Pine nuts tart, Michelin Star rated

Most oases are composed of lush greenery and flowers, but some are also made of divine sugar. This is the case of the Oasis Shop, the fine patisserie boutique of the 2 Michelin stars restaurant: L’Oasis in Mandelieu-La-Napoule, 20 minutes away from Cannes. The restaurant is owned and operated by 3 brothers who also happen to be 3 chefs: Stéphane, Antoine and François Raimbault, the later being the Pastry Chef.

My parents used to live at a walking distance from l’Oasis. My dad will go at least once a week with our dashund Maximus, at their boutique to buy some croissants, pains aux chocolats and some fine patisseries. Everything there is just pure délice for the eyes and the palate. Thank god I was living in Canada at that time, or I would have end-up looking like the Michelin guy -)

One of the specialty dessert of l’Oasis is “La Tarte aux Pignons” (The pine nut tart). This tart is a typical Provencal tart. Indeed, it very common for Provencal dishes to use pine nuts since the pine trees that produce them are indigenous from this region. I remember as a kid, my cousin and I used to love cracking the big pinecones to extract the precious seed. It was a tremendous job, but what a great reward when that nut was finally melting in our mouth.

Chef François Raimbault was a guest of a French TV show in January 2009 and explained how to make this famous pie. I took a chance and baked one. Although the recipe did required some time, the result was amazing. I baked a big pie as well as some tartelettes (Mini pies). We just loved it.

Pine nut pie from L'Oasis
(Recipe for 6-8 servings)

Pastry (Pâte sablée)
½ cup (113g) of soften butter
1/3 teaspoon (2g) of salt
2/3 cup (165g) of powdered sugar
1/1 cup (50g) of finely ground almond
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ½ cup (200g) of flour*

Custard (Crème brulée)
½ cup (100ml) of milk
1 vanilla bean
1 cup (250g) of heavy cream
3 egg yolks
¼ cup (50g) of granulated sugar
1/6 cup (40g) of orange flower water

Pine nut topping
1/5 cup (90g) of granulated sugar
1/3 cup (90g) of water
2 cups (275g) of pine nuts
1 tablespoon of powdered sugar
* May need more flour to achieve the desired consistency

Preparing and blind baking the pastry
Mix all together the butter, grounded almond, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt until well combined. Add the egg, then the flour. Do not overwork the dough or it will become too “elastic”. Let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

Roll the pastry dough to fit a 10” (26cm) pie tin. Roll the pastry out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper, rolling from center out and turning it to ensure even rolling. Peel off one sheet of baking paper and line the pie tin pastry-side down. Pell off the remaining piece of paper and gently lift and tuck the pastry, trying not to stretch it, into the tin. Trim the edges. Put in the freezer for 2 hours.

Blind baking is a technique where the pastry shell is partially baked without the filling. Line the base with non-stick baking paper and fill with uncooked rice or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes at 390˚F (200˚C). Remove the paper and weight and let rest.

Preparing and cooking the custard
Boil the milk and heavy cream with the vanilla bean sliced in two. Let infuse for ½ hour then let it cool down. Mix the egg yolks and sugar for 2-3 minutes. Strain the cold milk over the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Add the orange flower water last. Pour the mixture on the blind baked pastry shell and bake for 20 minutes (up to 30 minutes) at 230˚F (110˚c).

Preparing the pine nuts topping
Place water and granulated sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the temperature hits 240˚F (116˚C), stir in the pine nuts. Let them cool off on a baking sheet or a marble board. Once cold, place them on the top of the cooked tart and dust with the powdered sugar. Refrigerate overnight.

For more information

If you visit the French Riviera, le Restaurant Oasis is definitively worth a visit.
Rue Jean-Honoré-Carle
06210 LA NAPOULE
FRANCE
+33 (0) 4 93 49 95 52
Website