Apple Tart
Apple tarts are very nostalgic things ... memories of my mother baking, my father going to collect apples and of course asking for slice after slice at Halloween, trying to find the hidden 20p coin wrapped in tinfoil in it – an old tradition ... maybe 50p if you were lucky.
Ingredients
3 cooking apples
3 cloves
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 beaten egg
Method
- Peel and core the apples and slice them thinly.
- Place a medium saucepan on a medium/high heat and add a small splash of water. Add the apple slices, cloves and sugar. Stew the apples for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When cooked pick out the three cloves. Allow the stewed apples to cool fully.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Roll out half the pastry thinly and lay it over a deep dinner plate; push it right down making sure it is tight to the plate all over. Carefully trim around the edge with a sharp knife.
- Place the stewed apples into the middle of the pastry and spread evenly with a spoon, to about 3cm/1½in from the edge. Wet the rim with cold water using a pastry brush or your finger.
- Roll out the remaining pastry a little thicker and lay it carefully over the top. Gently firm down, getting rid of air bubbles. Using your fingers or a fork, firmly press around the rim sealing the two pieces of pastry together and again trim around the edge with a sharp knife. Gently stab the top of the tart a few times with a knife.
- Glaze the tart with the beaten egg using a pastry brush and place in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve hot with ice-cream or freshly whipped cream.