The Community House offering French dessert classes

The Community House is offering classes for foodies in metro Detroit.

If you have a sweet tooth, why not learn how to make French desserts?

Lucille Palancher joins FOX 2 to prepare tarte tatin.

The class meets from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 9.

You can learn how make this upside down fruit pastry, éclair au chocolat & café (chocolat and coffee eclair), galette des rois (king cake), chausson aux pommes (apple turnover) and more.

To register for this class, contact The Community House, 380 S. Bates St., Birmingham, 248-644-5832 or visit communityhouse.com.

TARTE TATIN
For the Pate Brisée Crust:
(will make 2)

2 1/2 cups flour
8 oz cold butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg yolk (optional)
1/2 cup ice water

For the Tarte:
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 pate brisée, chilled for the crust
1 1/2 cup coconut sugar
Lemon juice
Dash of vanilla extract
Dash of cinnamon powder (optional)
5 baking apples (firm, tart apples; Crimson Crisp used in recipe), peeled, cored & cut in halves or quarters
Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)

Making the Crust:
Place flour, salt, and butter in a big bowl. Mix with your fingertips until you get coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk in the center. Start incorporating it all together with your fingertips, adding a little bit of water when needed until an homogenous ball forms.Do not work the dough too much; it could make it more breakable. To prevent crust from shrinking & cracking, refrigerate for 30 min to 4 hours before rolling out.

Making the Tarte:

Preheat oven to 400Deg F. Butter 8” glass pie plate and set aside.

Place a 9” parchment paper (or bigger) on a flat surface and proceed to roll the dough to a little bit bigger than 8” round and about 1/8” thick. Chilling the dough until firm is best for about 30 min after rolling it in parchment paper.

Meanwhile, mix together sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon and 3 Tbsp cold water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, swirling pan carefully until it forms a thick medium amber syrup. Remove pan from heat, and pour the mixture in the prepared pie plate. Immediately add the butter, distributing evenly.

Arrange the apples, rounded sides down, around the pan in a circular pattern. Make sure to build an even base with the apples and cover all spaces. Press on the apples to flatten them and create an even layer. Cover the apples with the chilled dough. Fold the edges inside the pan. Gently press the pastry with your hands to make it stick to the apples. Create a small hole in the center of the pastry to allow steam to come out.

Bake until pastry is completely cooked. The pastry is ready when the caramel starts to leak on the sides. Remove from oven.

Cover the pan with a large, deep plate and flip the tart upside-down with a sharp movement. Lift the hot pan.