Bramley Apple Shortcake

I know this lovely bloke who answers to the name of Kevin.  He owns a printing company and is making flyers and business cards for me.  Because we're only starting the Perfectionist and are (let's not beat about the bush here) broke he refused to take any money from me.  Instead he asked for an apple tart.  So, I made my favourite tart and sent the cake home with his equally lovely wife Mary.  Within minutes I got a text message and a photo.  The tart never made it out of it's wrapping paper.  They just peeled it  back and dug straight in with spoons.  High praise indeed.

This is a Nigel Slater recipe that I use all the time.  It's one of my favourite apple tarts.  Although it looks more like a pillow than anything else.  You use a butter rich shortcrust pastry and it needs a very gentle hand to get it from your worktop to the top of the pie (even worse is trying to line the bottom of the pie dish).  What I've started doing is rolling the pasty out on parchment paper (greaseproof would be fine) and kind've flipping it over to line the dish and then doing the same to top the apples.  

For the pastry:

150g butter (I have used stork in the past but it is easier to use butter, not as soft).

150g golden caster sugar, if you have it, ordinary caster sugar if you don't.

1 egg.

250g plain flour.

1 tsp baking powder.

A little milk and sugar to finish.

For the filling:

1.2kg Bramley apples (about 7 apples).

Lemon juice.

50g butter.

A heaped tablespoon of caster sugar.

Lightly butter a 24cm shallow metal pie plate (I used a ceramic one as I didn't have a metal one).  Cream the butter and sugar in a food mixer until light and fluffy.  Mix in the egg, then gently add teh flour and baking powder.  Remove the dough from the bowl roll into a ball on a heavily floured work surface.  Knead the dough for a minute or two until it it is smooth and soft (it will be quite soft, be warned).

Cut the pastry in half, roll out one half and use it to line the pie tin.  Wrap the remaining pastry in greaseproof paper and refrigerate it with the lined tin for 20 minutes or so.  I actually put the pastry into the fridge for an hour before lining the tin as I found it too soft to handle easily.

Set the oven at 180c/Gas 4.  Peel the apples, remove their cores and slice them thickly.  Drop them in cold water to which you have added a squeeze of lemon juice to stop them discolouring.

Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan (I use a wok) and, when it sizzles, add the apples.  You want them to colour here and there and soften somewhat, but without breaking up.  Scatter the sugar over them (which I forgot to do, doh!) and continue cooking until they are lightly caramelised (mine didn't but now I understand why.  No sugar equals no caramel).  As soon as they show signs of frothing remove from the heat.

Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up, use the juice from the apples to brush the edges of the lined pastry case.  Fill the tin with the cooked apples, then roll out the second half of the pastry and carefully lay it  on top of the fruit.  Press the pastry edges together and patch the holes that have suddenly appeared.  Brush the pastry gently with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar.  Bake for 40 minutes or until pastry is golden and crumbly.  Leave to cool briefly, then sugar again before cutting.  

Apparently this serves 8.  Not for us.  But then, we are 5 and 4 of us are boys!!

Oh, and I also add cinnamon.  Lots and lots of cinnamon.