The Chef
Jason Wright (from The Lutèce Cookbook, by Andre Soltner and Seymour Britchky)

Servings
Serves 6

Ingredients
Pâte Brisée:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted, plus additional for work surface
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
1 egg


Filling:
Unsalted butter
4 cups peeled, grated apple
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons Calvados
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
Confectioners' sugar

Vanilla Crème Fraîche:
1 cup crème fraîche
1 teaspoon high-quality vanilla (preferably Tahitian)
1 tablespoon instant dissolving sugar

Cooking Instructions
Pâte Brisée:
Mound the flour on a work surface or in a mixing bowl, and form a well in it. Put salt and butter in the well. With your fingertips, blend the flour, salt, and butter until you have a crumbly dough. Add egg, then 1 tablespoon cold water. Knead with your fingertips until the dough easily forms a ball, but do not overwork it. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Filling:
Flour a work surface, and roll the pâte brisée into a circle big enough to line a 10-inch tart pan. Butter the pan, press the pastry into it, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Toss the grated apple with the lemon juice, and set aside. Put the raisins, Calvados, and 1 tablespoon water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and immediately remove from heat. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Break eggs into a large bowl, and add egg yolk. Whisk in sugar until it dissolves. Stir in cream. Add apples and raisins, and mix thoroughly. Fill the pastry shell with this mixture, and bake the tart for about 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Sprinkle the tart with confectioners’ sugar before serving with vanilla crème fraîche.

Vanilla Crème Fraîche:
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature, sprinkled with a light dusting of confectioners' sugar.

Photograph by Matthias Gaggl