Chaussons aux pommes
A classic dessert that is very similar to the United States Apple Turnovers. Chausons aux pomme, French for Apple Slippers, are a puff pastry filled with Apple pieces and cinnamon.
Chaussons aux Pommes originated in Saint Calais in North Western France. Saint Calais is located in the Sarthe Department in the Region on Pays de la Loire, South West of Paris.
As the legend goes, in 1630 the town of Saint Calais was suffering from an epidemic. The Chatelaine gave flour and apples to those in need and the chauusons aux pommes was created.
Today there is still an annual festival in September called Fete du Chaussons aux Pommes. 2023 will be the 393rd year of the Festival. How amazing is that. https://www.saint-calais.fr/fete-du-chausson-aux-pommes/
Today the town of Saint Calais has a population of around 3,100 people who can trace their heritage back to the 16th century after the establishment of the monastery. The Monastery during the Middle Ages was one of the most important Benedictine Centers with more than 300 monks guarding over 200,000 hectares of land.
Other Events in the region are the end of June Saint Calais host a triathlon.
The First Sunday in July, there is an outdoor market with local products and entertainment
Chausson aux Pommes
This recipe was adapted from a recipe by William Curley
PREP TIME 5hours hrs
COOK TIME 35minutes mins
SERVINGS 9
INGREDIENTS
250 g Bramley Apples peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm cubes
25 g Unsalted Butter
25 g Granulated Sugar
1/4 tsp mixed spice
250 g Plain Flour
250 g Strong White Bread Flour
10 g Fine Salt
50 g Unsalted Butter
200 ml Water
450 g Unsalted Butter shaped into a 15 x 15cm square and kept in fridge
1-2 Egg yolks for egg wash
INSTRUCTIONS
Place the apples, butter, sugar and mixed spice in a saucepan and cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes until softened and pulpy. Place in a bowl and leave to cool, then transfer to the fridge.
Make the puff pastry following the instructions here. When you get to step 9, divide the pastry into 2 blocks, place one block in the fridge to rest for a further hour and place the other in the freezer for use at a later date.
Prepare two baking trays and line them with greaseproof baking paper. make sure you have room in the fridge for the baking trays as you will need to chill the chausson for 30 mins before baking.
Roll the pastry out to a thickness of around 5mm on a floured surface and then using a 15cm cutter (I used the base of a 6" loose bottomed cake tin) cut out a circle of pastry, spoon a tablespoon of apple filling onto one side of the circle leaving a gap around the edge, then brush egg wash around the edge by the filling, fold the pastry over and press down the edge to seal it.
Place the chausson on the prepared baking tray and cut out another 15cm circle, place a spoonful of apple filling on one half and seal with egg wash. Make sure you don't add too much filling as you don't want it to spill out. Repeat these two steps until you have 9 pastries. You will need to gather up the pastry and keep rolling it out again and again to make 9.
Brush all of the pastries with egg yolk and place them in the fridge for 30 mins to firm up. Pre-heat the oven to 210C/190C Fan/Gas 6-7.
Take the pastries out of the fridge and using a sharp knife, gently score designs in the pastry. Don't worry if you cut through a bit too deep in places, it's fine, the pastry will puff up to fill any holes.
Place in the oven for 15 mins, then reduce the temperature to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 and bake for a further 15 mins or until golden and baked.
When they are baked, leave them on the tray to cool for around 15 mins, then transfer them to a cake rack so that the bottoms will remain crispy. These are best eaten the day they are made because they become quite soggy, but will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for around 2 days.