No. 3337

Variegated Fruit Tartlets

Tartelettes aux Fruits Varies

Have some molds lined with fine short paste (No. 135); prick and put into the bottom a layer of apple marmalade (No. 3674), and some halved apricots or peaches or a round slice of pear or any other cooked fruit, drained and wiped dry. Bake the tartlets in a hot oven, and after removing, unmold and leave till cold. Then cover with a thin layer of of apricot marmalade (No. 3675) diluted with a little syrup.

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For the Modern Kitchen

A cross-reference recipe from Ranhofer's The Epicurean: the numbers in brackets point to a short paste, an apple marmalade and an apricot marmalade given elsewhere in the book. Once you supply those three, the assembly is straightforward.

The hinge: dry fruitRanhofer says the cooked fruit must be drained and wiped dry, and that is the whole recipe. Poached or preserved apricots, peaches and pears carry a great deal of syrup, and any that goes into the shell steams the pastry from underneath and leaves the base pale and sodden. Blot the pieces on a cloth or paper before they go in.
"A hot oven"Ranhofer gives no temperature; for small tartlets this is usually taken as somewhere around 400-425F. A brisk heat lets the shell set and colour before the filling can soak it.
MoldsThe recipe does not specify a size; plain or fluted tartlet tins of about 2 1/2 to 3 inches, or boat-shaped barquette molds, suit the assembly. In a deep muffin tin the shells will be deep and the fruit will sit low.
Short paste (No. 135)A lining paste given elsewhere in the book. Any all-butter sweet shortcrust does the job. Chill the lined molds before baking or the sides will shrink down.
Apple marmalade (No. 3674)Not the citrus preserve. This is apples cooked down with sugar to a thick, stiff paste that holds its shape on a spoon — closer to a reduced apple butter than to applesauce. Thin apple puree will run and defeat the point of the layer, which is to insulate the pastry from the fruit.
Apricot marmalade (No. 3675) as glazeSieved apricot preserve, let down with a little sugar syrup and warmed until it brushes on in a thin film. Apply it once the tartlets are cold, as directed; on a warm tartlet it soaks in instead of setting to a gloss.
PrickingDocking the base is here in place of blind baking, since the marmalade layer goes in raw. It works because the tartlets are small and the oven is hot, but prick generously or the bases will lift.
Yield and serviceService -- The page heading places these among "Small Cakes for Entremets," i.e. served among other small cakes rather than one to a plate, and the variety of fruit across the tray is the point of the name.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer, chef of Delmonico's in New York, published The Epicurean in 1894 as a compendium of the restaurant's repertoire, and its numbered cross-references work like a professional kitchen's index. That is what these tartlets are: a way to use short paste, apple marmalade and apricot glaze together with whatever poached or preserved fruit the larder held, so that a tray of pastry could be varied by fruit alone. The apricot glaze finish is a fixture of French patisserie of the period, and the technique of a marmalade bed beneath cut fruit remains standard in a fruit tart today.