Apple Custard Tart
Serves: 8
Preparation time: 60 min.
Tarte aux Pommes de Grand-Mère (Grandmother's Apple Tart) from the Provence: light, crisp and tasty.
Use ready made shortcrust pastry or make your own - click here for the recipe. Do not blind bake the shortcrust pastry - it's baked together with the filling.
Ingredients:
- 1 shortcrust pastry for a 25 cm (10 inch) pastry tin
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 4 Golden Delicious apples or any other tart apple variety, peeled, cored and cut into 2 cm (1 inch) slices.
- 4 eggs
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. grated lemon rind
Preparation:
Apples: Preheat the oven 180°C (375°F). Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Grease it with 1 tbsp. butter. Arrange apple slices over it, making sure that they do not overlap. Sprinkle it with 1 tbsp. sugar. Bake the slices for 5 minutes on each side. Apple slices should be soft but still holding their shape. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Custard: In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, the remaining 2 tbsp. sugar, grated lemon rind, milk and heavy cream. Adjust sweetness or tartness of custard if necessary by adding a bit more sugar or lemon rind.
Assembly: Preheat the oven 180°C (375°F). Line the tart tin with the shortcrust pastry and arrange the apples slices in a circular pattern over the crust. The slices should fill up to 3/4 of the pastry shell. Carefully pour the custard mixture into the pie crust, filling it to just about 1 cm (1/2 inch) under the pastry rim. Do not overfill! Bake it for about 35 - 40 minutes or until the custard is set and the apples start to get nicely golden brown on the edges. Allow to cool for at least 15 min. before serving.
