CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

The third recipe in my “CAKES AND FRUITS” series features lovely seedless green grapes. Grapes are juicy, sweet berries that grow in bunches. Their skin can be black (purple or ruby) or white (yellow or green), while their translucent flesh tends to be pale green. Although seeded varieties have a stronger, more fragrant flavor than seedless grapes, you should use seedless green grapes for the Green Grape Tart.

Add raw grapes to sweet and savory salads, such as a goats` cheese salad or fruit salad, or serve on their own with a fine cheese or with baked brie.

Grapes are delicious cooked, for example, with fish such as sole, or in a breadcrumb stuffing for chicken. Extract grape juice for a jelly or sorbet by lightly cooking the grapes until their skin pops and they start to release lots of juice. Strain and season with lime juice. Avoid woody or wrinkled grapes

Recipe for Green Grape Tart (“Tarte mit grünen Trauben”)


Ingredients for the Pâte Brisée (Pie Dough) – you can use also substitute  your favorite recipe
(the recipe is enough for one large 12-inch tart pan and one small pie pan or two 8- to 9- inch pie pans)

• 300 grams (2 ½ cups) AP flour
• one pinch of fine sea salt
• 1 tsp super fine sugar
• 250 grams (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• ¼ to ½ cup ice water

Preparation 

1. To make the pâte brisée, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and sugar.
2 Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. Instead of making the dough with the food processor, you can also make it by hand.
3. With the machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process in intervals of more than 30 seconds.
4. Divide the dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic.
5. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least one  hour.
6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the cold pâte brisée and fit it into your pie plates, preferably with a removable bottom, trimming excess dough if necessary.
7. Transfer the tart pan to a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Prick dough all over with a fork. If the dough is too soft, transfer to refrigerator again and re-chill for about 30 minutes.
8. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit), line unbaked pies with parchment paper and fill up with pie weights and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and paper and continue to bake for another five to eight minutes or until the crust is golden color.
9. Take out of the oven, place on a rack and let cool while preparing the topping.
10. Maintain heat while preparing the ingredients for the topping.

Ingredients for the Cream Topping with Grapes

• 500 grams (1 pound) green seedless grapes.
• 50 grams (1/2 cup) ground almonds
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon, from Ceylon if possible
• 4 eggs (L), organic or free range if possible
• 60 grams (1/3 cup) super fine sugar
• 200 grams (7 ounces) crème fraîche
• 6 tbsp half and half
• 100 grams (3.5 ounces) slithered almonds
• confectioners` sugar

Preparation

1. Wash and clean the grapes.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the ground almonds and cinnamon.
3. Spread the cinnamon mixture on the bottom of the baked pie shells.
4. Arrange the grapes on top of the cinnamon mixture.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, crème fraîche and half and half.
6. Pour the cream mixture over the grapes in the pie shells.
7. Distribute the almonds on top of the cream mixture and bake for about 45 minutes or until the cream topping is set, golden colored and some of the grapes have collapsed ever so slightly.
8. Take the pies out of the oven, cool on racks and dust with confectioners` sugar just before serving.

Equipment

one large 12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom plus a small one
or two 8- to 9- inch tart pan
or one 14- inch rectangular tart pan plus one small one
parchment paper
pie weights

The Phoenicians brought the first grapevines to Greece soon after 1000 B.C., where they flourished. There are now more than 8,000 varieties of grapes worldwide, including those specifically grown for wine, juice, jams and jellies, and table uses, as well as raisins and currants.

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CAKES AND FRUITS - PART I: Plum Torte and Sweet Dough Leaves with Plums

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART II: Red Currant Meringue Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART III: Green Grape Tart - "Tarte mit grünen Trauben"

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART IV: Pear Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate, Hazelnuts and Red Wine

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART V: Mirabelle Plum Tart with Honey Streusel

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VI: Walnut Fig Cake

CAKES AND FRUITS - PART VII: Autumnal Cake with Vanilla Custard and Marzipan stuffed Apples