serves
10
prep
40 minutes
cook
30 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
10
people
preparation
40
minutes
cooking
30
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Vaution is preferably eaten lukewarm and is popular during the Liège fair.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) strong (bread) flour
- 50 g (1¾ oz) light brown sugar
- 300 g (10½ oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 20 g (¾ oz) instant dry yeast
- 2 eggs
- 400 ml (14 fl oz) full-fat milk
- 20 g (¾ oz) salt
- 1 beaten egg, for egg wash
- 1½ tbsp icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting
For the filling
- 300 g (10½ oz) caster (superfine) sugar
- 100 g (3½ oz) dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 150 g (5½ oz) unsalted butter, chilled
Use a 30–32 cm (12–12¾ inch) enamel pie plate or tin, greased and floured.
Rising time: 1 hour
Instructions
- For the pastry, combine the flour, sugar, butter and yeast in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the eggs and half of the milk and start kneading. When the liquid is completely absorbed, pour in the rest of the milk and knead for 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then add the salt and knead for 10 minutes, until it has come together in a smooth and elastic dough that is neither too dry nor terribly wet.
- Divide the dough into 2 pieces of 415 g (14¾ oz) each and 3 pieces of 350 g (12 oz) each and shape into neat balls. Cover the dough with a tea towel (dish towel) and set aside for 1 hour until it has almost doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, for the filling, mix the sugars and cinnamon together and chop the butter into 20 cubes.
- When ready to assemble the tart, roll out one of the larger dough balls until it is as wide as the prepared pie tin and around 3 mm (1/8 inch) thick, and lay it in the tin. Roll out one of the smaller balls and, if you have space to put them, roll out the other balls too.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Do not use the fan setting.
- Scatter 2 tablespoons + 1 tsp of the sugar mixture over the base dough, leaving 2 cm (¾ inch) clear around the edge of the dough, then dot with 5 cubes of butter. Brush the edge with the egg wash, then lay a smaller disc of dough on top of the filling. Repeat with the sugar mixture (this time all the way to the edge) and another 5 cubes of butter, offsetting the butter from the positions in the layer below. Lay another of the smaller discs of dough over the top and do the same. Repeat with the third small disc of dough and the remaining sugar mixture and butter. Lay the other large disc over the stack and secure it to the base layer around the edge, crimping the pastry together as neatly as you can using either a folding technique or a fork or pastry stamp.
- Brush all over the top with the egg wash, then sift the icing sugar over the top.
- Bake on the second shelf (just under the middle) of the oven for 30–35 minutes until golden brown with white patches from the icing sugar.
- This tart is best served when still a little warm, but is also good cold. Slice it in large wedges. The next day you can reheat pieces in a hot oven, or on a rack on top of a toaster.
Image and recipe from , photography by Regula Ysewijn (Murdoch Books, $55)
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Vaution is preferably eaten lukewarm and is popular during the Liège fair.
