Candes Saint-Martin, my favourite spot in La Touraine.

Monday 9 December 2013

Belgian pastries

Now that the days are getting really short - these are the dark days before Christmas after all - and being cooped up in my apartment with the curtains tightly shut as early as five p.m., I every now and then like to indulge in a piece of Belgian pastry. I normally don't buy these, but some comfort food can be very 'comforting' this time of year.




The top one is an 'appelflap' (in Dutch/Flemish) a.k.a a 'gossette' (in French). It's made of puff pastry with a filling of apple sauce. There's also a 'cherry' version, but it's less common and not so popular. The top is covered in coarse sugar, sometimes caramelized, depending on the time the baker let it sit (too long) in the oven.

The 8-shaped one is called an ... 'eight'. An obvious name, considering its shape when you flip the photo vertically. It's also made of puff pastry. The yellow filling is a 'crème patissière' (custard?) and the topping is glazed sugar.

Are you hungry yet? Sorry, too late, I enjoyed these while working at home on Thursday (sheer delight) and as a special treat on Friday, because I was proud of myself having finished an important work project on a product I had never written about in the past.

8 comments:

VirginiaC said...

How could you show us such tempting close-up pastry photos??? My mouth is watering.
We have similar pastries here...the first one we call a jam puff(filled with jam of different flavours but mostly cherry) and the second one is a french pastry that I love with the fruit custards or a sweet cream cheese filling.
I actually bought some mango turnovers over the weekend, I should post about them.

Amanda said...

Good looking pastries that I wouldn't last very long in my house!

Carolyn said...

They look so good. I'm like Nadege; those pastries would have a short life once they got into my hands.

chm said...

In Paris we call the top apple turnover pastry 'chausson aux pommes' [apple's slipper??]. I don't know how the bottom one is called.
http://www.750g.com/recettes_chausson_aux_pommes.htm

These two remind me of several other Belgian specialties of which I have very fond memories. First of all the 'pistolet' which is not a pastry at all, but some kind of roll that is so good with a cup of coffee or tea at breakfast. Then the 'Cramique' which is both some kind of bread with raisins and a light cake. And also, what would then be considered a pastry, 'Pain à la grecque', a delicious Brussels specialty.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistolet_(pain)
http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2010/12/quick-and-crusty-hard-rolls-150-holiday.html#.UqeFvmRDuK8

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramique
http://www.food.com/recipe/raisin-breakfast-bread-cramique-293266

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_%C3%A0_la_grecque
http://www.brusselslife.be/en/article/bread-that-isn-t-really-greek

Rhodesia said...

This is making my mouth water :-( Have a good weekend Diane

Jean said...

They look irresistible!
Just the right thing as a special treat.

Niall & Antoinette said...

mmmm lekker! :-) a chausson aux pommes is lovely but not quite the same as an appleflap.:-)

ladybird said...

Virginia, I do love the flavour and texture of mangos, but the ones we get here are rarely ready for consumption ... and when they finally are, they have lost their flavour.

Nadege, Or in mine!

Carolyn, Dito!

Chm,Funny that you should mention 'pain à la grècque' because I just had a conversation with a colleague of mine about the fact the it has nothing to do with Greece. :)

Diane, Thank you. You too.

Jean, They're lovely on a Sunday afternoon, cuddled up in front of the TV with a nice cup of coffee or a glass of white wine ...

N&A, I guess every country has its recipe using similar ingredients but with a different result :)