250 g Sweet flan pastry
Butter; for the tart tin
Flour; for the tart tin
FILLING
3 Eggs
1 Egg yolk
1 1/2 dl DOUBLE cream
1 dl Rasine; see notes
(Units: 100 g = 3 1/2 oz; 1 dl = 3 1/2 fl oz = 2/5 cup; 180 oC = 350
oF; 200 oC = 400 oF; 230 oC = 450 oF; 250 oC = 475 oF; 2.5 cm = 1
inch)
Raisine (with an ‘e accent aigu’ !): this is an old ‘vaudois’ country
recipe. In the autumn, on farms all over the region, the juice of
apples and pears is reduced very slowly, for 48 hours, in large
cauldrons to make our ‘raisine’.
I don’t know a substitute for raisine, which is a thick, dark brown
concentrate of fruit juices. The taste: fruity sweet and slightly
sour. It is sold locally in the markets, but not often in shops.
Pre-heat the oven to 260 oC. Butter and flour a 20 cm (8 in) tart
ring, or a tart tin with a removable base, and line it with the
pastry. Protect the pastry with a disc of aluminium foil pressed well
against the edges and over the rim.
Blind-bake the pastry for about 10 to 15 minutes. Leave it to cool in
the tin.
Reduce the oven temperature to 180 oC.
Prepare the filling by whisking together the remaining ingredients
(it may be necessary to increase the quantity of raisine by 1
tablespoon, but this depends on the degree to which it was reduced
when it was made).
Partly fill the pastry shell, then put it into the oven and complete
the filling by spooning in the rest of the mixture – it must fill the
shell to the brim and this way there is no danger of spilling it when
you put it in the oven.
Leave the oven door ajar until the filling is set: this should take
about half an hour. Test its firmness by giving the tart tin a little
shake.
When the tart is cooked, take it out of the oven. Allow it to cool a
little then take it out of the tin and leave it to get quite cold on
a cake rack.
Yields
6 Servings