Tarting up A Classic French Dessert

To my loyal readers:  Southern Fried French may go from weekly to every other week for a bit, during winter travels, unless I am extremely disciplined, which seems unlikely.

Candied orange slices and candied orange peel:  classic French confections for the fruit-loving French.  You’ll see them in all the chocolateries, and often they take a little dip in a chocolate bath.  For fans of this dessert, they inspire great devotion;  I have a friend who comes to Paris often, and she always makes a beeline to the chocolate shop first thing to get them.

Moi, I was never really fond of them.  That is, until I made them chez nous, for my husband, another fan.  I found a great recipe for them at The Repressed Pastry Chef.  Instead of cooking them the usual way, simmered in a bath of sugar water until they’re soft, she cooks them in a single layer in a skillet, boiling the water down to a thick, bubbly syrup until the slices are a bit caramelized.  Easy to make and amazingly yummy.  Healthy too, right?

So last week, in need of a fruity finish for Thanksgiving (to go with the other three desserts), and in possession of a large sack of fat Spanish oranges, I thought about putting these candied oranges in a pie.  I decided to make one of those pretty, thin French fruit tarts, but topped with the oranges in place of the usual apples or apricots.  Instead of serving it with cream, I put the cream underneath, a thin layer of sweetened marscapone.  

The tart must have been a success, as it disappeared quickly.  Even if you don’t make the tart, do try the candied orange slices.  They’re as easy as, well, pie!

 

RECIPE:  Candied Oranges, Tarted Up 

First make the oranges from Marlena's blog, The Repressed Pastry Chef.  You should slice them as thin as you can (thinner than mine); if not they’ll still be good but it will make the tart a bit of a challenge to cut.

 Since Marlena makes these in a single layer in a skillet, I had to make several batches, (which was no problem since I was in the kitchen all morning anyway).  If you want to do them all at once, try the recipe at Chocolate and Zucchini, which is faster but they will not be as caramelized.  Here we go:

• 1 prepared or homemade  baked crust for a single pie, baked in a Tart Pan with Removable Bottom (use  Pie Weights when you bake crust).

•  4 or 5 oranges, sliced thin (leftovers will be a good thing)
• 1 cup marscapone cheese
• 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook the oranges with one of the recipes mentioned above, cooling them on parchment paper.  Cut them in half with scissors (for Marlena's recipe, I cut them in half after cooking, I find they keep their shape better.  But you'll get more in the pan if you cut slices in half before cooking).  Mix the marscapone with the sugar and vanilla and spread in the bottom of the the cooled tart shell.  Top with oranges slices, overlapping.  Chill and serve.

In the COMMENTS:  we're still talking about tea, and Susan, thanks for enlightening me on cool-weather grasses.  

Favorite Reads:  I'm very pleased to announce that TWO of our readers have new books out this week. Debbie Ambrous has released A French Opportunity, her memoir of a long and eventful voyage that takes her from small-town Alabamba to France.  Clair Symonds' book  Romance and Revolution: A Leap of Faith at the Iranian National Ballet is a memoir about a Jewish ballet dancer who falls in love with a Muslim, much to his family’s dismay (I’m planning on loading up a Kindle copy, but it’s out in paperback as well).  Ido, you’ll be happy to hear that Bonjour 40: A Paris Travel Log (40 years. 40 days. 40 seconds.) will be out in paperback sometime this month---I’ll let y'all know.

For DYI Interior Decorators:  Just a little tip for those of you who like the decorating arts as much as I do.  I came across this Designer’s Cheat Sheet at the Honey & Fitz blog, and immediately loaded it onto my ipad.  If you’re decorating a house, you’ll love having bed and table dimensions, pillow lay-outs, and more; and don’t miss the upholstery yardage chart.  My vote for most useful freebie of the year!

 

Comments

[Julie Farrar]

Thank you thank you thank you for that chart. I will keep that cheat sheet forever and ever. Now if you could just find me one that works on French proportions because I had a some trouble figuring out the right size of all items for my French bed, so I under-guessed on pillow size and overestimated on housse drap. I did measure my bed, but the packages didn't seem to have that on the cover -- just if the bed was 1-person or 2-person, etc.

[Ellen van Thiel]

Great site! I'll use this a lot in the next 2 years. Guess you knew that! Thanks, Ellen

[Suzanne Hurstr]

The candied oranges sound magnifique and just the thing for someone who does not like sweet, like me. I'm going to try just one orange for myself sometime, as a trial, and then maybe do the pie for a potluck. The pie is similar to the Shaker Lemon Pie from Pleasant Hill in KY. I could share their recipe, if readers would like.

[Ido]

What a delicious tart Lynn, I've seen something similar in a victoria magazine, I tried it but I kind of failed, it didn't cook well, but your recipe sounds and looks more delicious, I will definitely try it. Thank you for the update on the book Bonjour 40. Also you have to stop recommending all these amazing books cause I'm going broke! I have more books in my "to buy" list than groceries in my grocery list LOL!
Have a wonderful weekend!
XXXX Ido

[Natalia]

Another wonderful recipe (oh,YUM!) and post.(as always!)
Really looking forward to reading Debbie's new book; any idea of when it will be out on Kindle?
THANK YOU,too,for the great Designer's site!
(I have to admit ,though,at this point I'm filled with exhausation at the thought any more decorating on top of what we just finished!!!)
Happy journies,Lynn! We are so fortunate to have you share them with us!

[Dina @ Honey + Fitz]

Thanks so much for linking to my interior decorating cheat sheets!

[Linda Hollander]

Wow! I too was reminded of Shaker Lemon pie, which is way too delicious. And...my sister, who makes it all the time does something great which I will pass on, even though I've never tried this with oranges (a project for today, with one orange). You put the slices in simple sugar syrup and let them soak for one day before you cook the pie.

So for your tart, you would just cook the soaked slices down via your regular method until they are caramelized and proceed accordingly. For candy, ditto, but experiment first with one orange. I am finding that the oranges in US this year are VERY tough, and have very thick, bitter pith. As I have about 30 of these puppies in the fridge at the moment I am TRULY grateful for this blog...and the result! I hope..YUM.

I am a big fan of chocolate covered orange and these babies are going to look great in my annual Christmas box (which consists of a 33 year old Panforte recipe and Marcella Hazan praline made with walnuts. I always look forward to putting these together. One year I made 33, but I am WAY down and this year I think I am only doing 7. I save my most gorgeous boxes (the best are from Talbot's) and my friends told me that they are so beautiful they do not get opened until end of season! I had to revise my wrapping method so people could eat the candy and still have a beautiful box!

Anyway, soaking does make the lemon slices exceptionally tender. I don't know if one would want extra tender orange slices, but you might try this, especially if the goal is tart and not candy.

Joyeux Noel,

Linda

[Debbie Ambrous - www.AFrenchOpportunity.com]

Lynn,
In reply to Natalia's comment, I am working on a Kindle version of "A French Opportunity". I hope I can handle all of the technical stuff and have it on the market soon. Thank you very much for the recommendation!
Cordially,
Debbie Ambrous
www.AFrenchOpportunity.com

[French Connection UK]

Its looks so delicious I never try orange pie. In the week end I am going to try your recipe.

[Christine Webb-Curtis]

Yum, Lynn. I'll try this for sure.

Chris