French Country Apple Tart
by:
The first time I made this dessert was in 1992, and after a 22 year hiatus, I decided to give it a go again last weekend. Surprisingly, I remember my very first attempt with great clarity. I was 16 years old, had recently finished school exams and invited some friends over for a meal when my parents were away. I bought a copy of French Cooking Made Easy - in a local bookshop (now closed down, sadly), and found the recipe there. I remember it being challenging to say the least but certainly satisfying based on the appreciation received on the end result. Sadly, I mislaid my original copy (over the years I have moved around a fair bit) and by chance, managed to track down a second-hand copy online. My memories came flooding back and I did not have any excuse not to make it again.
ingredients
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serves: 6-8
1.75 cups strong white flour
0.25 cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
125g butter, chopped
1 medium egg, beaten
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 egg white
2 tbsp apricot jam for brushing
5 large apples (I use Braeburns) peeled, cored and finely sliced
0.25 cup water
1 zest of lemon, grated
2 tbsp castor sugar
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount per Serving
Calories: 485
- Total Fat: 18.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0.7 g
- Cholesterol: 72.1 mg
- Sodium: 235.5 mg
- Total Carbs: 76.8 g
- Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
- Sugars: 27.9 g
- Protein: 5.5 g
preparation
1. First, measure out and sift the flours and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl.
2. Then, add the chopped butter and rub into the flour until there are no more lumps of butter in the mix. Rub the butter and flour between the tips of your fingers. The texture of the flour will become powdery and feel a little greasy to the touch.
3. Make a well, and add the beaten egg. Using a spoon or spatula, blend the ingredients together, slowly add the lemon juice and mix together ( at this point, you may find it easier to use your fingers) until a firm dough is formed.
4. Create a dough ball, and put in in a plastic Ziploc bag and refrigerate for 30 mins.
5. Remove dough from fridge, flatten ball, and place it between two large sheets of cling film. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a 3mm thick circle. Carefully layer it over a 23 cm diameter flan dish (with removable base), mold into shape and trim off the excess dough. Roll this into a ball, return to bag and refrigerate along with the flan dish for 30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 180C, and line the flan dish with greaseproof paper. Carefully, fill the with ceramic baking beads, and bake in oven for 7 minutes. Remove beads and paper, then continue to bake for a further 7 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
7. Meanwhile, add the apples and water to a pan, bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer for 5 minutes or until tender. The apple slices need to be soft, but not pulp. Turn off heat, stir sugar and lemon zest, then allow to cool then drain.
8. Once filling has cooled, fill pie case and spread evenly using a spatula. Then, using the same method as before, roll out the remaining dough and into a long rectangular shape which will be used to make the lattice. Carefully, cut the dough into 1 cm wide strips and lay over the filling in a criss-cross formation. Pinch the ends of the lattice strips into the edge of the pastry case being careful not to push too hard as you may crack the case. Brush the edge of the casing and lattice strips with egg white as this will help brown the dough.
9. Place in a medium shelf of a fan-assisted oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough has turned golden brown.
10. Finally, brush the dough warmed sieved apricot jam
Cooks' note:
Why not try mixing up the varieties of apples? Whilst Braeburn is my favourite variety apple, next time I would like to mix up that variety with Cox and Russet. I may well look to introduce a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg, and maybe some juicy sultanas soaked in brandy. Admittedly, this may become a new recipe entirely, but they have to start somewhere.
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