Recipe taken from the 1968 Cordon Bleu Cookery Course
Ingredients
For rich shortcrust
- 6 oz plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 4 oz butter
- 1 1/2 rounded tablespoons caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
- Icing sugar (for dusting)
For apple mixture
- 1—11/2 lb cooking apples
- 1 rounded tablespoon currants
- 1 rounded tablespoon sultanas
- 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar
(brown, or white) - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
- Rub butter lightly into sifted flour and salt in a bowl, add sugar, mix the egg yolk with the milk and stir in to bind the rich shortcrust pastry together. Set aside to chill.
- Now peel, core and slice the apples. Put them into a bowl with the cleaned, dried fruit, crumbs, sugar and cinnamon, and mix well.
- Knead pastry lightly to work out any cracks, and roll out thinly to a rectangle about 9 inches by 6 inches. Slide on to a baking sheet (preferably one without edges which makes it easier to remove the tart after cooking). Trim the pastry edges, then place the apple mixture down the middle, leaving about 11/2 – 2 inches of pastry on each side. Lift these sides up and over with a palette knife, so that they rest on the mixture, but leave a gap in the middle to show the filling. Press the pastry down lightly with the knife so that the sides remain in place while baking.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes in an oven at 375°F or Mark 5. Slide on to a rack to cool, then dust thickly, with icing sugar before cutting into slices for serving.
- Serve with cream or custard separately, or a mixture of thick custard and yoghurt whisked together. Do this when the cusÂtard is cold and well sweetened, adding the yoghurt to taste.
© Copyright BPC Publishing Limited 1968
