Tony Zentgraf
Almond Frangipane and Apples topped with Miso Caramel in a Puff Pastry Crust
In the Exploring the Source interview with Midori, owner of Mido’s Miso demonstrated the process of making Miso. Watching her detailed process and talking about koji and miso started the wheels spinning on how to use these as ingredients in recipes. Miso Caramel Almond Apple Tart came to mind. Giving the caramel some miso gives a nice saltiness and umami to the caramel, kind of like a salted caramel.
Featured Topics
- Miso in Caramel
- Lamination Magic
- Puff Pastry Dough
- Croissant Dough
- Danish Dough
- No Time to Make the Dough? No Worries.
- Recipe
Watch the Exploring the Source Interview with Mido’s Miso
In the interview Midori explains the process of making miso but it all starts with making koji. You may or may not have heard of koji and its uses, but the process of making koji is fascinating.
Koji is a vital part of Japanese cuisine as we know it. It is used in the process of making miso, mirin, soy sauce, sake, rice vinegar, rice wine, and so many other ingredients. Head over and watch the Mido’s Miso Exploring the Source interview, the process of making koji is amazing!
Miso in Caramel
Adding miso in caramel may seem like an odd ingredient but it brings in the salt element that caramel needs. In a standard recipe for caramel, salt is added to balance the sweetness. Since caramel is largely sugar adding cream and salt help to balance out the flavors.
Miso brings in an additional element to the caramel…Umami! The fermenting of koji is where umami starts. Cooked rice is inoculated with koji spores and over the process of three days the rice starches to sugars creating glutamate thus creating the umami flavor.
Umami taste is almost indescribable. It’s balance of savory flavor was first discovered and given a classification in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese scientist. Because koji is used in so many food condiments and ingredients it is no wonder that umami has become synonyms with Japanese food.
Lamination Magic
Working its magic in so many French creations, laminated doughs give a flaky texture we all love, whether it be in a dish with puff pastry, a croissant or danish. While the three doughs are similar, each as their differences that make them unique. Let’s take a quick look at the differences.
Puff Pastry Dough
Puff pastry is made from butter, flour, water and salt. The Detrempe, the mixture of flour, water and salt, is mixed together to make a dough. It is then rolled out and a block of butter is placed in the center. The dough is folded over the butter and through the process of rolling, folding and refrigeration it creates a dough that has hundreds of layers in the dough.
The magic of making puff pastry rise is the butter. Since there are no other ingredients that would assist in rising the butter steams as it bakes making the dough rise as it bakes. This is why it is important that the dough be cold going into the oven.
Croissant Dough
Croissant dough is similar in the process of folding to create the incredibly layered dough. The difference lies with the addition of yeast, sugar and milk to the Detrempe dough. The addition of yeast aids in the process of making the dough. The butter block is still a major player giving the dough the many layers to give the croissant its classic flavor.
Danish Dough
Danish dough takes it one step further, the addition of eggs to the ingredients of the croissant dough create a danish detrempe. Once again the rolling and folding take place to encase the butter and become the multi-layered dough. Then cut, formed into shapes and filled with fruit or cheese fillings that make up those amazing danishes we enjoy.
No Time to Make the Dough? No Worries.
In this recipe you can use a premade frozen puff pastry that will work just fine. The size of the sheets will be smaller than a 1/4 sheet pan size. You can press them together to make a bigger sheet but it will be better to make two smaller tarts as the dough will not combine to stay together. Plus, doing as two tarts each cut piece will have a nice crust on at least one side.
If you can find 1/2 sheet pan size premade dough that doesn’t have to be unfolded, it makes it easier to work with. Ask your local bakery or restaurant if they would sell you a sheet or two for you to stash in the freezer.
Learn About the Origin of Frangipane and Make this Fresh Peach & Bourbon Frangipane Tart
Enjoy the Miso Caramel Almond Apple Tart!
Miso Caramel Almond Apple Tart
Print RecipeEquipment
Recipe Multiplier
Apple Tart Ingredients
- 1 ea Puff Pastry Sheet (1/2 sheet size) - You can use Pepperidge Farm's Puff Pastry. 2 sheets in the box. Each sheet will be roughly a 1/4 sheet pan size. See blog post about puff pastry.
- 5 ea Apples peeled, cored and sliced - Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Honey Gold or Granny Smith. Or any combination will work.
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- ⅓ cup Sliced Almonds
- 1 ea Egg - For egg wash.
