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- Prep:
25 min - Cook:
40 min
Ingredients
- 20 grams granulated sugar
- 1 pinch iodiced salt
- 240 grams all purpose flour
- 120 grams butter semi soft cubes
- 125 grams cold water
- all purpose flour for dusting of surfaces
For Filling
- 3-4 piece apples tart, baking apples, granny smith
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 2 pinches cinnamon powder
- 100 millilitres heavy cream 35%
- 15 fluid ounce Calvados as preferred
- 1 piece egg
- 30 grams all purpose flour
- 10 grams ground hazelnuts
Imagine a Sunday afternoon, somewhere in a idyllic little town in the Normandy (France), sipping "Cafe au lait" on a small marble table in front of a side walk cafe. Acompanying the cafe, a freshly baked, Calvados scented, warm apple tart with vanilla sauce or a generous dollop of whipped cream. Sometimes it's those day-dreams of the simple things in (culinary) life that inspire the most.
Method
For the crust:
- In a bowl, combine the small cubes of butter with the flour by kneading the two ingredients through your fingers well until small nuggets have formed.
- Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Add 90% of the water to the flour/butter mixture and work rapidly into a smooth dough. Add the rest of the water to the dough if so needed.
- Knead gently until well combined, then let the dough rest covered in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Over-kneading the dough, will make it tough.
- Roll the dough to approximately 1 to 11/2 cm thickness.
- Grease your pie mold, dust with flour and gently lay in the pie mold. Pressing the dough gently into the corner at the bottom of the pie mold.
- With a fork, punch holes into the bottom of the dough. This will prevent the dough from creating bubbles during the baking.
- Preheat you oven to 150 C.
- Sprinkle the bottom of the pie with the ground hazelnut.
- Peel and or the apples and cut them into wedges. Depending on the size of the apple 6-8 wedges per apple, sprinkle with ½ of the sugar and the cinnamon and marinated for approximately 15 minutes, then layer into the pie crust fairly tightly.
- Cut the excess dough around the edge of the pie mold off.
- Place in the oven at 150 C for approximately 15 minutes or until the apples are starting to soften. Remove and set aside to cool.
- In a bowl, beat the egg and the remaining sugar until the sugar has been resolved and the mixture is pale and foamy. Add the flour to the mixture and incorporate without lumps. Add d the heavy cream. And the Calvados to taste at the very end. Brandy or Cognac can be substituted.
- Pour the cream/flour batter into the pie, covering the apples approximately 2/3.
- Bake in the oven at 180 C for approximately 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with some excess sugar and bake for another 15 minutes or until the apples are soft, the mixture well set, the pie golden brown and the sugar caramelized.
- Un-mold the tart and let to cool on a wire rack and serve slightly warm.
