Jalousie aux abricots et pêches

Hints of fall are in the air here in West Michigan - perfect baking weather. Yes sirree.

But even though we've turned the corner into September, there are still plenty of delicious Michigan summer fruits just calling out to be baked into something wonderfully luscious. Apricots and peaches to name just two.

Jalousie is literally translated as jealousy, but, in spite of my attempts at finding out why this particular pastry carries that label, the answer eluded me. I did see one reference to it being of Provençal origin, although when I went back to review that reference, I couldn't find it again. My oh my.

There's another version known as dartois that is usually filled with crème d'amande  along with fruit, although dartois appears to be used interchangeably with jalousie. Call it what you will, it's tasty.

In a nutshell it's a puff pastry case with slatted top, filled with fruit that is usually macerated or caramelized on the stove top with a bit of butter and sugar. Apricot is a classic and that's what I went for.

I reviewed a number of recipes and came up with quantities of puff pastry and fruit that suited my vision of the final product. The fact of the matter is that you decide how large or small you'd like to make your jalousie so there isn't really a specific recipe one has to follow.

I planned to use about 800 g of fruit and, since I didn't have quite that amount in apricots, I supplemented with a couple of peaches that were just waiting in my fridge.

I pitted and sliced the apricots and peaches . . . . 

. . . then sautéed the sliced fruit in 70 g butter and 70 g vanilla sugar to caramelize it. The apricots were so ripe that they broke down and produced a lot of juice, so I ended up straining the fruit-butter-sugar liquid off and cooling the fruit on paper towel to absorb any remaining liquid. I didn't want my jalousie to be soggy.

Oh my! Now what could I do with this bowl of deliciousness? I think I'll blend some into my homemade caramel sauce and see what THAT's like. Why not, eh?

While the fruit cooled I rolled out my favorite from scratch puff pastry and cut 2 rectangles approximately 28x11 cm each. Each piece weighed about 150 g, rolled out to about 3 mm thick. 

Start with slightly more than you need so you can trim up the edges as necessary. And be sure to save any scraps - they're great for making palmiers or rolled out as a crust for quiche or flan.

This should give you some guideline to determine how much dough you might use for a larger or smaller end result. Sometimes it simply a matter of experimenting and figuring it out. 

Fold one of the pieces in half lengthwise and cut slits about an inch or so apart, leaving the edges uncut.

Unfold it and set aside.

Place the other piece of puff on a parchment lined sheet pan, sprinkle with some almond flour (to help absorb any juice and protect the bottom crust) and top with the cooled fruit, leaving about 2 cm clear around the edges.

Brush the dough edges with a little water, place the slatted top over the fruit, press the edges together to seal and crimp with a fork.

I like to brush mine with a bit of milk and top it off with a sprinkle of vanilla sugar.

Freeze it for 20 minutes or so while heating the oven to 425ºF.

Bake about 25 minutes until puffed, golden brown and the fruit is bubbly.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Steve and I enjoyed a piece with some of my homemade peach ice cream - buttery, flaky, a hint of tartness to the apricot yet married so nicely with the sweetness of the peach - SO GOOD.

I kept the rest covered lightly with parchment paper at room temperature over the next couple of days. It was still good with morning coffee, especially warmed for a few minutes in the oven.

This one's a keeper.