What’s In A Name?
My dear readers, I am sure you are aware of words used to identify a food differing,…. depending on what part of the country you are from. Such as a can or bottle of coca-cola being called a soda or pop.
AND many names are a derivative of words from Europe, particularly France in this case.
What is the name you ask?
Croustade!
Tart!
According to Webster’s….A croustade, (pronounced Kroo-staahd), is a French culinary term meaning “a” crust or pie-crust of any type.
Middle English 14th century definition of a tart: a small pie made of pastry folded over a filling
Probably more information than you really care to know, but none-the-less, …to me it is simply an easy way to make a pie. Apple pie particularly, with only one crust, which is folded crudely or rustically over the top of apples coated in cinnamon sugar!
Whatever the term used…..there is no top crust! No fancy crimping of the edges around a pie pan and no drip-overs in your oven.
I ask you…..What could be simpler than that?
As many of you know, it is not difficult to make and roll out a circle of pie dough or to even grab a pie shell out of your supermarket freezer.
But I believe a croustade (or tart) is even easier because you roll or lay out the pie dough in a circle and place apples, light brown sugar and cinnamon and butter into the center and fold up the edges…much like wrapping a round Christmas present!
A croustade/tart …doesn’t have to be neat.
So when that urge to eat a piece of apple goodness surrounded with crust enters your thoughts…just slap pie dough on your counter, fill with apples and spices and pop it in the oven….and 30-45 minutes later, you are having an easy dessert with your cup of hot tea or coffee.
(I do put my croustade/tart on parchment paper that I place on a sheet pan…no mess no fuss is always better!)
Tell me, do you like to make easy desserts?
If you have never made a croustade/tart before….you must try it.
The handy dandy printable recipe is below as usual.
Hey, this is Autumn baking at its best.
Hugs to all of you.
- 1 basic pie dough recipe or use a pie shell from your freezer, removed from the tin.
- 3 apples, Granny Smith, Jonathan or your favorite tart apple, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter cut into squares (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Lay out pie dough on parchment paper that has been placed on sheet pan, the circle should be about 12 inches in diameter
- In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon
- Add the apples to the bowl and be sure the apples are well coated with the sugar mixture
- Place the apple mixture in the center of your pie shell leaving about a 1-2 inch border for folding
- Fold the edges up over the apples forming a circle around the center apples (there is no right or wrong way to do this)
- Sprinkle the croustade with a bit of sugar and cinnamon and I like to add a tablespoon of butter cut in chunks
- Bake 35-45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is a nice golden brown.
- You can brush egg wash over the croustade/tart or you can use the egg white. Your choice. If you use the wash, do it before you sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar.
- Confession time: I sometimes use Red Delicious apples when I really want a sweeter tasting apple...and yes, I even do that for apple pie too! 😉
It sounds delicious, Kari. I’ll definitely try it. Have you ever used cherries?
I remember mom and grandma would use excess dough from pie pans. They would roll the dough out and cut into strips, and then they added butter, sugar and cinnamon. They stuck them in the oven and about 15 or twenty minutes later there was nice little snack for us.
Cherries sound wonderful Sandy….and I have done the cinnamon and sugar on pie dough…inherited from my Mother’s bag of tricks….and like that almost as much as a pie!
For some reason, all of the goodies our grandparents and parents weren’t nearly as fattening in those days than today. lol Kids do too much sitting, and so do I. smile.