but it gained popularity thanks to the mentions left by the poet Marina Tsvetaeva. In late summer and early autumn, this much-loved country dessert gets on the menu of restaurants.
— We really like to give a second life to old recipes and those dishes that carry memories, childhood tastes, and remind us of history, — admits the director of the grand cafe grand cafe "Dr. Zhivago" by Inga Devyatkina. — Tsvetaevsky pie is one of those. It has a base of shortbread dough, and a filling of apples (Glory to the Winners and Antonovka are better suited) and cream with sour cream.
The restaurant changed the original recipe quite a bit, abandoning the use of eggs in the dough, replacing sugar with powdered sugar and adding almond petals.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