Almond Frangipane Filling
- 8 oz Softened Butter
- 8 oz Granulated Sugar
- 2 ea Whole Eggs
- 2 ea Egg Yolks
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 2 thbsp All Purpose Flour
- 8 oz Super Fine Natural Almond Flour - Bob's Red Mill Recommended
Miso Caramel
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ cup Water - To mix with Sugar to make Caramel
- 1 cup Cream
- 2 tbsp Miso - Soybean or Chickpea
- 2 tbsp Water - To mix with Miso
Instructions
Remove the Puff Pastry from the Freezer
- If using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, it will be folded in the packaging frozen.Remove from the freezer and follow instructions on the package on thawing for use. Once thawed enough to manipulate the puff pastry place onto a sheet pan with some parchment paper underneath.If want you can make it into two smaller puff pastry tarts. The two sheets san be placed side by side or overlapped to make one larger puff pastry if desired.If using a half sheet of puff pastry, place on a sheet pan with parchment or baking mat underneath.
- Once the puff pastry has softened a little bit, score a border around the edge of the dough about ½ to 1" form edge. Do Not cut all the way through.Scoring into the dough slightly will allow for the edge of the dough to puff up to form the crust.
- Within the rectangle you created by scoring dock the dough with a fork. Do not dock the crust area you created.Docking the dough along with placing a filling on top will deter the middle from rising excessively. The crust will rise around the filling.
- Reserve the dough in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the Frangipane~
- Soften the butter to room temperature.
- In a mixer (or a bowl if doing by hand) add the softened butter and sugar.Whip to cream the butter and sugar together.
- Separate the yolks from the other two eggs and add to a separate bowl and reserve.While the mixer is running add the two whole eggs and yolks one at a time to allow each to incorporate into the creamed butter and sugar. Scrape down the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
- Add the vanilla extract and mix to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, almond flour and cinnamon to ensure the cinnamon is mixed throughout.
- Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix to combine. Best if added while not running to avoid a mess. Scrape down the bowl to incorporate as needed.
- Repeat the process with the rest of the flour mixture in one or two more additions.
- Once all ingredients are combined, reserve aside refrigerated until ready to use.
Apple Preparation
- Peel and core the apples.Slice the peeled apples in half and then again into quarters. With the knife at a 45° angle, slice out the core from stem to bottom end of the quartered slice. (See Video for Demonstration)
- Slice the apples into ¼ to ½" slices. Try to keep consistent on the size throughout slicing the apples, this will allow for an even bake.
- Reserve the apples aside in some water with 1 tbsp of Lemon Juice to keep from browning.
Make the Miso Caramel
- In a sauce pot, add the sugar and water.
- Over a medium high heat, bring the sugar and water to a medium simmer.Reduce the heat if necessary to maintain a medium simmer.
- Let the caramel cook undisturbed. If caramel is mixed while cooking, the water mixture can splash onto the sides of the pot and crystalizing the sugar as the water evaporates faster.
- As the caramel cooks, the sugars will begin to change color from clear, to a spot of two of yellowing. The the sugars will begin to caramelize more quickly.Stay by the pot to observe the change of color to avoid burning.
- The caramel color will change from amber toward a caramel color. As the color becomes closer to caramel color it can change fast from caramel to burning quickly.
- Remember there will be carryover cooking as sugar retains heat for an extended time period.It is best to pull the caramel earlier because if you remove from the heat when it is a the color you want it will be over cooked in the finished caramel.Remove from the heat when it is lighter than caramel color.
- Off the heat, whisk in the cream, be cautious when drizzling in the cream. Cream will cause the caramel to boil quickly and can overflow the pot.
- Once the cream is whisked in and combined, mix the miso with 2 tbsp of water to break apart. If you do not want larger pieces of miso in the caramel, strain before mixing the miso into the caramel.Keep warm without cooking the caramel until ready to use.
Assemble the Tart
- Preheat the oven to 425° with the rack in the center of the oven.
- Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator.
- Spread the frangipane filling within the scored border leaving room for the crust to rise during baking.
- Drain the apples. Layer the apples as you desire over the top of the frangipane.
- Drizzle on the Miso Caramel over the top of the apples and frangipane.
- Mix the egg with 1 tbsp of water for the egg wash.Brush the egg wash over the crust edges, this will give a nice finish to the crust.
- Bake the tart cold, refrigerate if needed before baking. This allows the butter to reharded somewhat, the cold butter is what will allow the puff pastry to rise.
- Bake the tart at 425° for 40-45 minutes or until the puff pastry has risen and become golden in color. Test the apples with a knife to ensure they are softened.
- Remove from the oven and let sit at room temperature to cool. The tart can be served warm or at room temperature, serve with vanilla ice cream and additional miso caramel sauace.Enjoy!
