Fruit Pate

Pâte de fruit is a fruit 'jelly', usually sliced and coated in crystal sugar. You make it by cooking fruit purée with sugar and a gelling agent (usually pectin or agar-agar). You pour it into a square mold (like a hotel pan), let it set in the fridge, then slice into small squares and coat in sugar.

Heres a recipe for raspberry pâte de fruit:
- 6g tartaric acid
- 4g water
- 60g crystal sugar
- 14g pectin
- 560g raspberry purée
- 600g crystal sugar
- 140g glucose

Dissolve tartaric acid in water.
Mix the 60g of sugar and the pectin.
Heat the raspberry purée to 40 degrees C, add the sugar-pectin mix, bring to a boil, then add the rest of the sugar and glucose. Cook to 75 Brix, then incorporate the acid solution and mix well. Immediately pour into square mold, and let cool. Cut into pieces and coat with sugar to serve.

You can also layer different pâtes de fruits in the mold (eg. raspberry and litchee) to nice effect.

Here is a lovely recipe from Georges Blanc "Poires et Prunes En Terrine" Terrine of Plums and Pears.
8 Med. Pears peeled, cored and cut in 1/2
1/2 cup Sauternes or other sweet white wine
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
juice of 1 lemon
3 env. (3 Tablespoons) unflavored gelatine
1 tablespoon bitter orange marmalade (or regular as you have it)
10-15 plums (about 2#) peeled and pitted
1 cup thin fruit coulis

Place pears in large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to simmer and cook until soft 5-10 minutes. Drain and cool. Place 8 halves in a food processor and puree until smooth. Reserve remaining halves.

In med. saucepan combine puree with the wine, sugar and lemon juice. Remove 1/3 to large mixing bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over surface and set aside to soften for 10 minutes. Bring remaining puree to a slow simmer over med. heat. Pour over gelatin. Add marmalade and stir well. Set aside to cool completely.

When mixture is thick and syrupy, pour a 1/4" layer into an 8-1/2" long loaf pan. Refrigerate until slightly set, about 5 minutes. Cut remaining 8 pear halves into 1/8" thick slices. Decoratively arrange some slices over puree. add another 1/4" layer of puree and top with a layer of halved plums. Add layers of puree, pear slices, puree, remaining plums and remaining puree. Cover with plastic and chill overnight.

About 2 hours before serving, place terrine in freezer. Dip pan into hot water and unmold onto a large cutting board. Carefully cut into 8 slices with a thin, sharp blade dipped in hot water. Place each slice on a plate and surround with thin coulis (Rasp. or Strawb. something red)

It's not that complex really, and quite tasty and pretty on a plate.