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. 

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

FOR THE CRUST:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/3 cup ice cold water, more as needed

1 egg, beaten

Raw sugar, for garnish (1 Cup)

FOR THE FILLING:

6 to 8 Granny Smith or other tart apples, peeled and cut into 16 slices each (about 6 cups total)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE CRUMBLE:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

 

 

FOR THE BACON TOFFEE

Time: 15 minutes  Makes at least 2 cups.

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 (1-pound) box dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

5 ounces (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 ounces rendered bacon fat (from about 4 slices thick-cut bacon)

First make the crust:

1.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.

Make the filling: In a large bowl toss together sliced apples, brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, zest and vanilla. Set aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.

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.

 

 

 

  

4.

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.

1.

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.

 

 

 

2.

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.