The tourtière (or tourtiÈre) gasconne is a spiraling pastry of remarkable architectural beauty — paper-thin stretched dough coiled into a towering spiral filled with Armagnac-macerated apples and seasoned with orange flower water, baked to a golden, impossibly flaky crispness. It represents the same hand-stretched pastry tradition as the pastis gascon but in a different structural form: rather than layering sheets, the tourtière rolls the stretched dough around the filling into a continuous spiral that expands during baking into a rose-like pattern of concentric rings. The dough (identical to pastis gascon: flour, egg, water, oil, salt) is stretched on a cloth-covered table to near-transparency, then brushed liberally with melted goose fat. The apple filling (firm apples peeled and sliced thin, macerated in 80ml Armagnac, 100g sugar, and 2 tablespoons orange flower water) is scattered across the dough. Starting from one edge, the dough is rolled into a long, thin cylinder, then coiled into a spiral in a buttered round mold (turtière in Gascon), building from the center outward. The top is brushed with more goose fat and dusted with sugar. Baking at 185°C for 30-35 minutes produces a golden, crackly exterior with layers of crisp pastry and tender apple visible in cross-section. The orange flower water is the distinctive aromantic — its floral perfume, combined with the Armagnac’s warmth and the goose fat’s richness, creates a flavor profile unique to Gascony. The tourtière is traditionally made for Sunday lunch and shared at the table, each person pulling layers from the spiral.
Hand-stretched transparent dough brushed with goose fat. Filling: Armagnac-macerated apples with orange flower water. Dough rolled into cylinder, then coiled into spiral. Bake at 185°C for 30-35 minutes. Golden, flaky spiral reveals layers when cut. Orange flower water is the signature aromatic.
The spiral should be loosely coiled — leave 1cm gaps between each ring to allow expansion and ensure crisp, separate layers. A few prunes d’Agen tucked into the spiral add the classic Gascon dried fruit note. Dust the top with vanilla sugar for a fragrant, caramelized crust. Serve warm with a scoop of Armagnac ice cream or a drizzle of crème anglaise. The tourtière is best eaten within 3 hours of baking — the pastry softens as it cools.
Using phyllo dough as a shortcut (different texture, lacks the elasticity of fresh-stretched dough). Omitting orange flower water (loses the tourtière’s distinctive Gascon character). Coiling too tightly (pastry can’t expand during baking). Using butter instead of goose fat (burns, wrong flavor). Not enough Armagnac in the maceration (the spirit should perfume the filling).
Le Grand Livre de la Cuisine du Sud-Ouest; Pâtisserie du Sud-Ouest