A Spiced Apple Tart!

The book chosen for the "This Book Makes me Cook" is Three Men in a Boat. The book is a classic and I have been re-reading it for the third time :) If it is a good one..then I have no hassles in re-reading and re-reading.....There is this character about Jerome that relates to a great many of us..me included about where he happens to read a medical dictionary and he convinces himself that he has every single symptom mentioned, except for Housemaid's knee... (Pssst! I played this very role at a play during my college days!).

Anyways the holiday they take to de-stress on the River Thames with their constant arguments are definitely an interesting read...The banks of the river are so well described that you could almost feel yourself being there...I would say I could relate either myself or to people I knew so really well with the characters. The opening of the pineapple can, the transporting of the cheese by train, Uncle Podger hanging a picture are all unforgettable instances. The "old blue" that we hang about our walls as ornaments were the common every-day household utensils of a few centuries ago; and the pink shepherds and the yellow shepherdesses that we hand round now for all our friends to gush over, and pretend they understand, were the unvalued mantel-ornaments that the mother of the eighteenth century would have given the baby to suck when he cried. How so very true is that!!!

The three gentlemen loved their food and drink and one such food is a tart..rhubarb, gooseberry, apple....

Here's my version of the Apple Tart, adapted from Cakes & Pastries.

What you need are:

For the tart filling:

1. Apples-500g
2. Sugar-enough to sprinkle over the surface of the tart
3. Pureed apricot jam
4. Cinnamon Powder-enough to sprinkle over the surface of the apples
5. Nutmeg Powder-enough to sprinkle over the surface of the apples
6. Lime juice-2tsps

For the dough

1. Flour-125g
2. Sugar-3 tbsp
3. Butter, softened-60g
4. egg-1
5. salt

Combine the dough ingredients in a bowl to a smooth mass. Knead further until it becomes sticky but pliable. Wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, chop half the quantity of apples and boil it along with 1 cup of water, 1 tbsp of sugar and 2 tsps of lime juice. Cook until they turn soft.

Remove the dough and roll it flat and transfer to the dish, prick with a fork and bake in a preheated oven for 5 minutes. remove from the oven, spread the cooked chopped apples, sprinkle with cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder.

Slice the remaining apples and arrange them starting at the outer rim and moving inwards in concentric circles. Sprinkle the surface with sugar. Brush with butter, apricot jam. Bake for an hour but keep a regular check on the progress of your tart.

When it is done and is still warm, re-coat with butter and apricot jam and relish either hot, tepid or cold.

A had his warm slice of the yummy tart that you see below:

Here's mine rebaked for more crispier apples served with a dollop of ice cream.



Bhags and Simran..Thanks for taking me back to my lost passion..reading !!

Check out what the book inspired them to cook
Bhags - Rhubarb Tart
Simran - Scrambled Eggs
Siri-Fried Eggs with Baked beans


This is also off to The Think Spice Event!