apples

When the cozy fall season arrives, there’s simply no better time to indulge in the abundance of apples that become available. Whether you like them tart or sweet, crisp or juicy, apples are a wonderfully versatile ingredient that find their way into myriads of sweet and savory dishes.

Normandy Apple Tart is a classic French dessert that features a buttery, flaky pastry crust filled with sliced apples and a creamy Calvados-spiked filling. This tart is best served warm with a dusting of powdered sugar, or a dollop of whipped cream on top. It’s a perfect dessert for fall or winter gatherings and will satisfy any sweet tooth!

This Tarte Fine aux Pommes – literally “Thin Apple Tart” – is a French bakery staple in the Fall. It features a thin puff-pastry crust with no raised borders, thin apple slices for topping and crisp caramelized edges. I love how it’s quickly put together, requires no tart pan, yet makes for an utterly delicious and elegant dessert. It’s light, flaky and best enjoyed by hand.

Pork chops, apples and cider collide in this typical dish from Brittany – a French region famous for its apple orchards and pig farms. These Pork Chops with Apples served in a cider-spiked creamy sauce are a favorite recipe amongst Brittany home cooks, as it’s a simple one-pan dish that boasts delicious sweet and savory flavors. It’s rustic, perfect for Fall and a great square meal for the whole family. 

A Breton Pound Cake, known as “Quatre-Quarts” (four quarters) is the ubiquitous French snacking cake. It’s simple, not-too-sweet, just dense enough to be eaten with your hands and full of buttery flavors. This version is studded with lightly caramelized apple chunks to keep it moist and irresistible. A great year-round recipe for your baking repertoire!

Known in French as an “Embeurrée de choux”, this Buttered Cabbage recipe is a cold-weather staple hailing from central France. The idea here is to turn shredded cabbage utterly soft and melty by cooking it in a generous amount of butter, along with onions garlic and a sprinkle of fragrant Juniper berries. It’s quick, simple and a tasty side-dish and that can easily be turned into a main with a few adds-ons… like in today’s recipe. 

A tender, buttery, rum-flavored crumb nestled with big chunks of apples makes the Classic French Apple Cake a delicious staple. Right before baking, the cake gets dusted with sugar to create a signature crackly top that makes it even more unique, all while letting the apples shine beautifully. It is a simple and timeless cake recipe, just sweet enough and with a delightful more-apple-than-crumb-ratio. A must for your French baking repertoire.

Apple season holds a very special place in the hearts of the Brittany and Normandy people. At this time of year, both regions boast orchards of blooming apple trees of all varieties and hence nurture an extensive repertoire of apple recipes – be it sweet or savory. Countless apples pies, chicken and pork roasts with stewed apples, apple cider in Brittany, Calvados in Normandy… apples are the Queen of the local gastronomy year-round. And frankly, as a Brittany native, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of cooking and baking …