Spiced Apple Tart Recipes

Steps:

• For crust:
• Combine flour, sugar, salt and mace in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in chilled butter and vegetable shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually blend in enough water by tablespoonfuls to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Flatten each into disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling.)
• For filling:
• Position rack in lowest third of oven and preheat to 400°F. In large bowl, toss apples with 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon peel, mace, cloves and allspice.
• Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch-diameter round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter deep dish glass pie plate. Trim dough overhang to 1/2 inch. Brush edge of crust lightly with water. Transfer apple mixture to crust, mounding in center. Roll out second dough disk to 12-inch-diameter round. Place atop apples. Trim dough overhang to 1 inch: reserve scraps. Fold top crust edge under bottom crust edge, pressing to seal. Crimp edge decoratively.
• Reroll pastry scraps and cut out leaf shapes. Brush 1 side of each leaf with milk and arrange, milk side down, decoratively atop crust. Cut several slits in crust to allow steam to escape. Brush crust with milk; sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar.
• Place pie on baking sheet. Bake until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, covering crust edges with aluminum foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool.

Steps:

• Dough:
• Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Rub 1/4 cup of the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers until completely absorbed. Then rub in the remaining butter until it resembles cornmeal mixed with pea-size bits of butter. (If it gets warm and sticky, refrigerate it to chill.)
• Beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of the water; then drizzle it evenly over the dough. Lightly stir the dough together with a fork. (The dough should just hold together when you squeeze it together, with some dry crumbly bits.) If the dough is really dry, sprinkle it with the final tablespoon of water. (To make the dough in food processor, see below.)
• Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and shape into disks. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (The dough can be frozen for 2 months. Defrost dough in the fridge overnight.)
• Filling:
• Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside. Peel, core and then slice both the apple and pear into 1/2-inch slices. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit, then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fruit and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves and juices simmer, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the fruit softens and the juices evaporate some, about 10 minutes. Evenly mix the flour into the fruit; then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly. Stir in the vanilla and lemon zest; and remove from the heat. (The filling should resemble a tight compote.) Cool completely.
• Form the pie:
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll a disk of dough into an 11 to 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to 9-inch glass pie pan (see photo), trimming so it hangs about 1/2-inch over the edge of the pan. Fill the crust with the prepared fruit so it mounds slightly in the center. Roll the remaining dough into a 12-inch circle. Brush the rim of the crust with some of the egg.
• Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the fruit so it hangs over the edge of the pie pan by about 1/2-inch. Trim crust if needed, reserving the scraps for decorations or for patching, if needed. Fold the top crust edge under the bottom one, then press the edges together to seal. Cut trimmed scraps into designs if desired and set aside. Flute the crust by pressing a finger into the crust against the other hand's index finger and thumb to make an even impression. Repeat every 1/2 inch around the pie to create a ruffled edge (see photo). Refrigerate the pie for at least 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 425 degrees F.
• Brush pie with egg and place cut dough designs on top if desired. Brush again and sprinkle with sugar. Cut 6 to 8 small steam vents into the top of the dough. Place pie on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until the crust (both top and bottom) is golden brown, about 50 minutes more. If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cut a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the edges (see photo). Cool on a rack.
• Serve pie warm or at room temperature with whipped or ice cream. Keep pie, covered, at room temperature for a day, or refrigerate for up to four.

Steps:

• For the apples: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch glass baking pan.
• Mix together the apples, granulated sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• For the cake: Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Using a hand-held mixer, beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully combined, then add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and buttermilk. Beat on low speed until a few streaks remain, then fold together with a rubber spatula until fully combined. (Do not overmix.)
• Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with half of the apple mixture. Spread the batter over the top of the apples. Top the batter with the remaining apples, making decorative rows across the cake. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Allow the cake to cool slightly before dusting with powdered sugar and serving.

Steps:

• Arrange pecans, with rounded sides facing down, on the bottom of a 9-in. deep-dish pie plate; drizzle with butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar; press lightly., Roll out dough to fit the pie plate; place over brown sugar. Press the crust firmly against brown sugar and sides of pie plate. Trim edges., In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, pie spice and nutmeg. Add the apples, lemon juice and vanilla; toss to coat. Fill crust. Roll out remaining dough to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in crust., Place a foil-lined baking sheet on a rack below the pie to catch any spills. Bake pie at 450° for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Bake until top is golden brown and apples are tender, 40-45 minutes longer. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. Serve warm., PASTRY FOR DOUBLE CRUST PIE, Combine 21/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 tsp salt; cut in 1 cup cold butter until crumbly. Gradually add 1/3=2/3 cup ice water, tossing with a fork until the dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients. Place apples in a greased 5-qt. slow cooker; add sugar mixture and toss to coat. Top with butter. Cook, covered, on low 3-4 hours or until apples are tender, stirring halfway through cooking.

Steps:

• Combine sugar, flour, butter, lemon zest, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg in a food processor.
• Process until well blended.
• Spread one-third of the sugar mixture over an unbaked pie crust.
• Arrange apple slices, in an overlapping pattern, on top of the sugar mixture.
• Top with the remaining sugar mixture.
• Bake on 400 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until crust is lightly browned.
• Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Steps:

• On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 1 3/4-inch fluted round cutter, cut out about 70 rounds, rerolling scraps if necessary. Place rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Peel and core apples. Thinly slice half the apples, and cut remaining apples into 1-inch pieces.
• Toss together apples, lemon zest and juice, sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Place filling in piecrust, mounding it in the center. Dot with butter. To make egg wash, whisk together egg yolk and cream in a small bowl. Lightly brush edge of piecrust with egg wash. Arrange dough rounds over filling, working in a spiral from the outside in to the center, overlapping them slightly. Lightly brush top of each round with egg wash as you work to help them adhere to one another.
• Once the filling has been covered with rounds, lightly brush entire top of pie with egg wash. Sprinkle top with sanding sugar. Refrigerate pie for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in middle and lower positions. Place a foil-lined baking sheet on lower rack to catch any juices. Place pie on middle rack, and bake until crust begins to turn golden brown, about 25 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour, 10 minutes more. Tent with foil if crust browns too quickly. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Steps:

• Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in medium saucepan on medium heat; cook 5 min. or until apples are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Mix cornstarch and water; stir into apple mixture. Return to boil; cook 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add dry gelatin mix; stir until completely dissolved. Pour into crust.
• Refrigerate several hours or until firm.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Peel, core and quarter the apples, then cut into 1cm slices. Toss together with the lemon juice, then dab dry with kitchen paper so that the pie isn't too watery. If you are using whole cardamom pods, split open the shell, remove the seed from inside and grind using a pestle and mortar. Mix into the apples with the flour and sugar, then toss to get everything coated.
• Cut away a third of the pastry to divide into two pieces. Dust a little flour over a work surface, then roll out the larger piece to roughly 28cm wide and as thick as a £1 coin. Lift the pastry up (try loosely wrapping around a rolling pin) and spread over the bottom of a 22cm pie dish. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry a little larger than the top of the pie.
• Pile up the apples inside and paint around the rim of the pie with milk. Lift the smaller circle of pastry on top. Press down to seal the pie, then trim around the edge of the pie with a sharp knife and discard the excess pastry. Use your fingers to indent around the pie and form a crimped edge.
• Make a few slits in the pastry so that steam can escape, then brush all over with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake for 20 mins, then reduce oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and cook for 50 mins-1hr until the pastry is golden and crisp. If it starts to darken too much, cover with tin foil, but make sure you cook it uncovered for the final 10 mins so that the pastry can crisp. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream, ice cream or custard.