Drop and set on fire: French desserts created by mistake

Surprisingly, the French owe many delights to chance. About how, in the middle of the battle, Louis came up with the main French soup, I wrote in another article. And today we are talking about upside-down pies and flammable pancakes.

“To err is human, but only a fool can insist on his mistakes” – this thought of Cicero definitely passed by Stephanie Tatin, the inventor of the pie of her name. Sometime in high season, when the kitchen was boiling, Stephanie sent the apple filling to the pan, forgetting to put the dough. Flapping her hands, she hastily covered the top of the stuffing with dough—and turned the cake over after baking.

According to another version, Stephanie Tatin was frightened by a cat, and according to the third, the tart fell and turned over while she was making eyes at the customers – one way or another, the tart-tatin was born by accident. Tarte was so fond of the public that henceforth they began to bake it with a changeling. Tatin has become a legend, he even has a website, and the fillings range from classic apple to spicy vegetable.

Another well-known mythical dish is Suzette pancakes. Once a young waiter had a chance to serve dessert to the Prince of Wales. The pancakes had to be warmed up in orange juice with alcohol – but, to the horror of the waiter, the mixture caught fire in the pan. However, the prince and his companion named Suzette took this incident with glee.

Tart tatin with beets and cheese

Bake the beets in foil until soft (1-2 hours depending on size). Peel and cut into slices about 3 centimeters. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add sugar and vinegar, put the beets and mix well. Salt and pepper. Roast for 5 minutes and transfer to a tatin baking dish (so that the beets cover the bottom tightly).

Roll out the dough into a circle according to the size of the form, cover the beets, tucking the edges where necessary. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200°C until golden brown. Leave for 10 minutes, then cover with a plate and turn over. Drizzle the beets with the juices remaining in the mold. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce and pour over the tatin, garnish with chopped herbs and pieces of cheese.

Pancakes Suzette

Pour milk and water into the flour, stirring with a whisk to make the mixture smooth. Add lightly beaten eggs, salt, sugar, butter and zest of one orange. Let the dough rest for about an hour, bake thin pancakes. Squeeze the juice from two oranges, peel the third and divide into slices.

Prepare orange oil: beat the zest of two oranges with sugar and oil in a blender and add liquor and 3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice drop by drop.

Before serving, put a spoonful of orange oil on a hot frying pan, pour in the remaining juice, liquor, warm the pancake in the sauce, fold it in four, remove it to a plate, put a piece of orange oil on top and garnish with orange slices. To effectively flambé Suzette pancakes, heat the liquor in a frying pan and set it on fire – to the delight of the guests.