‘Tis the season for those big old Bramleys to drop off the trees – I mainly know this as my lovely mum has just bought us a massive box of them from the garden. There are many potential destinations for these fruity beasts including apple sauce, chutneys and no doubt some crumble.
I thought I’d try something a bit different and combine their delightful tartness with the comforting sweetness of almondy frangipane. I’ve added in some earthy tones with a touch of buttery rosemary syrup. A bit of an experiment but really pleased with the results and I hope you will be too.
A recipe for pastry is included if you want to make your own. I’d also recommend going out of your way to find a quality extract rather than almond flavouring: it’s worth it.
~Jo Eats!
Bramley Apple and Frangipane Tart
Equipment
- 26cm Tart Tin
Ingredients
- 2 Bramley Apples or other cooking apple
Rosemary Syrup
- 2 tbsp Fresh Rosemary very finely chopped
- 3 tbsp Caster Sugar
- 20 g Butter salted (or add a pinch of salt)
Frangipane
- 125 g Butter unsalted
- 100 g Ground Almonds
- 125 g Golden Caster Sugar
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 35 g Plain Flour
- 1 tsp Almond Extract good quality
Pastry
- 250 g Plain Flour
- 125 g Butter unsalted
- 50 g Icing Sugar
- 1 Egg
Instructions
Make Pastry
- Lightly rub together butter and flour in a bowl until resembling breadcrumbs. You can also pulse gently in a food processor. Stir in icing sugar.
- Beat egg with a splash of cold water and add to flour mix. Stir through with a knife (or pulse food processor). You may need a little more cold water but add sparingly until the pastry just starts to come together.
- Wrap in clingfilm and rest in fridge for at least half an hour, ideally an hour.
- If buying your own pastry (which is fine!) skip to step 2. You will need approx. 500g of pastry
Prepare Tart Case
- Lightly grease tart tin with a little butter, and dust with flour.
- Roll out pastry dough to a circumference wider than the tin, then carefully drape over the tin and gently push in. Prick the base all over with a fork.Trim the pastry. If there are any tears or gaps in the pastry, you can repair these with the trimmings. Ideally, pop the prepared tin back in the fridge to chill for another half hour.Preheat the oven to 200°/180° fan.
- Cut out a circle of baking parchment and place in the tart case, then fill with baking beans or even dried pulses (e.g. chickpeas). Place in oven and bake blind for 15 minutes.Remove from oven, remove baking beans and allow to cool.Bring the heat of the oven down to 180°/160° fan.
Make Frangipane
- Meanwhile, peel, core, quarter and very finely slice the bramley apples. Put them in a bowl of water with a little lemon juice to help prevent browning. You could also put them in a bowl of good cider!
- Beat together the butter and sugar using an electric whisk or a wooden spoon and a lot of elbow grease. Add the eggs very gradually, then carefully fold in the flour, almonds, pinch of salt and almond extract.
Assemble and Bake Tart
- Put the rosemary syrup ingredients in a pan on a low-medium heat and let it melt together.
- Meanwhile, spread the frangipane mix into the tart case.
- Arrange the apple slices on top in a circular pattern.
- When the rosemary syrup ingredients have melted, gently brush and dab over the top of the apples.
- Put the tart in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool before removing from tin.
- Slice and enjoy! A dollop of creme fraiche wouldn't hurt either.
