A few minutes of Thanksgiving downtime with an Apple and Prune Tart.

Given that I've just received a few minutes of Thanksgiving downtime after the baking of my apple and prune tart, I thought I'd post a quick picture and the recipe for this delicious baby!

Mmm, rustic and warming. Perfect for the Thanksgiving dessert table!

Apple and Prune Tart
via Epicurious.com

For pastry dough
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

For filling
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons Calvados
1 cup packed pitted prunes (7 oz), halved
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 pounds tart green apples
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup nut pieces, toasted

1 tablespoon whole milk
1 tablespoon sugar

Make dough:
Blend together flour, butter, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Drizzle 3 tablespoons ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.

Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn't hold together, add more ice water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.

Turn out dough onto a work surface. Divide dough into 4 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together with pastry scraper. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour.

Make filling:
Simmer water, Calvados, and prunes, uncovered, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together cinnamon, cloves, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 cup sugar.

Peel and core apples and cut into 1/2-inch wedges. Halve wedges crosswise and toss with cinnamon mixture. Add lemon juice and toss to coat.

Finely grind walnuts with remaining 3 tablespoons flour and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor.

Assemble and bake tart:
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 14- by 18-inch oval. Roll dough loosely onto floured rolling pin and unroll onto a large buttered baking sheet. Sprinkle walnut mixture over pastry, leaving a 2 1/2- to 3-inch border.

Stir stewed prunes into apple mixture and spoon over walnut mixture, evenly tucking prunes between apple pieces. Turn edge of dough over fruit to form pleats. Brush top of dough with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake tart, loosely covered with foil, in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crust and fruit are golden and juices are bubbling, about 30 minutes more. Cool tart on baking sheet on a rack at least 20 minutes before serving.

Now, back to the madness, such as it is. I still have pumpkin butter to make!




P.S. Did anyone else see the Rick Roll they pulled in the Macy's Parade? I think it's a bit late for the meme, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. ^_^

Enjoy!

Apple Butter, an Autumnal Preview

Autumn...it's still a little ways off, I know, but that doesn't mean I can't indulge in a little bit of Fall in August, does it? I think not! There's just something about Autumn that warms the heart. I guess that's why I love it so much. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the months of September, October, November, and December comprise Grand Tetrarchy of Cooking, what with Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the flavors of pumpkin, spices, cranberries, cinnamon, cider, and, of course, apples. Thus it is with great joy, and a watering mouth, that I present you with...Baked Apple Butter (on toasted brioche anisée)!

As much as I love apples and apple butter, this is only the second time I'm ever made it. The last time was a year or two ago, when I used the recipe from the Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving. My main gripe with that recipe, though, is that it's all done on the stove, and you have to stir almost constantly while it cooked, lest it burn. It took almost an hour to cook down! My arms fell off...both of 'em! And if your stopped stirring, you were brought back to attention with a searing hot splatter of apple butter to the face. If that wasn't enough you were also instructed to use a food mill to puree the apples and remove the skins, thus took another hour. Then there was the matter of the spices, the USDA's recipe instructs you use a mouth-numbing 1 tbsp of ground cloves. Now, I like my apple butter spicy, but this was just ridiculous!

For these reasons, I went about searching for a similar, though easier, method of making apple butter, and one that used less sugar, too. I wanted an apple butter that was easy, tasty, and erring on the healthier side. And I think I found it.

I consulted many a recipe and combined the elements from each I liked, not the least of which is the fact that it's baked, so you don't have to worry about it scorching, and you only have to give 'er a stir every half-hour.

Baked Apple Butter

4 large Granny Smith apples
4 large Breaburn apples
1 cup unsweetened Apple Juice
1 cup Brown Sugar (or other sweetener)
2 (generous) tsp. ground Cinnamon
1/2 (generous) tsp. ground Cloves
1/4 (generous) tsp. ground Allspice
The ground up seeds of one large Green Cardamom Pod
Generous pinch of Salt

Core and cut the apples into chunks, but leave the skin on. Put apples and apple juice into a large sauce pan and boil over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Set oven to 275°F.

Using a stick blender, blend the apples and skins until smooth. You can also use a food processor or blender, working in batches.

Add the sugar , cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom and salt. Stir to mix well. Pour into a 13x9 inch baking dish, and bake for 3 hours, stirring every half-hour, or until the butter reaches the consistency you like.

Notes:

- Feel free to use any kind apples you like, in this recipe, it's plenty flexible. I just happened to like the looks of the Granny Smiths and Braeburns today.

- If you can get apple cider, that would work great too. Cider is just yet to make an appearance around here, as yet.

- You can use white sugar, brown sugar, honey, or a sugar substitute. Just aim for a cup's worth. I didn't have enough brown sugar, so I topped it off with the Baker's Blend sugar substitute.

- Don't feel that you must use the cardamom, I know it can be hard to find, for some. I just love the warm, floral taste of the stuff so much...how could I not add it in? ^_^

- Next time, I'll probably add in some lime juice to lend a bit of acidity to the butter, to brighten it up a tad.

- This recipe is not meant to be processed and "put up," so be sure to keep it refrigerated.

Voyons! Mon premier tart tatin aux pommes!

Last week I was listening to NPR's All Things Considered. My interest became piqued when a segment celebrating my favorite Fall fruit, the apple, came on. In the report, chef Dorie Greenspan takes us through the simple process of making an apple tarte tatin (tarte tatin aux pommes, if my as yet poor French serves me).

Really more a technique than a recipe, the tarte tatin is a something of a deconstructed French apple pie (or pear pie, or peach pie, or tomato pie), and is really easy as pie, or easy as a tarte. Sorry, that wasn't even remotely funny. ^_^;

Ad without further ado, le recette pour le tarte tatin aux pommes!