Apple Tarts (or apple pies) are serious business in Ireland. Most Irish people will claim that their mother or their granny makes the best apple tart. Both my grannies always made amazing apple tarts. I think the secret was lots of butter and apples fresh from the trees. Every new generation adds or brings something new to the simple apple tart. My granny used to put cloves in hers which was a fashionable food trend at the time (I hated those cloves 🙂 Some people add cinnamon, others add lemon zest. I personally like to add a few drops of vanilla extract.
When I was growing up apple tarts weren’t made in fancy pie dishes, they were generally made on a simple oven proof plate. I have started to make my own tarts on an enamel plate and I have noticed that the pastry ends up much crispier and delicious, so maybe there is something in that.
The traditional apple tart always seems to be available at Irish social events, funerals and christenings. Everyone seems to be able to rustle up a tart at a moment’s notice. My neighbor in Ireland is renowned for her apple tarts. In fact, I’ve heard people inquire about her tarts in hushed tones at funerals. We Irish love apple tarts in the same way that Americans love cupcakes. However, you can’t hide a bad apple tart with frosting or sprinkles, so you really have to make a good tasting apple tart to impress. Good butter and fresh apples are the keys ingredients of a delicious apple tart for me.
Ingredients
- 225g of all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons of castor sugar
- 110g of Kerrygold butter , chopped into cubes
- 2 -3 tablespoons of milk
Filling
- 300g of apples (4-5 medium sized cooking apples)
- 5 tablespoons of castor sugar
- 2 drops of vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 teaspoon of castor sugar
Method
Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Add the chopped butter and rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then, add the milk a little at a time and use a fork to bring the mixture together into pastry dough. Gather the pastry into your hands and wrap it in cling wrap. Place the pastry in the fridge and leave to rest for at least an hour.
Grease a 9 inch tart plate with a little butter. Once the pastry has rested, roll it out on a floured surface until it is about 3mm (1/8 inch) in thickness.
Preheat the oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Peel and core the apples and then slice thin slices of apple using a vegetable peeler. Put the apple slices into the pastry case and then sprinkle the castor sugar and the vanilla extract on top. Cover with a lid of pastry and tuck the pastry together with your thumbprint all around the edges. Brush the pastry with some of the beaten egg (you won’t need it all) and sprinkle the teaspoon of castor sugar on top. Then, pierce a hole in the center to let the steam escape. Put the tart in the oven for 40/50 minutes.
Once cooked, serve as soon as you can with freshly whipped cream. Nothing beats warm apple tart with cream.
