Lemon and Tangerine Pates de Fruit

Silly, I know, but I debated over the title of this post. I made lemon pate de fruit and tangerine pate de fruit, so is the plural pates de fruit or pate de fruits? Or maybe it's pate des fruits. I wish I'd paid better attention in French class... either way, these were so fun to make!



Let's talk about these delectable little pates de fruit.

First, they are delicious bites of real fruit juice mixed with sugar and pectin. The lemon are the thicker of the two (I used a slightly different sized pan) and I preferred them just a bit over the tangerine flavor.



Second, they are fun to eat, fun to play with and beautiful to photograph as you can see from all the different photos here.

Third, they can be made with any fruit juice. Add a little citric acid (used in sour candies and can be found in candy-making supply stores) if you want to see your friends pucker their lips!

Sherry Yard in The Secrets of Baking makes one from a Blackberry Merlot sauce which I'd love to try. I'd love to bake my way through that entire book someday but then, instead of SMS for Sweet Melissa Sundays, or TWD for Tuesdays with Dorie, or DB for Daring Bakers, I'd have to name the group SOB for Secrets of Baking and that sounds more to me like cussing than a baking group. But I digress...

This recipe for pate de fruit, however, comes from cookbook author and editor of Dessert Professional magazine, Tish Boyle, and her delicious blog named Sweet Dreams.

Pâte de Fruit
from Tish Boyle, original recipe here
Makes 45 confections

2/3 cup fruit juice, such as fresh tangerine or pomegranate (or lemon)
6 tablespoons apple sauce (smooth, not chunky)
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 3-ounce envelope liquid pectin
2 teaspoons lemon juice

1. Lightly oil a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Line the pan with plastic wrap, letting it extend beyond the short ends of the pan, and lighlty oil the wrap.
2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, stir together the juice and apple sauce until well combined. Stir in 1½ cups of the sugar. Open the packet of liquid pectin and stand it up in a glass so it can be added quickly to the mixture when it’s ready. Cook the juice mixture over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture registers 238°F on a candy thermometer. Add the pectin and continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Immediately pour the hot mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top of the candy with a thin layer of granulated sugar. Let stand until set, about 1½ hours.
3. Using the ends of the plastic wrap as handles, carefully lift the confection out of the pan. Cut the pâte de fruit into 1 inch squares (or any size or shape you like) and roll them in the remaining sugar until they are well coated on all sides. Store the pâte de fruit in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.