Books and cakes - 60

    "There are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort," Elliott added sententiously. The old Duchesse d'Uzès used to tell me that the most recalcitrant male becomes amenable to suggestion in these conditions. What will you give them for luncheon?"

    "Stuffed eggs and a chicken sandwich."

    "Nonsense. You can't have a picnic without pâté de foie gras. You must give them curried shrimps to start with, breast of chicken in aspic, with a heart-of-lettuce salad for which I'll make the dressing myself, and after the pâté if you like, as a concession to your American habits, an apple pie."

    For our sixtieth pairing of books and food, I've taken Elliott Templeton's advice and made an apple pie to go with W. Somerset Maugham's marvellous novel The Razor's Edge. I suspect that pudding was a favourite with Maugham himself as later in the book, he (for as you'll see here he is a character in his own right) takes Elliott's niece Isabel for lunch near Hampton Court, and their "homely English fare" includes a deep-dish apple pie with Devonshire cream, but I've gone for a more modern version, a puff pastry apple tart glazed with salted caramel (recipe here). I hope Maugham would have approved.

Comments

[Mary]

I approve! I wonder if I could manage it without burning the caramel.

[Mr Cornflower]

The Duchesse d'Uzes was a very real and quite formidable person, the first woman in France to hold a driving licence (and the first I think to be convicted of speeding, racing through the Bois de Boulogne at 15 mph in 1889). She was also a Lieutenant de Louveterie (the king's chief wolf-catcher) and her husband was head of France's pre-eminent aristocratic family. Elliott clearly believes that if you're going to drop a name, it should be a really big one - though there is a touch of the Pippa Middletons in seeing her name attached to handy hints for picnics!

[Cornflower]

I didn't burn the caramel but I did do something wrong because despite following the instructions carefully, it did 'seize' when I added the butter and the salt. I just put it back over a gentle heat and beat it a bit and all was well, and it does taste good.

[Cornflower]

Tremendous! Thank you for that gem, Mr. C.

[Chris]

Perfect choice Cornflower.