Dorie Greenspan's most vivid memory of her first trip to Paris doesn't have anything to do with the Eiffel Tower, but rather a heavenly strawberry tartlet. Overwhelmed by its extraordinary flavor, texture, and appearance, Greenspan was "hooked on Paris and hooked on the city's sweets." Paris Sweets is the result of 30 years of searching for the most delectable, delicious, awe-inspiring pastries she could find, and then convincing their creators to part with the recipes. Scattered throughout
Although these look like muffins, they are really small snack cakes. They are thick with sweet apples and rum-soaked raisins suspended in soft, creamy cake. At Boulangerie Kayser, these are baked in the French equivalent of cupcake pans, individual narrow cylinders of classically patterned brown baking paper, taller and slimmer than the molds in standard American muffin tins, but similar in spirit. They are sold from trays on the counter, often to youngsters hungry for an after-school treat and just as often to grown-ups longing for something sweet, simple, satisfying, and easy to eat out of hand.
These bake perfectly in standard muffin tins, the ones in which the molds are about 2 3/4-inches (6.5 cm) in diameter, but you must use cupcake liners to keep them from sticking.
1/2 cup (60 grams) moist, plump raisins
2 tablespoons (30 grams) dark rum
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 to 4 apples, such as Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious, peeled and cored
3/4 cup (105 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon double acting baking powder
Pinch of Salt
3 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (2ounces; 60 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Soak the raisins in hot water for about 4 minutes, until they are puffed. Drain, drop them into a small saucepan and, stirring constantly, and warm them over low heat until they are very hot. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the rum over the raisins and, standing back, and ignite the rum with a match. Swirl the pan until the flame goes out. (You can use the raisins as soon as they cool or cover them and keep them overnight.)
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees (160 C). Line 20 muffin molds with cupcake liners.
Put the lemon juice in a large bowl. Cut each apple in half from top to bottom, cut each half into 1/4-inch (7-mm) slices, and then cut the slices crosswise in half. Toss the slices in the bowl with the lemon juice.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Put the eggs and sugar in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium-high speed until the eggs are pale and voluminous, about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Switch to a large rubber spatula and stir a couple of spoonfuls of the batter into the melted butter. Working gently, fold the flour into the remaining batter, followed by the melted butter, apples, and raisins.
Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins, filling each mold just about to the top, and slip the tins into the oven. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, rotating the tins top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking; the cakes are done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the tins to a rack and wait for 5 minutes before gently lifting the cakes, in their papers, from them. Allow the cakes to cool to tepid or room temperature before serving.
Keeping: Tucked back into the muffin tins and covered with plastic wrap, the small cakes will keep for a day at room temperature.
An American in Paris: I've found that this recipe works perfectly as a cake. Butter an 8-inch (20-cm) springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and set the pan on a baking sheet. Fill the pan with the batter, and bake for 70 to 80 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and cool the cake for 10 minutes before carefully running a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and removing the ring the springform. Leave the cake on the pan's base and cool to tepid or room temperature. Serve with gobs of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
