Rustic apple tart

Yesterday, we city dwellers decided to get out of town and spend our Saturday at an apple orchard in the country. Of course, this seemed like a great idea at the time: clean air, sun, communion with nature etc. But, when we got home with 45lbs of apples, I might have felt just the slightest twinge of regret.

This apple tart is simple but really highlights the delicious flavours of fresh, crisp apples. If you have the time and skill to make your own puff pastry, please do. Puff pastry is extremely difficult to get right so I tend to leave this to the experts.

This tart takes about 30 minutes to make, including prep and cook time. I put this on at dinner time and it was ready for dessert almost as soon as we were finished eating.

Ingredients

1 sheet store bought all butter puff pastry - thawed and rolled to 1/8 inch thickness

2 extra large apples or 4-5 medium apples - washed and cut into slices (I used Mutsu apples but Granny Smith would also work well, here. If using GS apples, add a touch more sugar).

4 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp clove or cardamom

1 tbsp cold butter - cut into small pieces

1 egg - lightly beaten

Method

1. heat oven to 400°. in a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and spices. add apples and toss to coat.

2. mound apples in the centre of your puff pastry rectangle, keeping a 1 inch pastry border around all four sides.

3. fold edges of pastry up over the sides of the apples. dot the top with butter.

4. brush pastry with beaten egg.

5. bake for 35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and apples are cooked.