Brown sugar pie/ Tarte au chuc

Lto R : vergoeise brune, blonvilliers, sucre graeffe

I was in Paris a couple weeks ago with a dear old friend. And we had coffee, delicious cheese and a very special baguette with another dear friend who just happens to be my kitchen maven. She mentioned the famous brown sugar pie they eat up here in the North of France which got me thinking...so I combined two different recipes and worked with what I had in my fridge (hence the buttermilk instead of plain milk).

The tarte au sucre is an famous Lille dessert that you can find at any good brasserie. I can highly recommend the tarte au sucre served at La Ducasse, a traditional Northern brasserie in Lille.

This is also the perfect time for a little lesson on sugar. From left to right: Béghin Say saveur  vergeoise brune, Béghin Say blonvilliers, and sucre graeffe. So what’s the difference?

Vergeoise (exists in light or dark brown) are similar to the soft brown sugar you can find in the US. But, not quite. Like American brown sugar , this sugar is refined or partially refined sugar with the molasses added back in, making it dark and soft. The vergoeise you find in French supermarkets is cane sugar with caramel color and inverted sugar syrup added back in. It tastes good.

The sugar in the middle is what some people call cassonade. It’s “raw” sugar which is cane sugar with some molasses still in it.   

The last bag is a Belgian sugar called sucre graeffe. It is made from beet roots, has a slightly vegetable odor to it. But it’s sweet and moist. In Belgium they call it cassonade, but in Northern France it’s called vergoeise.  You can use either the first or third  sugars in place of American brown sugar. Personally, I tend to use the sucre graeffe because it’s more local and natural.

So this one’s for you Deb! Hope you like it...

Crust

2 eggs

200 g (7 oz) flour

100 g (3.5 oz) almond powder

2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

100 ml (about 3.5 oz) buttermilk, milk or cream

100 g (7 Tbs) butter

Filling:

2 eggs

2 tablespoons creme fraiche

120 g (about 4 oz)light brown sugar (vergeoise)

50 g (3.5 Tbs) butter

80 g (about 3 oz) granulated sugar

1. Mix all the ingredients together for the crust. Use a wooden spoon or your hand. Let it sit in the fridge for a good hour. Put the dough in a pie plate, using your hands to push it into place

2. Beat the eggs and the creme fraiche. Spread it on top of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top and put little pieces of butter. Cover with granulated sugar.

3. Bake for 15 minutes in a 220°C (425°F) oven.

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Pâte

2 oeufs

200 g farine

100 g poudre d'amande

2 

c à c p

oudre à lever

pincéé de sel

100 ml lait, crème liquide ou lait battu

100 g beurre

crème:

2 oeufs

2 c à s creme fraiche

120 g vergeoise

50 g beurre

80 g sucre cristal

1. Mélanger tous les ingrédients pour la pâte, avec une cuillire en bois ou les mains. Laisser réposer dans le frigo pendant 1 heure. Avec les mains, aplatir la pâte dans une moule à tarte. all the ingredients together for the crust.

2. Battre les oeufs et la creme fraiche. etaler sur la pâte. PArsemer de vergeoeise, des noisettes de beurre et le sucre cristal.

3. Cuire pendant 15 minutes dans un four préchauffé à 220°C .