Recipe: Simca’s Apple Tart

Searching For Simca

Looking through the Google Statistics, which seem almost impenetrable to me, I am always  fascinated to see what shows up as a popular post or recipe in KD.  And in the runes of the graphs and numbers, I was surprised to see so many searches for Simca Beck’s recipes. One of the high ranking searches is for her recipe for a cake she titled Diabolo in her first cookbook written for the US market. Another winner is her flat chocolate  soufflé credited to one of her students in another book, which to my mind is just the ticket if you are afraid of failed soufflés. 

A Power Couple

Mary Bond, who taught me much about French cooking and had earned  a Paris Cordon Bleu Grand Diplôme, was acquainted with all three  founders of L’ecole des Trois Gourmands.  She, along with other cooks in that circle, felt that Simca was unmatched as a recipe developer and creator. She, too, had a husband who loved good food and had a very refined palate. Anyone who has read any of the  memoirs or seen the TV series knows that Paul Child was a “bec fin.” But not a lot is known about Simca’s spouse Jean Fischbacher, a chemist for a perfume company and a lover of chocolate –  Paul Child was a lover of bananas – who also had a  great palate which his wife catered to throughout her recipe exploration. 

This recipe from my tattered and splattered copy of Simca’s Cuisine is not one of her chocolate creations for Jean, but rather an apple one for James Beard. He was a frequent guest at the Beck-Fischbacher retirement digs in Provence, and she created this unusual apple tart for a dinner in honor of him. According to Evan Jones, the food writer whose wife Judith shepherded both writing careers of Julia Child and Simca Beck, the latter felt particularly indebted to James Beard, as he had been quite influential  in promoting her writing and teaching careeer in the US. 

A Very Different Tart

This tart can be made with apples that are not in prime condition – ditto the raisins. It’s one reason why it’s a great recipe for the post-holiday months, when local apples are not in great shape. I have made it in a 10 inch (25cm) tart pan, where the filling is  more classically thin in the French style, and also in a smaller American style pie pan that creates a thicker filling. Both are delicious, as well as totally different from traditional apple tarts and pies. I am devoted to Cathy Barrow’s pie crusts and use them for this tart as well. Pulverized almonds can be purchased in most grocery stores under the term almond flour or almond powder.  Instead of apricot jam, I currently use an organic Italian apricot fruit spread I purchase at MOMs. It has a fresher and less sweet flavor than the apricot jam I used to purchase for pastry work. Like many of Simca’s recipes, this is easy to put together, and I think you will be suruprised at how unusual this is as an apple dessert.