When Mado Patisserie opened on Chatham’s Main Street in 2008, it seemed all of Columbia County went mad for the French patisserie. Seven years later, it’s plus ca change and all that. Why would anything be different when it’s still master baker Madeline Delosh running the place? A French Culinary Institute graduate who worked alongside Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and later was pastry chef at La Grenouille, she has consistently regaled her customers with delicate and intensely flavored tarts, mousse cakes, flavored brioches and muffins. Following the holidays, however, Delosh closes up shop until April, therefore depriving us of any kind of Mado-made Valentine’s Day sweet. But you can make your own, because Delosh has generously offered up the recipe for her Raspberry Sablée Heart. “Sablée," she explains, “is the rich basic butter cookie of France. Its texture — 'sablée' or 'sandy' — is due to the generous amount of butter in the recipe. Here I've used it as the base for my heart-shaped Valentine's Day raspberry tart." Sablée1/2 lb. unsalted butter (room temperature) 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbsp. vanilla extract Approximately 1/2 cup raspberry preserve Fresh raspberries Confectioner's sugar, for decoration 1. Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light in color, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Gradually beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour. Wrap the dough in plastic. Refrigerate until chilled, 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
2. Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the tart bottoms. Transfer to prepared pans and refrigerate the hearts about 30 minutes. (At this point you can freeze them covered with plastic wrap.) 3. Bake until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned. Cool completely on the pans. 4. Spread about 1 teaspoon of the raspberry preserves onto the cookies. Arrange the fresh raspberries on top. Just before serving, sift confectioner's sugar over the top. There are more recipes and pastry ideas on the Mado Patisserie website. Photographs by Michel Arnaud. Related story: Mad for Mado.
