Le manceau (almond cream tart)

1 22_cm_tart

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
350 grams Pate sucree
1 pinch Flour
30 grams Butter; for greasing
2 Eggs
50 grams Sugar
75 grams Sifted flour
250 millilitres Milk
65 millilitres Rum
125 grams Butter
125 grams Icing sugar
125 grams Ground almonds
2 Eggs
75 grams Apricot jam; sieved
2 tablespoons Rum
4 tablespoons Icing sugar French Country Cooking The Roux Brothers PAPERMAC 1992 ISBN 0-333-57670-5 Typed by Rene Gagnaux

Directions

CREME PATISSIERE

CREME D'AMANDES

GLAZE

QUELLE

(for: 1 flan ring, about 22cm/9in diameter, 4cm/1 1/2in deep) This rich and creamy tart from Le Mans should be eaten as soon as possible after cooking while it is still very fresh: it is very important to get the cooking just right to produce a soft, creamy tart!

The pastry: on a lightly floured marble or wooden surface, roll out the pastry to a thickness of 2-3 mm. Butter the flan ring, place it on the baking sheet and line with the pastry. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

The creme patissiere: put the egg yolks and about one-third of the sugar in a bowl and whisk until they are pale and leave a slight trail when you lift up the whisk. Sift in the flour and mix well. Put the milk and the remaining sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil.

As soon as the milk begins to bubble, pour about one-third on to the egg mixture, stirring continuously. Pour the mixture back into the pan, and cook very gently, stirring continuously. Boil gently for 2 minutes until the custard thicken, then pour it into a bowl. Flake a little butter or sprinkle some icing sugar over the surface to prevent a skin forming as the custard cools. When it is nearly cold, stir in the rum.

The creme d'amandes: cream the butter in a food processor until very soft. Still beating, work in the mixture of icing sugar and ground almonds, sifted together, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, until the mixture is smooth and light.

Preheat the oven to 180 oC (350 oF).

The filling: before the creme patissiere becomes completely cold, beat in the almond cream with a wire whisk. Pour the mixture into the pastry case.

Bake the tart for 50 minutes, taking care not to left it brown to much. Leave in the flan ring on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then remove the ring and slide the tart on to a cooling rack.

Increase the oven temperature to 250 oC (500 oF).

Glazing the tart: when the tart is completely cold, heat the apricot jam in a saucepan, brush it thinly and evenly over the tart and leave to set. Meanwhile mix the rum and icing sugar to make a transparent, slightly syrupy glaze. Brush this over the apricot glaze and place the tart in the very hot oven for 30 seconds to harden the glaze.

Submitted By SIMON KEEBLE On 06-30-95

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