oh what a gorgeous week it has been!

i recently read that this time of in between seasons is known as long summer.

i love this!

we have so many fabulous apples available to enjoy fresh or turned into a dessert. 

i am sharing another easy recipe, sure to become a favourite! 

you will love this upside down apple tart.

you will need..

1 package 450 g of all butter frozen puff pastry thawed

a tablespoon or so of soft butter

4 apples (our honeycrisp or gravenstein are perfect!)

1/4 cup of butter

1 whole vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

to make.. 

preheat your oven to 400°f. 

the pastry i use comes in a box of 2 sheets.. you will need both. 

unroll one sheet of puff pastry onto a piece of parchment paper. 

spread with soft butter, staying away from the edges.. you don’t want it to squish out when you roll the pastry pieces together.

place the second unrolled sheet on top.

gently roll out to a 12 inch square. it doesn’t have to be perfect.

cut into an 11 inch circle. cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.

peel your apples.

cut in half length wise, and scoop out the cores with a melon baller. alternatively, you could cut the apples vertically into thirds, avoiding the core altogether. 

in a 10 inch cast iron pan, melt the butter over medium heat.

stir in the vanilla seeds.

sprinkle evenly with the sugar.. do not stir.

add a single layer of the apples, cut side down.

slice the remaining apples into smaller slices to tuck around the apples in the pan. you may not use all the apple pieces.

cook over medium high heat until the liquid is bubbly and light golden.. about 3 minutes.

turn down the heat to medium and cook for another 4 minutes.. sprinkle with salt. you could sprinkle a little cinnamon if you like too.

turn the apples over, rounded side down and cook until the liquid is thickened and deep golden brown.. another minute or so.

remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. 

cover the apples with the puff pastry circle, gently tucking the edges into the pan. 

cut a couple of slits in the top of the pastry.

bake until the pastry is a deep golden brown… about 25 minutes.

cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

using a thin knife or offset spatula, loosen the edges of the tart from the pan.

place a serving plate upside down on top of  the pan.

with oven mitts, carefully invert the pan and plate together to transfer the tart to the plate.

place the scraped vanilla bean in your sugar jar..  it will impart a vanilla flavour into your sugar. 

this apple tart is another dreamy dish that pairs beautifully with ice cream! 

it is still summer after all! 

enjoy!

look who was loving our orchard recently!

enjoy this long summer!

hugs

laura

carl laidlaw orchards

an apple and pear tart to celebrate opening

cheers to a new season!

and just like that it’s apple picking season once more!

such a joy to see many familiar faces..  

 our wonderful staff, and our fabulous returning guests. 

welcome back! 

 it’s a delight to welcome new guests to our farm.

and what an absolute treat to eat fresh apples again and appreciate the nuances of each variety.

 i had forgotten how much i love gravenstein apples!

apples are ripening a little early this year.. a splendid selection is available to pick. 

our bounty pears are also perfect for picking now.  

an apple and pear tart recipe to celebrate

you will need…

for the shortcrust pastry 

a 10 inch fluted loose bottom tart pan

300g (2 1/3 cups) flour 

100g (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes 

100g (1 cup) icing sugar

a pinch of salt 

1 egg and 2 egg yolks

for the filling

a pastry brush 

4 apples

4 pears 

4 tablespoons of sugar 

70g (1/3 cup) butter

1 vanilla pod

1/2  cup apricot jelly or sieved jam 

2 tablespoon calvados (apple brandy) or water

make the pastry..

place the flour and butter in a bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment and combine until this resembles fine bread crumbs.

add the icing sugar and salt and mix for a few seconds.

add the eggs and mix until a cohesive dough forms.. a minute or so. 

depending on the size of your eggs, you may have to add a teaspoon or two of ice water. 

turn out the pastry onto a work surface and quickly form into a ball.

wrap in plastic, flatten a little into a disc and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

 

butter your tart pan.

roll out the pastry between sheets of parchment or plastic film to about 1/4 inch (5mm) thick.

line your tart pan.. carefully pressing the dough into each groove. leave a 1/2 inch overhanging that you can trim off after baking.. this prevents shrinking. 

prick the bottom with the tines of a fork.

place this back in the fridge while you prepare the apples and pears. 

preheat your oven to 180°c or 350 °f.

peel core and slice horizontally 2 apples and 2 pears, keeping them in separate bowls. save the juice.

core and slice horizontally 2 apples and 2 pears, keeping them in separate bowls. save the juice. 

a mandolin makes the slices even.

place the peeled sliced apples and pears in the pastry in alternate layers, sprinkling a spoonful of sugar onto each layer. 

finish with the unpeeled apples and pears, working from the outside edges in.

to make an apple rose for the centre,

place 6 slices of the unpeeled apples into a pan of boiling water for a minute or two until they are pliable. remove and place on a tea towel. overlap 4 or 5 slices horizontally, with the peels facing up. gently roll them up. 

place this in the centre of your tart.

melt the butter in a small saucepan.

slice the vanilla pod open and scrape the seeds into the butter. 

add this vanilla butter to the saved apple and pear juice.

brush gently and generously all over the apples and pears.

bake at 180°c or 350°f  for about an hour and 15 minutes. 

check after an hour.. my oven is tiny and was ready after an hour. 

while the tart is still warm, heat the apricot jelly with the calvados or water in a small saucepan.

gently brush this over the apples and pears.

with a sharp knife, carefully cut off the excess, over hanging pastry. 

let the tart cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing onto a serving plate. 

vanilla ice cream, creme fraîche, or whipping cream all perfectly compliment this.

enjoy! 

i hope you’ve enjoyed september’s first week. 

now that its a little cooler i am happy to bake more..

 and embrace this sweata weatha!

hugs,

laura

carl laidlaw orchards