Apple tart is a classic British pud. This tart takes all the principles of an apple tart but makes
it a little bit fancier with a pretty apple rose design on top. It does take some time to put
together but it is a guaranteed crowed pleaser and tastes delicious. Serve with custard or
vanilla ice cream.
1. Start by making your apple compote for the base of the tart. Peel and roughly chop
the cooking apples into smallish chunks. Discard the seeds and the core of the apple.
2. Place in a heavy bottom saucepan with a splash of water and cook on a low heat for
approximately 1 hour until the apple has completely broken down, stirring
occasionally. You can give the apple a light mash with a fork or a masher to help it
form a puree.
3. Whilst your puree is cooking preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Roll out the pastry on
a floured surface until it is about 1cm thick. Make sure you are rolling the pastry to
be larger than the size of your tart tin.
4. Place the pastry over your tart tin. (I use a 28cm, shallow tart tin for this recipe, but
whatever you have will work great!) Using a scrap of pastry, rolled into a ball, gently
push the pastry into the edges of the tin, leaving some overlap around the edges. If
you have any holes you can patch them up with extra pastry.
5. Place a sheet of baking paper over the pastry and fill with baking beads or dried
beans, blind bake in the oven for 15 mins until slightly golden around the edges,
then remove the beans and continue to cook for 10 more mins, until the centre is
golden.
6. Whilst your pastry is cooking, start slicing the eating apples. Using a sharp knife slice
the apples into very thin semicircles. If you have a mandolin you can use that.
7. Once the compote has finished cooking, add 100g of sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon
and taste. If you apples are particularly sour add some more sugar to taste.
8. Once the pastry has cooked, leave to cool slightly then remove the excess pastry
using a peeler or a knife. Spread the compote over the pastry in an even layer. This
will act as the glue for the apples.
9. Start arranging the apple slices on the compote, starting on the outside and working
in. Overlap each slice slightly so that there is no gap between them. Continue until
the whole tart is covered in thin slices to resemble a rose.
10. Mix the cinnamon and remaining sugar together and dust over the tart. Bake again
in the oven for 15-20 mins until the apples are soft and the pastry fully cooked.
1.5kg Cooking Apples
1kg Eating Apples (Braeburn, Gala etc)
150g Caster Sugar
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Pack Ready Rolled Shortcrust Pastry (Jus rol is vegan)
