Autumn Pastries Best Of.. what better subject to make you drool!
Autumn is in full swing, it’s the season of pumpkins, apples, pears, grapes, nuts, and chestnuts ! Fruits and cucurbit can be used for delicious desserts! Today we explore together the origin of some fall desserts that you can make at home after making a stop at the local market !
THANKSGIVING PUMPKIN PIE
First of all, I’d like to introduce you to the pumpkin pie, typical of the Thanksgiving party!
Pumpkin pie is a traditional dessert, often eaten in winter, especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas in the US and Canada. The pumpkin is a symbol of the harvest and is also found at Halloween parties.
In addition, Thanksgiving celebrates the help of the Natives americans to the Pilgrims who landed in the Usa in 1620 on board the Mayflower. It was not until 1863 that Thanksgiving was established as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln ; he set this holiday for the fourth Thursday of November.
In fact, the pie consists of a pumpkin cream cooked on a pie base. It’s often topped with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Traces of culture of the squash family, dating back to 7000 and 5500 BC, have been found in Mexico. The pumpkin was brought back to Europe thanks to Christopher Columbus during a Caribbean expedition in 1492. Then, it was also exported to England, where it quickly began to be used for pie preparation. Pumpkin pie was introduced to American cuisine in the early 19th century, where it became an essential part of the Thanksgiving meal.
If you have pumpkin pulp left over, I advise you to follow the recipe of Stéphanie that you can find on her blog Cuisine Moi un Mouton
POTIMARRON “SQUASH”
In this paragraph, I present to you the flagship vegetable of the autumn: the Pumpkin “Squash” !
The pumpkin / onion squash belongs to the Cucurbit family. It has a form of pear (piriform) or a spinning-top. His colour is red to brick red or even pink, bronze or green by mutation.The pumpkins are of Mesoamerican origin and arrived in the Ancient World during the Colombian exchange. They would have been introduced to Japan by Portuguese sailors, and despite their current presence in French gastronomy, they would only have reached Europe late. Indeed, a Japanese family would have brought this vegetable to France in 1957 only. These first pumpkins, then called «sweet pumpkins of Hokkaido» quickly and widely spread in the gardens of Europe. It is from this moment that the variety called «French Pumpkin» develops which is today one of the most cultivated in vegetable gardens.
You have a pumpkin / onion squash in your house and you want to turn it into a dessert ? In this case, come and cook this recipe from Leila’s Blog : Je vais vous cuisiner !
THE SWEET CHESTNUT CAKE
Then I present the chestnut cake!
The sweet chestnut tree has been present on Earth for thousands of years. The man regarded the chestnut tree as a nourishing tree, providing both fruit for food and wood for furnishing. Called the «bread tree», the chestnut is mainly cultivated in mountainous regions, in which the cereal plantations are difficult or even impossible (Corsica, Cévennes, Auvergne, Ardèche, etc.).
A question we all ask ourselves: what is the difference between a “Marron / chestnut” and a chestnut ? Well, “Marron / chestnut” trees are present in cities, parks, alleys, while chestnut trees are found in the woods or in the forest.
Castagniccio or chestnut cake is an autumn dessert baked with chestnuts, water, olive oil, pine nuts and grapes. There are several variations to this pastry. Castagniccio is a chestnut flour cake that is generally found in Italy, in the regions of Tuscany, Liguria, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and in Corsica. It’s a rural dessert, typical of the region of the Apennines (mountain range in Italy).
You want to make the chestnut cake, come and visit Valérie’s Blog : 1,2,3 Dégustez
PEAR CLAFOUTIS
In addition, I present to you the famous Pear Clafoutis !
The clafoutis is a cake traditionally composed of «masked» cherries by the cake. The name clafoutis is attested with certainty from 1864. It is native to the Limousin and Auvergne region. The name clafoutis, from occitan clafotís, comes from the verb clafir or claufir which means «fill».
In this season, nothing is better than pear clafoutis, which use seasonal fruits !
You want to make a clafoutis? Come and discover the recipe in Audrey’s Blog : Audrey Cuisine.
APPLE CRUMBLE
Then we’ll talk about apples: with the Apple Crumble !
Crumble, also known as a croustade in Canada, is a dessert of British origin consisting of a layer of fruit in the bottom of the dish, and a layer of crumbled-looking dough, also known as breadcrumbs, hence the name “to crumble” means “crumbling”. Crumble was created in the United Kingdom. You can also prepare this dessert as a salty dish.
If you want to make a sweet crumble, don’t hesitate to visit Cécile’s Blog : Royal Chill !
APPLE PIE
How to miss the Pie that is known to all? Here is the Apple Pie!
It is one of the classics of French pastry and it is easy to make! The history of puff pastry pie dates back to the Middle Ages. It is in England, country of pudding and apple desserts, that we find the first traces of this dessert. The oldest recipe dates back to the 14th century.
Apple pie is a type of sweet pie, made of a puff pastry or topped with sliced apples. This pie can be eaten warm or cold.
The pie can be made with all kinds of apple varieties provided they are acid. It is topped with either apples or applesauce. The difference between the Norman and Alsatian tarts is the disposition of the apples which is not the same.
There are several variations of apple pie:
- tarte tatin
- Norman pie
- grilled with apples
- apple pie in the United States
Want to get back to basics with a classic apple pie? Come discover Thomas’s Blog : La Cuisine de Thomas !
THE AUTUMN LEAF
Then we have the cake: The Autumn Leaf !
The autumn leaf is a cake made with layers of meringue and chocolate mousse. All of this is trapped in a thin sheet of dark chocolate and traditionally covered with fine, crumpled chocolate shavings. This entremets comes from the famous pastry chef Gaston Lenôtre. He was also the head of the company Le Nôtre.
If you want to know more about the recipe of the autumn leaf, come quickly discover Christelle’s Blog : Il était une fois la pâtisserie !
THE CHOCOLATE BEGGARS
Finally, we have the Chocolate Beggars that we make during Christmas !
The chocolate beggar is a confectionery consisting of a chocolate disc topped with four dried fruits or strips of candied citrus peel.
The fruits were originally the four beggars of the Provençal Christmas, whose colour evoked the dress of the four main mendicant orders: grapes for the Augustinians, hazelnuts for the Carmelites, the dried figs for the Franciscans and the almonds for the Dominicans.
We can now find other fillings, pistachios or candied orange peel, for example.
The Christmas holidays are coming and you want to make a simple dessert? Go to Julie Myrtille’s Blog !
Did those desserts make you hungry? So, do not hesitate and click on the links of the different articles to have an example of the recipe of your favorite pastry shop in autumn!
And as always… be curious!
