Pêches Meringuées

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •23 cm loose-bottomed fluted tart tin
• •3 litre wide saucepan
• •Rimmed baking sheet
• •Parchment and ceramic baking weights
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Electric hand mixer or stand mixer for the linked meringue
• •Small offset spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pale pastry

   Mix the flour, icing sugar, and salt. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces remaining, then add the egg and press the dough together. Add the cold water only if dry crumbs remain. Knead once or twice, no more, flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 45 minutes. Rest gives you tenderness; extra kneading gives you a crust with opinions.

   If the dough cracks when rolled, let it sit for five minutes and patch the cracks with scraps. Never apologize for patched pastry. Once baked and filled, no one will know.
2. 2

   Poach the peaches

   Combine the water and granulated sugar in a wide saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Bring the syrup to the barest simmer, add the peach halves, and cover them with a circle of parchment so they remain submerged. Poach for 5 to 10 minutes, turning once, until a small knife enters with slight resistance. Lift them out before they become soft enough to collapse, peel away the skins while warm, and place them cut-side down on a rack over a tray. Let them drain for at least 30 minutes, then blot every surface dry. If one half softens too far, keep it for the center where the meringue can support it. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Blind-bake the shell

   Heat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Roll the chilled dough to about 3 mm thick and line a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the flutes without stretching. Trim the edge, prick the base, and chill for 15 minutes. Line with parchment, fill completely with baking weights, and bake on a heated sheet pan for 18 minutes. Remove the weights and parchment, then bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, until the base has lost its raw shine but remains ivory rather than brown. If the rim colors early, shield it with a narrow collar of foil.

4. 4

   Dry the frangipane

   Lower the oven to 165°C (325°F). Beat the softened butter and caster sugar until smooth, not aerated, then mix in the almond flour and plain flour. Beat in the egg and yolk just until absorbed, followed by the Pralin (No. 2352), using the nougat-powder form specified in its own entry. Spread the cream evenly in the pale shell and bake for 22 to 28 minutes. This is the step that decides the tart: the center must be risen, matte, and firm beneath a fingertip, with no trembling or greasy shine. If it still glistens, return it to the oven in 5-minute turns and shield the pastry edge. Dry it now, because fruit and meringue cannot repair an underbaked cream.

5. 5

   Cool and check

   Set the tart on a rack and let the frangipane cool completely. Press a clean piece of paper towel lightly against the peach halves and replace it if it comes away wet. The fruit should feel supple but dry on the surface. Wet peaches make the meringue slide and feed moisture into the cream; this small check protects all the work underneath.

6. 6

   Set the peaches

   Arrange the poached peach halves cut-side down over the cooled pralin frangipane, fitting seven around the outside and one in the center. Press only enough to steady them. Keep the domes distinct rather than crushing the fruit into a flat layer, because their shape gives the meringue crown its generous height.

7. 7

   Crown with meringue

   Prepare the Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) according to its own entry, using the one-quarter home quantity listed here. Cover the peaches and the exposed filling completely, shaping the meringue into a low dome with strong ridges rather than a thin skin. Following the finishing method from Abricots Meringués (No. 2555), sprinkle with the icing sugar and bake at 160°C (320°F) for 12 to 15 minutes, until the outside has set. A brigade could give the final color beneath a salamander; at home, pass the tart beneath a preheated broiler for 20 to 45 seconds, watching without looking away, until only the ridges turn pale gold. If the meringue begins to slide before baking, lift it back, blot the exposed peach, and cover again.

8. 8

   Finish the crown

   Warm the apricot and red-currant jams separately until just fluid. Use the tip of a teaspoon to place small touches of jam alternately along the gilded decorative ridges, preserving the apricot-and-red-currant finish of Abricots Meringués (No. 2555). Let the tart settle for 20 minutes before removing the tin and cutting with a clean serrated knife. Serve the first slice while the crust is crisp and the meringue still tender within. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The Pralin (No. 2352) reference contains two forms. For this frangipane, use the dry nougat powder made from caramelized sugar and almonds, not the egg-white paste intended for coating cakes.
• •Choose peaches that smell ripe at the stem but remain firm in the hand. If the market offers only hard, scentless fruit, use eight good canned peach halves in light syrup, drain them for an hour, and blot them meticulously. The classical pantry solved poor seasons long before we did.
• •For the softly cooked meringue the source intends, prepare Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) with pasteurized egg whites. If using unpasteurized whites, bake until the thickest part reaches 71°C (160°F), shielding the pastry edge if it needs extra time.
• •A wet-looking frangipane is not finished, whatever the clock says. Keep baking until the center is matte. The dry almond layer is what stops peach syrup from traveling into the crust.
• •Serve with a modest glass of sweet Vouvray or Barsac. The wine must be at least as sweet as the meringue, or both dessert and glass will taste thin.

Advance Preparation

• •The pastry dough may be mixed and chilled a day ahead. Let it soften only until rollable, keeping the butter cold.
• •Poach the peaches a day ahead and refrigerate them in their syrup. Drain for at least 30 minutes and blot thoroughly before assembling.
• •Pralin (No. 2352) keeps well in a tightly sealed dry container, so that component may be prepared well ahead. Make Ordinary Meringue (No. 2382) only when the cooled tart and drained peaches are ready.
• •The shell and frangipane may be baked earlier on the day of serving. Assemble and finish within four hours of the meal; overnight refrigeration softens the meringue and crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 210g)