Chef Juliette
Various Almond Preparations
Five almond preparations, one discipline: remove the skins cleanly, dry every kernel through, then cut, toast, or cloak it in pale caramel without letting its fragrant oils escape.
Culinary Explorer
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Abricots Gratinés
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2554, Abricots Gratinés, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Abricots gratinés turns poached apricot halves, a firm apple bed, and a thin almond covering into a burnished fruit dessert. The base must stand stiff, or the whole handsome top begins to slide.
Desserts
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
Budget Friendly
30 min
Active Time
40 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Abricots gratinés (apricots beneath a lightly browned almond crust) teaches the architecture of a fruit gratin: the base must carry the fruit before the topping ever meets heat. Stew the apple until it stands on the spoon, firmer than you would serve as compote, because the apricots surrender syrup in the oven. A loose base weeps, and the handsome almond covering slides with it.
The original entry assumes a pâtissier’s mise en place already contains stiff stewed apple or semolina, syrup-poached apricot halves, and Pralin (No. 2352) ready at spreading consistency. Those prepared brigade quantities are scaffolding. At home, we cook one small batch, poach ten halves, and use an 8-inch gratin dish. The upper rack of a hot oven, with a few seconds under the broiler only if needed, supplies the close overhead heat of a pastry station. What remains unchanged is the dish itself: an inch-deep base, well-drained fruit, complete coverage, icing sugar, and only enough heat to colour the top.
When it is right, the apricots remain bright and tender beneath a pale hazelnut-coloured lid, while the tart apple keeps the sweetness lively. Before you assemble, draw a spoon through the cooled base. The trench must stay open; if it closes, return the base to the pan and evaporate a little more water.
Abricots gratinés belong to the Parisian classical entremets table, where pastry kitchens assembled prepared fruit, cooked cereal or fruit bases, and almond coverings for service. Despite their kinship with a cobbler, they are not a regional farmhouse bake: the stiff foundation and separate Pralin covering reflect the organized grammar of the grand kitchen. The method passed naturally to bourgeois tables because stewed fruit and syrup-poached apricots could be brought back to life beneath a fresh almond crust.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
tart cooking apples
Quantity
6 large (about 2½ lb / 1.1 kg)
peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
water for stewing the apples
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
very stiff stewed semolina prepared like rice for entremets (optional)
Quantity
3¼ cups (780 ml / 800 g)
use in place of the apples and their water
ripe but firm apricots
Quantity
5 apricots, 10 halves (about 12 oz / 340 g)
halved and pitted
water for the poaching syrup
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
granulated sugar for the poaching syrup
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 100 g)
Pralin
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 240 g) Pralin (No. 2352)
prepared somewhat thin for spreading à Condé
icing sugar
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| tart cooking applespeeled, cored, and thinly sliced | 6 large (about 2½ lb / 1.1 kg) |
| water for stewing the apples | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| very stiff stewed semolina prepared like rice for entremets (optional)use in place of the apples and their water | 3¼ cups (780 ml / 800 g) |
| ripe but firm apricotshalved and pitted | 5 apricots, 10 halves (about 12 oz / 340 g) |
| water for the poaching syrup | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
| granulated sugar for the poaching syrup | ½ cup (120 ml / 100 g) |
| Pralinprepared somewhat thin for spreading à Condé | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 240 g) Pralin (No. 2352) |
| icing sugar | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 16 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •8-inch (20 cm) shallow ovenproof gratin dish
- •Wide heavy saucepan
- •Shallow saucepan for poaching
- •Slotted spoon
- •Small offset spatula
- •Fine-mesh sieve for the icing sugar
Instructions
- 1
Stiffen the base
Put the sliced apples and 2 tablespoons of water in a wide, heavy saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, until the fruit releases its juice, then uncover and continue cooking for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir and crush the apples into a coarse purée while their moisture evaporates. The base is ready when it gathers around the spoon, holds a mound, and leaves the pan floor briefly bare after each stroke. Cool it and test again. If it slumps or releases liquid, ça se rattrape: return it to low heat and stir until the excess water is gone. If using stewed semolina, apply the same test and reduce it gently if necessary.
The apple must be stiffer than ordinary compote. The apricots bring enough moisture of their own, and a soft foundation cannot support them. - 2
Poach the apricots
Combine the cup of water and granulated sugar in a shallow saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Lower in the apricot halves and hold the syrup at the barest tremble for 2 to 4 minutes, turning once, until a knife enters with slight resistance. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain cut-side down for at least 15 minutes. If a very ripe half begins to fray, remove it immediately and reserve it for the centre of the gratin, where the covering will hold it together.
- 3
Build the gratin
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the upper third. Spread the cooled apple or semolina base evenly in an 8-inch (20 cm) shallow gratin dish, keeping the layer about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Set the drained apricot halves over it, cut-side down, close enough to make a generous layer without pressing them into the base. Blot away any syrup collecting around the fruit before continuing.
- 4
Cover with Pralin
Spoon the somewhat thin Pralin (No. 2352) over the apricots and spread it lightly from edge to edge, covering every half without dragging them out of place. A small offset spatula dampened with cold water will glide more cleanly. If a patch bares the fruit, dab on another spoonful rather than sweeping back and forth. Sift the icing sugar evenly over the entire surface.
- 5
Colour the crust
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, until the almond covering is set and only lightly coloured, with small hazelnut-brown freckles across the top and a glossy bubbling edge around the dish. Do not chase a dark crust; the source asks for slight colour. If the centre remains pale, place the dish under the broiler for 20 to 40 seconds, watching without looking away. If an edge darkens first, shield that portion with a strip of foil. Rest the gratin for 10 minutes so the layers settle, then serve it warm from its dish. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose tart cooking apples that collapse readily. Their acidity gives the sweet apricots and almond covering some backbone, while their natural pectin helps the base stand firm.
- •Fresh apricots must be ripe enough to smell of apricot but firm enough to survive poaching. Outside their season, use good jarred apricot halves in syrup, drain them thoroughly, and begin with the assembly. An honest preserved fruit is better than a fresh one with no perfume.
- •The source permits stewed semolina in place of apple. Use the same volume and cook it more firmly than a spoon pudding; it must hold the trench of a spoon after cooling.
- •Have the Pralin (No. 2352) at its somewhat thin spreading consistency before assembling. The layer should cover rather than sit in heavy clumps, but it must not run down between the fruit.
- •Serve with chilled Barsac or Sauternes if you want wine. Keep the portion small and cold, because the dessert already carries plenty of sweetness.
Advance Preparation
- •The apple base and poached apricots can be prepared one day ahead. Chill them separately, with the apricots draining in a covered sieve or on absorbent paper, then bring the base just to cool room temperature before assembly.
- •Prepare the Pralin (No. 2352) close to assembly and keep it according to its own entry until needed. Once spread over the moist fruit, it should go promptly into the oven.
- •Abricots gratinés are best served on the day they are baked. The flavour keeps, but refrigeration softens the almond covering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 340g)
Calories
485 calories
Total Fat
16 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
5 mg
Total Carbohydrates
85 g
Dietary Fiber
8 g
Sugars
73 g
Protein
8 g
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