FRENCH APPLE TART

Summer seasons comes with myriad possibilities, some days are promising for outdoor Picnics and barbecues while on some days the weather man issues caution to avoid the scorching rays of the sun. Last weekend it was very warm in laixi,Qingdao and so we decided to stay indoors till the temperature slumped down a bit to a tolerable level in the evening. Staying indoors during the weekend is height of boredom for all of us but this was still a better option than to just meander in the mall and pile up nonessential things that we often end up doing. After a bit of commotion & un reconcilable arguments on what to do my hubby and my son opted to laze browsing their favorite animation channels and I was happily sucked into my warm kitchen baking this tart.

This is one of my favorite tart and it was heavenly to have it after a heavy lunch of Prawn biryani that is close to my chicken biryani recipe. I had made the crust dough couple of days before and just stewing the apple didn’t consume a long time. The green apples are sweet and peak during this season and the farmers market is inundated with these delectable tiny green ones.

Ingredients
For making the Crust
180 grams plain flour
90 grams butter
60 grams sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon salt
cold water to knead.

Combine flour and butter and rub it till the texture resembles like bread crumbs. Add yolk, sugar, salt and water to knead into a soft pliable dough. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

For filling
2 medium green apples
2 medium red apples
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1teaspoon cinnamon powder
sugar ( optional)
Butter to brush
Apricot preserve to brush

Method

Peel, core and dice the green apples. Cook them in a pan with ½ cup of water and 1tablespoon of lemon juice. Simmer on a low fire till the apples are soft. Add the cinnamon and keep it aside.

Peal, core and slice red apples and add rest of the lemon juice .Keep it aside.

Preparing the tart
Roll the dough and slide into the baking pan lined with a butter paper. Tuck the edges and remove the excess. Preheat the oven at 175 ‘c and bake it for 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove the half baked tart and fill it with cooked green apples and arrange the red sliced apples on the top in a circular fashion. Brush them with butter and Apricot preserve. Bake them for 30 minutes. Remove and brush more apricot preserve while the tart is still warm.

Enjoy and savor it with a dollop of ice-cream. It is truly divine.

Note- if the bottom of tart is still soggy after baking it. Remove the tart from the pan and then bake it further 5 to 7 minutes. The bottom of the pie will be crusty.

For making the tart dough without using egg check out my walnut pie recipe.

By the way I am off on my holidays to Sydney and so taking a short break for three weeks.I am excited and just counting days to get a glimpse of beautiful blues skies, the sand and the surf. I hope to pepper my site with some real Aussie tucker on my return.

Please take care and remember to slip slap & slop whenever going out in the sun.