Tourment d'Amour

Medium·40 min active + 40 min resting

The 'torment of love' tart of Les Saintes — a shortcrust shell spread with coconut jam (or guava, banana, pineapple) and topped with a moist sponge cake (génoise), baked golden. The signature sweet of Guadeloupe's southern islands.

Egg

Tourment d'amour ('torment of love') is a coconut-jam-and-sponge tart from the Îles des Saintes (chiefly Terre-de-Haut) off Guadeloupe, said to be baked by fishermen's wives awaiting their husbands' return from sea — the name evoking the wives' 'torment' during the wait. Each August 15, Terre-de-Haut holds a contest for the best and biggest one.

Bite a tourment d'amour and the crisp shortcrust gives way to a thin layer of sweet-tart guava jam and a moist, tender coconut sponge on top. Bite: the pastry is buttery and crumbly, the jam fruity and bright, the coconut sponge soft, fragrant, and gently boozy with rum. A three-layered island tart, sweet and tender — the romance of Les Saintes.

Three textures in one: crisp shortcrust base, a thin jam layer for sweet-tart contrast, and a moist coconut sponge baked on top. The jam keeps the base from going soggy and the coconut sponge stays tender from its grated-coconut moisture and a splash of rum.

Variations

With banana jam. With coconut-only filling. With a lime note. With pineapple jam. Larger as one tart. With more rum.

On the Palate

Where Tourment d'Amour sits in the Guadeloupean flavor cloud

Cook to learn

The jam layer is the load-bearing trick: spread it between the pastry and the wet coconut batter so it seals the base, keeping the shortcrust crisp underneath the moist sponge instead of going soggy.

Techniques

Baking

Ingredients

Serves 8

How it's made

8 steps · 40 min active + 40 min waiting

1
16 min
Make a shortcrust pastry from 250 g flour, 125 g butter, sugar, and a little water; chill.
2
5 min
Line small tart tins with the pastry.
3
4 min
Spread a layer of guava jam (or banana jam) in each shell.
4
8 min
Make a coconut sponge: beat 2 eggs with 100 g sugar, fold in 100 g grated coconut, 80 g flour, and a little butter and rum.
5
3 min
Spoon the coconut sponge batter over the jam.
6
25 min
Bake at 180°C for 25 min until the sponge is set and golden.
Watch out
The sponge is done when the top springs back lightly to a touch and the surface is evenly golden.
7
17 min
Cool in the tins.
Watch out
Let them cool completely in the tins—the crust firms as it cools and only then releases without cracking.
8
2 min
Serve at room temperature.