LATTICED APPLE TART
I was chatting with our 17-year-old granddaughter recently who decided to give me a list of the food she doesn’t like. As she is a very good eater I expected it to be short, but it did go on a bit. Surprisingly one of the items on her list was apple pie. “Can’t stand it,” she said.
Hard to believe I know, as an apple pie, warm from the oven served with ice cream, custard, cream or all three, would normally send everyone drooling. I decided to set myself a challenge to create a version she might love.
Our Latticed Apple Tart is filled with a delicious, dense, smooth, almost caramelised apple filling, flavoured with vanilla bean and lemon rind. No chunks or identifying apple features. The Revenge Rich Gluten-free Shortcrust Pastry is buttery, light and a breeze to make and work with. How could she possibly resist?
I managed to serve it without mentioning the ‘a’ word and ….
Well, there’s no fooling a teen. She wouldn’t even try it. But the rest of us happily munched our way through it and loved it.
Hope you do too.
Rosie
LATTICED APPLE TART
Serves 6-8
Pastry
1 quantity Revenge Rich Gluten-free Shortcrust Pastry
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon caster sugar
Filling
1 kg Granny Smith apples (or any tart apple variety)
70 gm unsalted butter
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
1 lemon, zest peeled into wide strips
1 tablespoon lemon juice
85 gm caster sugar
Peel, core and slice apples.
Dot 50gm of the butter over the base of a heavy frying pan. Cover with the apple slices, lemon zest and juice and vanilla pod.
Dot the remaining 20gm of the butter over the top and place a piece of foil directly on top of the butter. Cover with a lid and cook, on a low heat, stirring from time to time until the apple slices are very soft and any liquid has evaporated.
Remove the lemon zest and vanilla pod, reserving the pod. Add the sugar and stir well to combine.
Increase the heat and, stirring continuously, cook until the puree is very thick and lightly golden. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and stir into the apple mixture. Cool.
To Assemble
Preheat oven to 180°C. Have a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin at the ready.
Roll out the pastry 3-4mm thick and line the flan tin with pastry, reserving the offcuts for the lattice top. Refrigerate tart case until firm. Blind bake. If the pastry has developed any cracks while blind baking, either fill them with some of the reserved pastry or brush the pastry case with beaten egg to fill the cracks and then bake a further 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool.
Meanwhile roll out reserved pastry and cut into 1.5cm wide strips for the lattice. Refrigerate until firm.
Fill the pastry case with the cold apple filling.
Brush the rim of the pastry case with beaten egg. Place the pastry strips on top of the apple in a lattice pattern. Once all the strips are in place, press lightly onto the pastry rim to seal.
Brush the lattice with beaten egg and sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the lattice top is golden brown.
Allow to stand on a rack until cool enough to handle before removing from the tin and transferring to a serving platter.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or custard.