I love the simplicity of an autumn apple tart. Understated and classic, there is something matchless about apples, butter and sugar, baked until caramelised, sweet and heady with aroma. This tart has the added flavour of whiskey soaked raisins, tossed in butter and added with heavy hand. Plump, delicious, they blend in as if they were always there. The heat of the oven bakes the alcohol out of the raisins, but the peatiness of the whiskey remains.
I buy sweet shortcrust pastry for the ease and convenience, but if you are looking for a recipe to try, the quintessential Edmonds Cookbook is a great place to start. This tart is very free form, allowing you pull the pastry up and over the fruit. But the filling does translate well to a lidded pie.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 1 tbsp whiskey
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 sheet sweet shortcrust pastry
- 2 granny smith apples
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- Milk
Instructions
Place the raisins and whiskey in a wee bowl and leave to soak until most of the liquid has gone. Melt the butter and toss through the raisins and put to the side. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Gather your sheet of pastry and roll it out to a 23 centimetre diametre circle on a sheet on of baking paper and put aside.
Cut the apples in half, remove the core and then cut into thick slices. In a bowl, toss the apple slices with the cornflour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamon. Now add the raisin mixture and pile into the middle of the pastry circle.
Gather the sides carefully up and over the fruit. There will be a gap across the top where the fruit will bake all jammy and caramelise. This is what you want. Gently brush the pastry with a little milk to help the crust form a golden sheen and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.
Serve with thickened cream or icecream.
